M'Kyuun

Yeah, the similarities between the Italian and Chinese choppers is remarkable. But the Chinese would never stoop so low as to copy another country's designs, nor the Russians for that matter. 😇 So, I just finished transforming Thunderbolt back to her robot mode, and I'll add an additional bit of commentary. As I mentioned, this thing has a lot of tight joints and tight panel tabs, so breaking those things loose can be a nail-biting experience. Too, and forgive me, I was up to almost 1:30 AM writing my review and getting tired, some of the tolerances between moving parts beggars more than the allotted space given. For example, the forearm hull panels, are attached via a moving chunk of arm (which itself was pretty tight and tough to rotate) and mount on a ball joint with very little play making their adjustment for clearance to move the hands in or out of the arm during transformation a royal PITA. I think as I manipulate it more, some things will hopefully loosen a bit and become easier, but with its being new and tolerances quite tight in a number of places, transforming this thing is not the most fun experience. However, there are some brilliant solutions employed, and I stand up and applaud the transformation design. Having designed my own transforming mecha with LEGO, I have a unique insight to some of the problem-solving involved in taking one form and contorting it into another, and this thing is brilliant. I just wish it was slightly more user-friendly. I stand by my recommendation, though. We're so rarely treated to well-done transforming aircraft, so when something like this comes along, and it's done so well, at least from an engineering POV, I have to consider it from all angles, and in the end, tolerances be damned, this is a remarkable figure for all that it does right. I hope you enjoy your copy, and I hope you'll share your thoughts on it as well (you needn't go into the detail I did, but, you know, your opinion😉). Cheers!

