MakeToys Giant Yellow Series A: Bulldozer and Excavator

Hey guys, back again and this time I have a review for the first set in the MakeToys Giant series.

Bulldozer and Excavator

This year, almost in respons to TFC's Herculese set, MakeToys has begun to release thier own renditions of the Constructicons, starting with limited releases of the group in thier yellow G2 colors. The first set features Bulldozer (aka Bonecrusher) and Excavator (aka Scavenger). Like the Herculese set and the Constructicons of old, when you get all six figures, you can combine them to form the Mighty Giant (aka Devestator). We won't be looking at the Giant until after all the sets are released and reviewed. but for now, lets have a look at our first pair, starting with...

Bulldozer.  MakeToys has done a good job in making thier figures very solid. The plastic has a nice feel to it and the joints are very tight. Bulldozer has a very solid robot mode, but looks completely different from the G1 character that inspired him. Given that this is 3rd party figure it's quite forgivable. He has 19 points of articulation consisting of a ball jointed head, ball jointed shoulders with hinge joints for added mobility, bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, ball jointed wrists, waist swivel, ab swivel, ball jointed hips, ball jointed knees, ankle swivel and ball jointed toes. The Biggest knock against him is that in robot mode, the Giant's connections hand on the back and are pretty easy to spot.

Transformation to and from vehicle mode is pretty easy. The only tricky part is moving the shovel on the front. It splits apart at the shovel and is on small ball jointed arms that are ment to rotate it behind the robot mode, only thing is that the waist and legs often get in the way. Twisting the waist sideways make things a little easier but it still needs to be done carefully. The Vehicle mode itself looks very nice but is pretty much a brick. There are no wheels in the treads so it can not roll and the only articulation is in the shovel. It still does the job very well and looks very nice on display.

Excavator is the reimagined Scavanger of the group and has a lot more in comon with the G1 Scavanger than Bulldozer has with Bonecrusher. He has all the same articulation points that Bulldozer has with the exception of his wrists being swivel joints instead of ball joints. Excavator also has articulation in the shovel arm on his left arm which allows him to use it as a melee weapon. Once again the biggest grip is the large connection point hanging off the back of the figure. A way to store and hide this connector would have been greatly appreciated. Another concern I have is in the head transformation. There is a small piece of plastic that the head is on and when its moved into place there is fear of breakage due to having to lift the head up slightly while moving it. Otherwise this is a very solid toy.

Excavator's vehicle mode is quite a piece of pretty plastic. Again, Excavator is a brick in vehicle mode. He has only articlation in the shovel arm. The transformation is easy enough to achieve, with the head transformation as the only concern spot. The overall look of the vehicle is quite nice. The details are well done and all i feel either of these guys need are some G2 con logos.



The accessories included tie in better to the Giant's combined mode than the individual bots, but im not gonna give any spoilers on how just yet. They come with a purple cylinder that splits into the guns for the two bots, and a pair of portable genarators designed to attach to later releases in the Giant collection. There is one way that the genarators interact with Bulldozer and Excavator, but you'll have to guess until the right time comes.

When comparing the MakeToys figures to the G1 Contructicons, the differences and similarities are easy to spot. It's quite clear that MakeToys paid close attention to how the G1 figures worked and did everything they could to preserve thier look, while at the same time refigning and updating the characters to meet with modern standards. The figures stand roughly the size of a Deluxe class Hasbro figure and in my opinion fit in better with the Classics than the Hercules group did. Individually, the Constructicons were not the biggest bots around, standing at about eye level with the average con, so in my book, the MakeToys figures scale better.

Overall, MakeToys has done a stupendous job of crafting these fine figures and i am very eager to see how the rest of the set will turn out. There are rumors of a proper Green Version of these figures coming around the end of the year, but whichever color you choose to get, I highly recommend these figues. As the Giant series is released, I'll be reviewing them and will in time show you what the fully formed Giant is like. So until then, take care.

TFCC Over-Run aka Runabout

Hey guys, here again with a review of the Transformers Collector's Club exclusive

Over-Run aka Runabout

We are gonna be calling him Runabout for the rest of the review because thats the name of the character. The figure has been named Over-Run due to TFCC being unable to licence the name Runabout. Anyway, Runabout is one half of a Decepticon team known as the Battlechargers. Like any of the TFCC exclusives, Runabout is a repaint of a past Transformers figure, this case being Generations Wheeljack, with a new head. The choice to use the Wheeljack body was a very good one. This particular mold is very reminicent of Runabout's G1 figure which was a small car that quickly unfolded into a small robot.

Runabout come packaged in a thick collector's box with artwork featuring Runabout and his running buddy Runamuck on the Statue of Liberty. This artwork is a nod to the issue of the Marvel Comics Transformers that featured the Battlechargers on the cover. Inside the box is a foam insert capable of holding not only Runabout but also Runamuck aswell. There is a special hidden cutout in the foam insert that can be removed leaving an opening for Runamuck. Since Runamuck has yet to be released, I'm using Wheeljack to demonstrate.Runabout also had a biocard you help you understand Runabout better.



