TFC Hercules Review - Structor and MadBlender

It is funny to think now, that there was once a time, only a couple of years ago, when Transformers fans thought we would never see decent combiners again.

Not only have we had an avalanche of 3rd party attempts, from many different companies covering almost every conceivable base, but now Hasbro has taken notice and is developing a theme called "Combiner Wars" which will see new toys of the Aerial Bots and Stunticons based on the original G1 teams and featuring in the IDW comics.

It is a glorious time to be a fan of combiners, and I am very much looking forward to Hasbro's figures as they are far more affordable than the 3rd party equivalents.

So where did it all start? What was the catalyst for this change in thinking, that would propel almost an entire market by itself and start something of a toys arms race?

A strong case could be made for the starting point being TFC's Hercules series of figures. Based on the original G1 Constructicons, they are voyager sized figures that do combine into a much larger gestalt.

Awesome. 

It was the first full set of combining figures, and how successful was it? Well here we are a couple of years later, and after picking it up off my shelf and dusting it down, I thought I would take a look back at this set to see how the figures stand up now.

I will start with Structor and Mad Blender as they form the legs, and work my way up.

Hit the button to continue on to the reviews and pictures.

Micro Yamaguchi Revoltech Revolmini Solid Snake Review

 

I don't usually bother with Revoltech figures. As much as they are wonderfully sculpted and detailed, I do not like how the articulation works with them.

I have the Optimus Prime and Megatron figures that were produced, based on the Dreamwave comics designs, but despite being very poseable, the articulation always seems very awkward.

back in February I was pre-ordering Masterpiece Wheeljack on Anime Export when I spotted a new Solid Snake figure listed based on the original PlayStation game.

I had to order it, despite my reservations about Revoltech figures.

Year ago I had the Macfarlane toys Snake and Meryl figures, but the head sculpt on Solid Snake was derpy to say the least.

So how does this Revoltech figure stack up? Has it changed my opinion on Revoltech figures? Or have I flushed some money down the drain?

Hit the button below to see more photos and find out

Keiths Fantasy Club BoxBomber Review

It was inevitable that once a Masterpiece Soundwave was announced, a 3rd party toy company would appear to bring us the cassettes that were not slated for release.

So step forward Keiths Fantasy Club, or KFC- though not to be confused with the worlds leading provider of fried chicken. Keith has bought us some cool figures in the last year, with a few different cassettes, various versions of Perceptor and more recently the amazing looking Citizen Stack and Sencho Barbossa.

Citizen Stack is a figure I would dearly love to have, even just for a brief time, but alas it is out of my price range at the momenr. I really need a lottery win as I really want to add it to my collection and take lots of pictures of it :(
It looks like such a fun toy. Another one is KFC's take on Slamdance, the Autobot combiner cassettes which I really do need to find. Clearly I like Keith's designs more than I thought.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand and that is Bird Bomber. Based on the later G1 Cassette toys of Squawktalk and Beastbox who combined to form Squawkbox, KFC have produced a couple of figures that Takara are very unlikely to ever bother with.
So this is a great way to fill that burning gap on your Masterpiece shelf (said no one ever about Squawkbox), or more aptly just give you more play value from Soundwave.

The original Squawkbox was released in 1988, as the Transformers brand was slowing right down in terms of popularity and as such they did not appear in any of the cartoon series or even the original comics. Instead, their fictional appearances have been limited to brief cameos in IDW's various series.

So not a character everyone is crying out for then? Well, no not really, they are not one of the first names (or even one of the top 50) anyone thinks of when asked to name Transformers characters but they were cool tools, with an interesting combining gimmick. So actually, they are pretty cool.

KFC have had a dubious reputation for quality control in the past, but that is always going to be a peril of doing cassette size figures due to their tiny size. But lets see how these guys stand up.

Hit the button to see the pictures and read the review

Mastermind Creations Talon Review

I believe this figure was first revealed, and put up for pre-order, almost two years ago. Originally slated to be the first Feral Con released, he was delayed several times due to revisions and various other issues, and slipped back to being the 4th figure from the set to make it into fans hands.

Feral Rex is now just one member short of being completely, ready to dominate your shelves and finally give your wallet a little breather.

So after the long wait, does the figure live up to the hopes and dreams of many a collector?

Hit the jump to find out.

Transformers Generations Legends Swerve and Flanker

Hasbro completely revamped their Legends class figures last year, with the introduction of the new Generations figures into that scale.

After the Legends class was renamed "Legion", the original name was bought back and applied to a new line of figures that were about the same size and complexity of the old Scout class. Confused? Aren't we all.

Yet again, Hasbro UK chose to let us down by not importing them all into the British Isles, so Toys'R'Us stores up and down the country can still be found stuck trying to shift Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, which were the first two in the new line, followed by Starscream and Megatron (not released here). Swerve and Cosmos came next, and Swerve at least is bigger than the previous 4.

Swerve has arguably been IDW's most successful revamp. In Generation 1, he was a later era minibot, from the Gears mold, but got almost zero exposure in any fiction.

IDW then chose to brilliantly give him his own personality, and he has become a huge fan favourite. So we come to this toy, which is Hasbro's interpretation, of IDW's interpretation of Generation 1 Swerve.

Confused again?

Hit the button below to see more photo's and read the review.

Transformers Generations Armada Starscream Review

In the early 2000's, Hasbro rebooted the Transformers line with Transformers Armada. It bought fresh takes on classic characters, and a bundle of new ones. The core gimmick here was to take the Micromasters, turn them in minicons and then make them unlock action features with the larger figures.

There was a cartoon which was horrible, and its well worth reading the Tfwiki's write up on it, but the toyline had some really cool figures in it. They were big, chunky and had serious heft to them.