My copy of SciFigure Industry's WZ-10 Aegopter Craft Series CS-02 (Fiery Thunderbolt) arrived today, and after several hours of handling her, I thought I'd leave a little commentary. For the sake of brevity, I'm going to refer to her as Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt comes packaged in robot mode, and I snapped this pic shortly after extricating her. I didn't take pics of the trays, but she comes in a clear tray along with all her weapons, a clear overlay to keep it all in place and protected, and a second tray that nestles under the weapons containing the base and arched stand, which can be assembled one of two ways depending on Thunderbolt's mode. The base features two pull out drawers which allow for convenient storage of all her weapons. This is her full loadout. The racked missiles are packed individually and feature a runner with a slot cut out which tabs onto one of four tabs on a little cube. The cube also has slots on top for one of two types of pylons (the tabs on the pylons are spaced differently, with two apiece of each type). The missile and rocket launchers are molded in a light grey, almost an off-white, plastic, sans paint. The pylons are painted in gunmetal, and you can see them tabbed into the square rocket launcher and the racked missiles above. The twin rifles are molded in dark grey plastic and have silver paint apps in the grilling on the sides and on a molded hose going from the body to the stock. The ammo magazines can be removed but there's no detail inside them- just hollow boxes that slide onto H-tabs on the bottom of the rifle. The sniper rifle gets more interesting; the barrel section can be removed where it's slotted into the thicker cylindrical bit in the center of the rifle. That cylinder can also hinge down and the barrel section can slot into the main body of the rifle. The end of the barrel where it's thinnest, can retract into the thicker barrel section. The bipod legs are individually mounted on ball joints. The grip on the main rifle body can retract into the body. The stock of the main rifle body has two folding bits; looking at the pic, the top section contains a die-cast knife painted metallic gold on a slider. The lower part is just a curved bit that rotates 90 degrees. As shown in the first pic I posted, the rifle can be arranged as a sort of scythe. It reminds me a great deal of Ruby Red's singular weapon, the Crescent Rose, from RWBY. Moving on to the fig itself, Thunderbolt is molded primarily in a matte black plastic, with the same light grey plastic as the weapons used for the arms, inside tops of the thighs, waist, the detailed bits in the hip armor, some bits in the lower legs and the feet. While I don't believe the majority of the fig is painted, there are painted details here and there, as well as a number of tampoed markings on the skin of the helicopter. Too the judiciously implemented die-cast bits are painted a metallic gold and really pop against the black and light grey comprising most of the figure. Articulation: The head is on a ball peg which attaches to a folded double joint. The double joint tabs at a downward angle such that head can only look straight forward utilizing the ball joint itself. However, untabbing the double joint allows the head to rotate backwards past 90 degrees, although it does look a bit awkward. The head can look down about 30 degrees and tilt a few degrees to either side. The shoulders rotate on a hard ratchet a full 360, abduct over 90 degrees, and feature a butterfly that allows the shoulder to swivel back about 60 degrees, but nothing forward, unfortunately. Bicep swivels 360 on a mushroom joint. The elbows are double jointed and give you about 170 degrees. The hands rotate at the wrist 360. Each finger is fully articulated, pinned at each knuckle. The thumb is on a ball peg which allows for flat hand or opposition to the fingers. The thumb is also pinned at the base and the knuckle. Each hand also has a molded tab that slots into her weapons. The waist swivels 360. It's scary tight on my copy. There's also a secondary waist swivel for transformation which is also very tight. There's an ab crunch that allows about 70-80 degrees forward, however it's limited if the nose gun is deployed in bot mode. The hips are mounted on friction joints which can rotate 360 if abducted a bit to allow the legs to clear the arms. The hips have a few degrees of forward butterfly on transformation joints within the pelvis. The hips abduct on ratchets to just under 90 degrees if the hip armor is rotated high on the hip to allow for more clearance. There are thigh swivels which allow for 360 deg rotation. The knees are double jointed on ratchets but only allow a wee bit over 90 degrees of bend. The feet are attached by a die-cast armature which can rotate 360 degrees. Ankles can rock inboard over 90 degrees, as well as a little up and down. The front half of the foot is attached by a double joint which allows for the toe to rotate down about 130 degrees (part of transformation). Tolerances of the joints range from good to extremely tight, which made some bits difficult to manipulate, especially during transformation. Turning the lower waist was an exercise in frustration, but I finally got it. Edit : Additionally, some of the panels lock very securely and can be both frustrating and a little scary to break the tab, so to speak. Too, tolerances between moving parts are sometimes wanting. For example, the hull panels on the forearms are attached via very limited range-of-motion ball joints to a rotating block that forms the back half of the forearm. Said block was rather tight and tough to move, coupled with a large hull panel that barely has enough room to create the clearance required to insert or extract the hand during transformation. I wish they'd used a different mechanism here that allowed that hull panel to move out of the way more easily. I'll also add that a couple of the cockpit windows popped out on me while handling the fig. I superglued one of them back and tabbed the other one back in, but it continues to pop out, so I'll likely glue it, too. Also, there are panels attached via double hinges to the pilot's canopy on either side which continually pop off on my copy as well. It's a simple matter of snapping them back into place, but b/c of where it's situated, and b/c it has to move around the curved forward nacelle cover, it can prove challenging to keep it from popping off again when manipulating the panel into its place in helo mode. The instructions are printed in color and the affected parts in each step are highlighted with a green line. Instructions are in English. However, the photos are small, and I had difficulty at times trying to sort what was being done. On my first attempt at transforming her, I didn't realize there were two waist sections that swiveled, and I missed the lower section which prevented a bunch of stuff from lining up on the tail. I ended up consulting a video for clarity. All things considered, the transformation, while involved and a little finnicky at times, is fairly intuitive if you're familiar with transforming toys. But, like the waist issue I had, it's the little things that'll get ya. A few comparison pics: Arcadia 1/60 VF-1S Earthrise Optimus Prime (voyager class) Takara Masterpiece Megatron Helicopter mode: Thunderbolt's alt is based on a real Chinese attack helicopter called the CAIC Z-10, also known as the WZ-10 (which is printed on the box). It shares characteristics of both the American AH-64 Apache and the lesser known Commanche stealth helicopter, which never saw production. While there are no details in the pilot's station above, the gunner's station has a seat and a molded unpainted dashboard, as well as an opening canopy; neat details they didn't have to include, but it makes this thing that much cooler. I have her loaded with each type of weapon included (specific to the helo mode). AFAIK, there's no way to attach her rifles, and they wouldn't look right if you could. The sensor ball up front can rotate in all directions as well as the nose gun. The barrel of the nose gun can retract for stowage in the bot mode's chest. On my copy, tolerances vary between the pylons and the weapons, some nice and appropriately tight, to very loose and falling off. Too, I couldn't get my copy to hold her sniper rifle. Not sure if it's b/c of paint on the palm tab or something else, but I couldn't get it to tab-in in either hand. Will have to keep working on it. Final thoughts: SciFigure Industry did a remarkable job of not only capturing the WZ-10, but also crafting an interesting transformation system that results in a striking and highly poseable bot mode. If this is the sort of thing that floats your boat, I definitely recommend her. Now, bring on the Flanker bot!