As I mentioned earlier, Runabout is a repaint of Generations Wheeljack with a newly sculpted head. His paintjob is metallic black with red detailing. On his chest you can see he has a thermal rubsign like the ones used in the Reveal the Shield line. This is another nod to the G1 figure who had a rubsign in the same place. This guy has 20 points of articulation in the head, shoulders, bicep, doublejointed elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees, ankles, toes, and heels. His large feet make standing a breeze but the way the heels are articulated may have a negative impact on more dynamic poses. The weapons he comes with are 2 shoulder mounted cannons and a hand blaster, all of which store easily in the vehicle mode. The hand blaster also has a clip that can be placed where the shoulder cannons go so you can substitue either cannon for his blaster.

Vehicle mode is quite a site to behold. Runabout is a gourgious sports car with red tinted windows and a Decepticon logo blazened on his hood to show he dosn't ever play nice. The paint apps are placed on beautifully, even better that some of TFCC's past releases. He also rolls nicely and the wheels feel well alligned.

When looking at Runabout next to Wheeljack and Tracks, you can see what a difference a paintjob can really make. Runabouts paint scheme gives him a unique personality and really sets him apart from his mold mates. Looking at Runabout and Wheeljack together also better shows the different ways they can display thier weapons.

Overall, Runabout is a great addition to any Classics collection, and Club members have a lot to look forward to when his partner in crime Runamuck comes thier way. Runabout is currently sold out at the TFCC store so you'll have to go through other online shops like tfsource.com or bigbadtoystore.com to get a hold of him. Sadly you should expect a very high price point for this guy but he will be very well worth it. Take care all.

Transformers Prime First Edition part 2

Hey guys, figured its time to finish our look at the US releases for the Transformers Prime First Edition series. As you may remember, earlier we looked at the Comic Con exclusives for the TF Prime series. This week we will be taking a look at the 3 figures that made retail at Toys R Us last December. So lets get this started with....

Arcee

I mentioned before that Arcee was my 2nd favorite of the TF Prime figures so far. Her sculpt is beautiful and mostly show accurate. She has enough posability to pull off some awsome action poses and look real good doing them. This version has the blue paintjob that is seen on the Transformers Prime TV show. She is mostly metallic blue and black with silver and metallic rose detailing. One inaccuracy in the figure's paintjob is in her all black forearms. They are supposed to be blue with silver fingers and metallic rose detail much like the rest of her body is. Her biggest flaw is in her scale with the others, shes too tall. Arcee stands taller than the other Autobots even though shes the shortest bot on the TV show. Even with that scale issue, Arcee is a beauty.

Arcee's cycle mode is a pretty sweet looking ride. I like the blue and black colors as opposed to the pink and white of the NYCC version. She rolls very well and the blade weapons do a good job keeping her standing when they are atteched. Arcee also has a kickstand incase youd rather have her without the kickstand.

Compared to the NYCC version, its almost like these are 2 different characters. It's hard to say which one I like best but blue wins out in the end.

Bumblebee

A lot of what I had to say about Bumblebee was covered in the review of the NYCC version. The sculpt is done very well and is articulated enough to get a nice range of poses. This version of Bee is a brighter yellow than the NYCC version with black detailing. He sports thinner stripes this time around but also has some on the roof of his car mode. Best part is that the less cloudy translucent blue plastic used for the windows and eyes enable some very good light piping, those baby blues glow like nobody's business. Another bonus is that if you have both the NYCC and regular versions of FE Bumblebee, you can give both guns to the Bee of your choice and have him dual weild. Not a bad lil reward for getting them both.

Unlike Arcee, the differences between Bumblebee's NYCC and regular versions are rather vague. The differences are noticable, but not nearly as drastic as Arcee's. Fans of the TF movies may be inclined to like the NYCC verson better due to how close the paintjub resembles Bee's movie form. I prefer the regular version though, just cause im bigger on the series than the movies.

Starscream

Ok I saved the best for last. The #1 backstabber of the Transformers Universe happens to have the #1 figure of the US First Edition line. Starsceam's TF Prime figure is as close to perfect as you can get. He looks like he just jumped out of the TV. The biggest knock i can take against him is that his head fin and missles arnt properly colored, and that can be solved with a red marker. He has a whopping 24 points of articulation at the head, shoulder, biceps, elbows, hinged forearms, hinged wrists, waist, hips, thighs, knees, ankles, and wings. Starscream just oozes personality, from his face all the way through his spindaly body and hunched back. He just feels almost alive.

Starscreams jet mode is surprisingly tiny, especially considering how big his robot mode is. It look very good but sadly his legs just sit on the bottom and are easily spotted. Even with that, the jet mode looks very nice and I'm just blown away by how well pulled off ol' Screamer was.

Now while this was all we got in the States for the First Edition series of Transformers Prime, most other contries got Cliffjumper, Bulkhead, Megatron, a Voyager Optimus and a Vehicon drone. It was a sad day when the news broke that Hasbro had no intention on giving us these figures, but hearing that they are going to look into it now gives me some hope. This will complete my look at the US releases for TF Primes's First Edition series, but I'm not done with TF Prime by a longshot. Hasbro has recently released thier mainline for the TF Prime series dubbed "Robots in Disguise", which is a familiar title to long time Transformers fans. Anyway I hope you liked this review and ill catch you guys another time. Later