Too true. The only way we'd get it is if Bandai, Hasbro, and Takara struck a deal to release their 1/48 in Jetfire livery, or Hasbro and Takara struck a deal with Arcadia to produce a 1/60 scale version. In either case, the scale would be a little too big, or a little too small compared to the 1/55 Takatoku VF-1. Personally, I'd go with the Bandai, with its better articulation and smaller price tag. It would be more in scale with the Generations stuff than MP, but with MP levels of engineering. Hasbro needs to start negotiating!

Good points, especially of Bandai's likely indifference to a modern toy based on a lesser-known older toy's likeness like the Deluxe Insecticons. And yeah, the ChopShop repaint of legends Shrapnel turned out very well. IF Hasbro was to go ahead and make close facsimiles of the original Deluxe Insecticons, you'd broker no argument from me: Bring 'em on. It'd be nice to see those old figs homaged in Legacy, and hopefully, Bandai wouldn't bat an eye for lack of care. The VF-1 Jetfire design is of course the one design that will meet with modern contestation, both from Bandai and our old litigious friends, Harmony Gold. Personally, I prefer the Skyfire toy we got with WfC- it's what we saw in the cartoon, and I've always wanted an official version in the main line, so I was extremely pleased when that figure was announced, and even moreso when, having him in hand, I realized just how well-done a figure he truly is. He'll be one of those figs we're still talking about in a decade or so. As to the old Dorvack designs, Generations Whirl came very close to source, and I remain quite pleased with that fig. I do, however, wish they'd take a stab at making a more faithful Calibur inspired toy for Roadbuster. I dunno why, but I just really like that design, and a modern toy that takes strong cues from the original design would be most welcome. Not sure how Bandai would feel about that, though, as there have been Dorvack Calibur toys made in the last decade, so that design still gets trotted out from time to time.

First, that'd be a mouthful, and second, I have a feeling TT would be subsumed as a lower division within the whole corporation. I'd be concerned how much freedom TT would be afforded to continue doing Transformers without interference from Bandai. Of course, having Bandai's financial clout wouldn't hurt, unless they had no interest in keeping Transformers relevant and withdrew all backing. I think we're better off having them separate and doing their own things. Um, well, Commander Jetfire was based on the Skyfire design, which was reimagined from the Takatoku VF-1 due to licensing issues. Generations leader Jetfire also shares the Sunbow Skyfire bot design, while assuming an alt mode that's part F-22 and part F-14, and entirely fictional. As such, there's no infringement upon Bandai, who bought Takatoku years ago, G1 Whirl is a repurposed Ovelon Gazette, also created by Takatoku, from the Dorvack anime. The Generations voyager fig hewed close to the G1 toy's likeness in helo mode and in the method of transformation, but the bot mode was inspired by the IDW comics which looks significantly different from the G1 toy's bot mode.. I suppose Bandai could have made a case based on the similarities in the helo modes, but AFAIK, they didn't. As for G1 Roadbuster, a repurposed Mugen Calibur from Dorvack, no other Has/Tak Roadbuster toy since has come close to resembling the Calibur in either mode, color palette notwithstanding. I wish we would get an updated Calibur in Transformers, as I've always had a soft spot for that design. So, really, with exception of the alt mode similarities between the Gazette and Generations Whirl, Has/Tak have taken plenty of liberties with these characters' designs to avoid IP entanglements with Bandai. If Bandai was amenable to allow Takara and Hasbro to use those designs to make updated toys, I'd be all in favor, but given the liberties in evidence, I doubt that sort of sharing is taking place.

If they do, they'll likely just be repaints of the Legacy figs; Bandai holds the rights to the original Armored Insect Battalion Beetras figs, originally created by Takatoku, who went bankrupt and were subsequently bought by Bandai. With Takara and Bandai being competitors, the likelihood of Hasbro getting the rights to those old toys again is dubious. Shame really, as the Deluxe Insecticons had more realistic alt modes, and there were four of them. The Beetras designs were also part of the Convertors toyline; I still have a blue version of Barrage from that line. Neat toy.

Without clicking the link, I had a pretty good guess to whom you were referring. Indeed, Ekow does amazing work. Not to derail or diminish the previous post, but I built the Chang'e Moon Cake Factory from the Monkie Kid theme yesterday, and not only was it a fun build, minus the numerous stickers, but I was smitten by the level of whimsy involved; it's pure LEGO goodness and imagination, and I was grinning through the whole build. I hope more stuff like this finds its way onto shelves. I also bought the City of Lanterns set, which looks like a scaled down version of the Ninjago City sets, which are some of the most fun sets I've ever built, and I've built thousands at this point. Good stuff!

This is a licensed product, and a pretty cool one, at that. It'll set you back something like $500, but it's a self-transforming Optimus Prime that walks, talks, and is drivable all by RC/voice command. I don't have a copy myself, but that doesn't stop me from marveling over the tech that's involved and just how well it turned out.😍

They are a tad bit wide, but I think that was due to the thickness of the ring that attaches the wings to the shoulder. It's translucent plastic, so they probably wanted to make that ring a little more robust. Too, the outside parts of the shoulder extend out past the biceps by several mms, which also makes the shoulders look wider. Honestly, I wish they'd just molded the wings in opaque plastic and painted them silver to replicate the original toy's chrome wings. The clear wings are nice for realism, but nothing else about Kickback's locust mode ever looked realistic, so the clear wings on a clearly very robotic locust is moot. too, I wish they'd put the wings on joints to allow them to splay for flight- I realize they're going all out G1 with this, but a concession here and there would be nice.

Been watching from the beginning, and environmentally, I think they've got it down pretty well. To put the story and main character into perspective this is set 17 years prior to 2049, and the production of Replicants has been banned. But, someone is still making them illegally, which sets the stage for our protagonist. Too, that's shared knowledge by certain people in high positions, not to mention there is still at least one active Blade Runner on the job. Lotus is trying to get to the root of who created her and the others. I'm enjoying the show thus far; it's well written, well acted, the action is well done, the music is appropriate, the CG is good, and I like the two main characters (Lotus and Officer Davis, who is investigating BL). Hopefully it'll get a second season.

Given your attachment to the originals, what are your initial thoughts of Legacy Kickback? I wish the thighs collapsed into the lower leg, but otherwise, I'm digging it. I have to confess, however, that the legends fig has a better grasshopper mode. but I think Hasbro was really going for maximum G1 callback with this Legacy fig, and as such, they succeeded.

I've seen the same train of thought over on the TFW boards. It's an apropos way of keeping those figs relevant in your collection. Love the Insecticons, more from a design POV than character, but I still loved the way they were portrayed in the old toon and '86 Movie. Of all creatures, arthropods lend themselves exceptionally well to being rendered as robotic entities, and I've always been a big fan of that treatment. Zoids, TFs, and some of the latest from 52Toys pluck my heartstrings due to their wonderfully creative versions of insects, arachnids, and crustaceans. It would be great to get an updated set of the Deluxe Insecticons, but their license holder is Bandai, and since they and Takara are competitors, I doubt we'll see that come to fruition, more's the pity.

Transformers Legacy Deluxe Kickback In-Hand Images - Transformers News - TFW2005 Kickback was my first Insecticon (I only owned him and Shrapnel, and my Shrapnel disappeared once I reclaimed my old toys after returning from Okinawa many years ago), and I've had a soft spot for him ever since. This fig definitely channels the G1 toy- strong nostalgia looking at it. My only niggle is that I wish they'd collapsed the thighs into the forelegs, as it would have looked better, IMHO, and prevented the knees from bending awkwardly in alt mode. And ditch the useless purple energon weapons. While I really enjoy the legends versions of these guys, especially the way the arms form the grasshopper's abdomen on that Kickback, Legacy Kickback looks more like a modified version of the G1 toy than a new fig. I dig it. I'm curious to see how the other two fare if they maintain this direction.

I didn't have a lot of Playmobil as a kid, but I did have some of their Space stuff, and I thought it was awesome. I wish I still had it: I think my Mom sold it all off at a yard sale when I went into the military. Anyway, I'll attest that they make a high quality product, and strangely, they and LEGO often produce similar things at the same time. Anyway, I've seen their Scooby stuff and their Ghostbusters set, so it's kinda neat that they're continuing to mine 80s properties (who doesn't these days?) for ideas. They made somenew neat space stuff around five or six years ago that I thought was pretty neat, but I passed on it, as I already collect too much stuff. However, if they do make an Airwolf, it's almost certainly bought, especially if it has the retractable weapons and landing gear.😍

I still think this is the most underwhelming Batmobile design; nothing about it says Batman, but that red sensor up front screams K.I.T.T. So maybe K.I.T.T. got a new body style and Michael Knight now wears a mask and cape as the Dark Knight Rider, as he embarks on "a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist".

Cool; hope you get it soon, and more importantly, that the thing itself was worth the wait.👍 (I'm hoping the same thing)

Sir Sidney Poitier changed the tapestry of entertainment, adding color, both literally and figuratively, in a positive light by portraying Black characters who were intelligent, articulate, and just decent human beings in a time when extreme bigotry and inequality plagued our country, especially in the South. His accomplishments in cinema opened doors to aspiring African-American actors and entertainers, and his contribution to the same can't be overestimated. Few people have such a legacy, and the world is the better for Mr. Portier's contributions to the arts. RIP, Good Sir.

Good review, Mike. The only other official Blaster that I think they did a good job on was the leader class Titans Return toy, which, IMHO, got the base aesthetics right, and was just a big, fun, and imposing toy. The big drag for me with that fig was that he wasn't designed to accommodate the regular micro-cassettes, although his chest hatch was certainly large enough to do so. So, this guy is more appropriately scaled for the rest of his WfC/Legacy brthren. I'm not bothered by his greater height compared to Soundwave, for example; I think it stems back to G1 where his OG toy was huge compared to the others, and that size difference between the toys has always colored my view of how he sizes up. I remember him from the '86 Movie, of course, but honestly, he makes so few appearances after the attack on Autobot City that I don't really recall getting a clear view of his standing next to other bots for comparison. So, in my mind, he suffers from a bit of gigantism. Of course, the other prevalent feature is his ability to carry the Autobot cassettes, and though Has/Tak haven't done the most commendable job with them looking at the Decepticon roster, Eject is a nice improvement for having better articulation. Still, when compared to what third parties are bringing to the table in terms of articulation first and foremost, followed by complexity and detail at small scales, the Micromaster scaled toys seem an anachronism ten to twenty years removed. Def room for improvement, Hasbro. Alas, I hope Dr. Wu will seize the opportunity to make improved versions of all the cassettes at the WfC scale. I'm not at all happy that Hasbro ditched the realistic scale of the micro-cassettes, but they did, damn them, and so this is what we're apparently stuck with going forward. And because I'm a sucker for the cassettes, my hope is that A) Hasbro will make the rest of the Autobot cassettes and they turn out at least as well as Eject articulation wise, as well as in opaque plastic going forward, thank you very much, or B) third party remedies the shortcomings of the official offerings with improved offerings of their own. As for Blaster himself, the lack of individual and pressable little buttons, not to mention the odd method of opening his chest hatch, is lamentable for the little bit of playability they would have provided. But at least he can hold his cassettes. The additional knob detail doesn't bother me, either, as JBO mentioned, it adds a little realistic detail to his alt mode. It would be cool if those knobs could turn, but I imagine, like the Ark's plethora of hull cannons, they're just molded detail, signifying yet more lost opportunity for playability. I'll give that to the 80s toys; what they lacked in articulation they made up in working details like this. All things being equal, however, I'd rather have the articulation. His weapon storage is terrible. Such a large fig and they couldn't somehow figure out a way to integrate it somewhere into the alt mode? Sigh. If the gun separated into two parts, each half could probably fit into those big gaps next to each arm in alt mode. It wouldn't be the prettiest solution, but better than just tacking it so obviously onto the back of his boombox mode. Half-measures like this are just so frustrating, especially when they get so many other things right. I might sound embittered, but honestly, like Mike, it's the fact that they come this [ ] close to delivering a nigh perfect toy, but the little things niggle and lessen it. Although I've never been a big Blaster fan (it's a shame he wasn't included as part of that first wave of toys to be a counterpoint to Soundwave in both toy and toon form- imagine had the Autobots been able to send their own cassette spies out to report on Megs and the Decepticons from the beginning), I still think he's a neat character and I love the scenes with him in the '86 Movie, especially when he unleashes his own minions to do battle in the comm tower. 😍 To that end, I'm hoping to get a copy to round out my G1 Autobot forces. Hopefully, too, 2022 will see an Autobot cassette pack with Steeljaw, Ramhorn, and Rewind. Because, we always need more TF cassettes in our lives. 😉

Hmm, ok. I check tracking on most of my stuff, as I like to have a general idea of where it's at and when it's due on the ole doorstep. Just about everything from Asia comes through California. I would have thought, given its size and the size of its docks, Seattle would be a port for that stuff as well, but apparently not, more's the pity, as I'm only five hours away by ground, and an hour away by air.

@Dobber My Fiery Thunderbolt is currently at LAX presumably awaiting customs. Given the weather we've been having here in the Pacific Northwest and the general travel time, I figure I'll have him in hand towards the end of next week, or early the following week. I also have Iron Factory's take on Beachcomber enroute; it's currently in Las Vegas, so I'll likely get him early next week. I'm curious: Do your orders from Asia arrive at East Coast air/seaports, or do they come through California as well? I figured stuff on that side of the country probably came though Atlanta, but I'm hazarding a guess.

Same boat as far as Acousticwave; there just wasn't that much improvement over MP Soundwave, which remains one of the best MP releases to date, IMHO. Since the MP cassettes and the G1 cassettes share real world scale, FT's Cassetticons will fit in nicely. I haven't checked to see if they'll fit in G1 Soundwave, but that would be cool. I still don't understand or like Hasbro's decision to downsize the cassettes for the WFC line; had they maintained real world scale, everything would have been universal, and the slightly larger scale would have lent itself to better engineering. When the G1 toys are superior to modern releases, there's something wrong. Anyway, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these guys after having had a chance to handle them yourself.

I recently received Fans Toys' Robot Paradise RP-01B Cassetticons set which comes with Corvus (Laserbeak), Shadow (Ravage), and Firrib (Rumble). Fans Toys are obviously aware of the red or blue debate between Rumble and Frenzy, as they give little bios on the box, and for Firrib they state, "Firrib, the red robot, who is almost certainly blue. The demolitions expert can use his arm pile drivers to cause earthquakes that bring down buildings and enemy encampments". 😄 I got a nice chuckle out of that, and I heartily agree- Rumble will always be blue, or bluish-purple, in my mind. Upon opening the package and sliding the tray out, my first reaction was to the weight of these things; in true FT fashion, there is ample die-cast employed, and while they feel good in hand, and are painted superbly, ultimately my concern is with how well the joints will last on these figs. On small highly articulated toys like this, I think I'd prefer the die-cast was used sparingly for high risk-breakage parts, like Laserbeak's cannons, and plastic used for the rest. Since these have been out for a while now, and any number of the usual YT reviewers have reviewed them, I'm going to focus more on comparing them to the Takara MP cassettes that came with MP Soundwave back in 2013. MP Laserbeak (L) and FT Corvus (R) Arguably the best of the MP cassettes, Laserbeak set the fandom abuzz in a good way when pics were first released, and eight years later, it's still an impressive design. The ability to fold his jet packs into the cassette was remarkable and groundbreaking, and the addition of the little retractable camera in his head was the proverbial icing on the cake. FT's Corvus not only copies those features, but adds additional articulation to the wings, as the inner wing is free to rotate back further than the MP, flap up and down through an arc of maybe 10 degrees, as well as rotate on a mushroom peg to change the angle of attack. Like the MP, the outer wing is on a double hinge which allows for a generous range of poseablity. Corvus' outer wings are also longer than MP Laserbeak's. On both toys, the feet can rotate on a pin joint, and the legs can swivel down independently. FT chose to put Corvus' neck on a slider like the G1 toy, but, like the MP fig, only used a simple pin joint to allow the head to rotate up and down; a ball joint would have been great here to allow Corvus to turn his head sideways. Neither has an opening beak, but Corvus' beak is more robust and toon accurate than the MP. The retracting camera on the MP was molded so that it's looking straight ahead with LB's head angled down, whereas Corvus' camera is supposed to be pointing straight ahead in line with the top of his head, but it can't quite open to 90 degrees on mine, so it's always angled slightly down towards the top of his head. IMHO, Takara did it better, and who can say why FT didn't just copy it. Too, IDK why they chose to mold it in light grey instead of black to match the head. Both are odd decisions that didn't favor the toy's accuracy. Cassette mode: Right up front, pertaining to all three cassettes being discussed, Takara did a more convincing job with their cassette modes. That said, FT put in a good effort, and while I think Takara aimed more for balance between the modes, FT opted far more in favor of the bot modes. Since most of us will only keep them in cassette form for storage, that's fine. FT's cassettes are 2-3 mm thicker than the official cassettes. I was able to put two FT cassettes and an official in MP Soundwave, but I was unable to close his chest hatch with all three FT cassettes on board. Rumble and Firrib: Both of these toys have strengths and weaknesses: Rumble looks great from the waist up, but the thighs were very thin due to transformation, and they rotate below the hip skirt, which looks a little awkward. The shoulders on the Takara are on ball pegs, which allows them natural movement in an excellent range, and the arms are proportionate and aesthetically pleasing. Conversely, Firrib's shoulders are mounted on sliding pins which allow for some slight clearance between the arms and the body, but only allow fore and aft rotation in a single plane. Shoulder abduction/adduction is achieved through a body mounted joint like that used in SS86 Hot Rod and Kingdom Rodimus, which makes any lateral posing of the arms an awkward affair. Moreover, the shoulders mount low on Firrib due to the aforementioned joint's use in transformation. There's a transformation swivel above the natural elbow which allows the forearm to rotate 90 degrees laterally; it looks like his arm is broken, but it's something you can do. There's unfortunately no bicep swivel, but the elbows can rotate a little beyond 90 degrees. His head, like the Takara toy's, flips out of the body on a rotation joint between the shoulders and can rotate 360 on a swivel. He can hold his back cannons in his hands; the peg that holds the cannon into the cassette reel hole is truncated into two half-moon posts, the aft smaller one fitting into the hand while the valley between posts rests over the hand. The cannon can also fold up and store inside the leg while in cassette mode. Like the MP fig, Firrib's waist extends down out of the torso for transformation, but also like the MP, there's no waist swivel. The waist joint is pretty loose on mine, retracting into the body with very little pressure. The hip joints mount at the pelvis via mushroom pegs and can rotate just a touch over 90 both fore and aft. They can abduct to 90 degrees on pin joints, which are already quite loose on my copy. The thighs swivel 360 on mushroom pegs. The knees are double jointed and allow for 180 degrees of bend. The ankles are on ball pegs, the ball section attached to the leg and a pin joint at the actual ankle, which still allows for about 20 degrees of toe up, as much back as you like, and about 5 degrees of rocker. Both the backs of the thighs and the entire lower legs are hollow, which might bother some folks. At this scale, given the range of motion possible, I take no issue. The entire fig is painted crisply, except for his feet which are shiny die-cast. While the body of his back cannons are plastic, the little folding wing and barrel are both shiny unpainted die-cast as well. I didn't include his pile drivers in this review, but both are also nicely painted plastic and feature a spring-loaded feature to pop the ends of the drivers out. I wish we had an amalgam of the two toys - Rumble's upper body, and Firrib's waist and legs, as each did the one better than the other. At the end of the day, I still think Takara's Rumble is the better toy, as it has all the articulation of the FT fig, better in the case of the arms, and makes a more convincing cassette to boot. Too, after eight years, my Rumble's joints are still pretty tight throughout, whereas, after only a modicum of handling since Monday, the lateral hip joints are already extremely loose on my Firrib. Too much die-cast in a small toy with small joints that simply can't handle the weight. Ravage and Shadow Full disclosure, Ravage is my favorite of the cassettes, and after the remarkable job Takara did with Laserbeak, I was beside myself in anticipation of the exceptional Ravage they were sure to roll out. One might still call it exceptional, but not necessarily in the most positive of lights. It could have been better, and for the last eight years I've been waiting for that better to come to fruition. When FT revealed their take, I was more than just a little intrigued, and I'd be lying if I said I bought this set for any other reason. The other two looked nice, but Shadow was a step above. Again, both toys have their strengths and weaknesses, but from a purely aesthetic POV, FT hewed very close to the toon model, for the better. While Takara attempted a more unconventional transformation, FT chose to reference the G1 toy's transformation, which makes its cassette mode weaker, but results in a better-looking jaguar. Articulation-wise, the neck rotates about 180 between the shoulders, and the head itself is on a ball joint allowing for some slight up and side rotation, not as much as I'd like, but more than I ever expected. The jaw can open and close and he even has little top and bottom canines in there.😍 The front shoulders, knees, and paws are all mounted on pin joints. Ball jointed shoulders would have been nice, but not really feasible given the transformation space limitations. All offer plenty of range for decent posing, so no issues. The hips are on ball pegs, which offers slightly more range, whilst the knees and back paws are merely pinned, but sill offer plenty of poseability. The tail can swing down, but due to a very low attachment point, doing it breaks the sculpt. There's a little bit of a hollow area between the 'humps' of the shoulders, but it doesn't bother me. The body feels a tad too long to me, and I kinda wish they'd put the aft assembly where the hips connect on a slider to compress the body by a few mm. The front shoulders are also noticeably thin, but that's an artifact of the transformation. Notably, the sculptwork throughout emulates the toon very well, which was the greatest weakness of the MP version, and the point of appeal for me. MP Ravage however, betters it with superior front shoulder articulation on a ball joint with a bicep swivel. Too, the bulkier shoulder has its appeal as to defining the whole body shape, even if it's not toon accurate. Ravage's tail can be rotated without ruining the sculpt, although it's offset from center, also an artifact of transformation. From here it just gets worse: the stick-like body, the too long and thick neck, the square hips and odd-looking back legs all conspire to make it a decidedly unappealing take on Ravage's usually lithe form. I still prefer the look of the G1 toy over it- it was a walking wafer with parts-forming jets, but the overall sculpt looks much better to me. FT simply took that design and advanced it, and I think the result speaks for itself. And here's my attempt to capture the old box art pose. LEGO to the rescue when you need an ad-hoc prop. So, having had the chance to handle these guys for a couple of days, the engineering is not as refined as I'd hoped it would be, especially for $120, with the bulk of my ire directed at the poor shoulder design and weak waist extension joint on Firrib. I think the use of die-cast is too liberal, as it only serves to weaken the joints that much quicker, and I already have some loose joints after very little manipulation. As updates to eight-year-old figures, Corvus and Shadow mostly succeed whereas Firrib falls short, IMHO. Are they worth spending the high tag if you already have MP Soundwave or FT's Acousticwave? For most I'd say no, but if you really like the cassette bots or you're like me and that Ravage(Shadow) looks too good to pass up, and you can spare the ducats, go for it. Note: While I mentioned that some of the die-cast on these was unpainted, like Shadow's jets, it's my own assumption that it's just polished. If it's indeed painted or chromed, feel free to let me know.

Thanks, Mike.

Well, crap, I missed out on Blaster. I've been checking Pulse periodically to see if they had him available, but they never have. Figures I miss out when they do. I don't go to Target very often, and on my last trip, they were pretty much cleaned out from Christmas. I don't feel like paying a markup for this guy, but at the same time, I want him. Hopefully Pulse will restock, as I at least get free shipping.

Yep, him too. Thanks! I stand corrected. I should have looked a little harder at the screenshot, but all I was focused on was Daniel's orientation. But yeah, the toy's accurate so far as the orientation of the access bubble and the white half cones that flank it. So, I wonder if there's a little rotation mechanism that let's Spike's head orient correctly depending on mode. Even so, my interest is pretty low for this fig. Again, it's cool they made it, but it's just not really doing much for me.