Like almost every iteration of Transformers, Starscream was a character who got an update with a fanciful looking new futuristic jet mode, and a toy that was something akin to a brick.

Now in the 30 Anniversary Generations range, Hasbro have decided to pay homage to Armada and Starscream with an updated deluxe class figure.

Is it any good? Read after the jump to find out.

Transformers Generations Scoop Review

Back in the mid 80's, Hasbro decided to jazz up the Transformers Toy line with the introduction of the Targetmasters.

These were toys who came with weapons that could themselves transform into small robots. Pretty cool idea huh?

The concept has been used since, with various toys such as mini cons and Powercore Combiners, but never have we had legit Targetmasters.
Until  now.

With the 30th Anniversary of the Transformers brand upon us, Hasbro have kicked it a gear with their Generations lines and given us some awesome figures. Amongst them was this gem, Targetmaster Scoop.
I was so happy!

But is he a worthy update of the original toy? Hit the button to read the review

Mastermind Creations MMC Reformatted R04 Leo Dux Review

Leo Dux is Masterminds Creations take on Razorclaw, and the main body for their Feral Rex combiner - or Predaking.

He was released earlier in the year, and when I got him I loved him. But I opened him, played with him for a brief time and stuck him back on the shelf, never to go back to him.
Until now.

With the next figure in the long running saga of MMC getting these guys released, Talon, now slowly appearing in peoples hands, I figured I'd rediscover Leo Dux.

The name Leo Dux reminds me of Frankie Dux, so I think of this version of Razorclaw of being Jean Claude Van Damme-esque. It's probably not what MMC intended...

If you want to read a review, and look at some photo's, then hit the button below to continue past the jump.

Unique Toys Metropolis Cityset for Generations Metroplex

Unique Toys are a company who's toy's I have never bought, as they always seem to come with some caveat.

First there was the Predaking who needed a whole separate chest section to be added, that stored nowhere. Then there was the Galvatron (Mani King), who had no wrist swivels, giving him Gorilla arms. Next up were Sharkticons which were either broken, or not the joins were not lined up properly, and a G1 style Blaster who was too small to fit the standard Cassette bots. Not for me thanks.

But this then curiosity started to appear. A new head for Generations Metroplex, based more on his comics appearance, and some extra little accessories for his other modes.

I am a sucker for add-on's for Metroplex, so I was eager to hand over money for it.

The odd thing is, when it came the box has a a rather nice image of G1 Metroplex on the front, of which no part of this set is based, nor is the figure it is designed to upgrade.

Mad.

If you want to see some pictures of the set, and read a review, hit the button after the jump

Lego Ghostbusters Ecto-1- pictorial review of the build

I don't get any Lego sets in years, and then two come along in quick succession.

Like buses then.

My girlfriend, bought me the Lego Ecto-1 for our anniversary a couple of weeks back, proving yet again that she is wonderful, amazing and all of that.

I love Ghostbusters, and I am quite fond of Lego, so this is an absolute no brainer. To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the first Ghostbusters movie, Lego have released a set based on their ever popular Ecto-1.

It's the second 80's movie themed set to come from the Cuusoo initiative (recently renamed "Lego Ideas), whereby people submit ideas and designs for sets, then if they gain enough support Lego will look at it, see if its possible and then release it. Of course, in the case of sets based on franchises, Lego have to acquire the license, and just like they did with Back to the Future-they managed to secure one for the Ghostbusters.
Much to the relief of the millions of us still stuck in our 80's childhood-Proton packs and all.

I will get this out of the way now, its an amazing set and insanely fun to build and you should buy it.


Hit the button below, to see some pictures, and read my thoughts, after the break

Transformers Generations Whirl Voyager Class Review

Wreck and Rule

With his starring role in IDW's recent comic book series, and rise in popularity, it was a no surprise that Hasbro would eventually give us an update of the character in the Generations line. But was was a surprise, is that there was already a deluxe class version (a repaint of FOC Vortex) released recently, and also how much of an homage to the original toy this is, as opposed to being based on IDW's design as we have seen with other figures recently

So Generations Whirl is an update of his Generation 1 figure. In a twist of irony, just like his Generation 1 figure - Generations Whirl has not been released in the UK.

Same old Hasbro UK.

So after importing the figure, and playing around with it - is it any good?

Hit the button below to see some shiny pictures, and a review.

Lego Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Kraang Lab Escape

 Reading this blog, you would be forgiven for thinking its solely for putting up pictures of Transformers. That is the brand I seem to spend most of money on, when it comes to toys, but I do venture into toy lines too.

Lego is not often one of them, not because I don't like Lego, but because normally its quite expensive and I only have so much room in my house.
On my lunch break today, I was having a wander around Sainsburys, and whilst trying to decide which was a better option, Sushi or a Cheese and Onion pasty, I nipped over to have a look at the toys. Nothing stood out, lots of Lego and Transformers Age of Extinction stuff amongst other toys, but then on my way back I stumbled across the Clearance isle.

Amongst a sea of discounted Transformers Beast Hunters Legion figures (none of which I bought) was the last piece of Turtles Lego in the place, and it was reduced by 50% to £5 - I couldn't say no.

As a kid I was massively into Turtles after Transformers and He-Man died. It filled the void, and then expanded past whatever any of them had ever been. The new Turtles show is even better, and seriously if you are not watching it - you really should be.

If you like Lego, and Turtles, hit the button to see a few pictures of the build.

Transformers Masterpiece MP12-G G2 Sideswipe Review

In the early 1990's, Hasbro decided to try and revive to its dying Transformers line, by rebranding it. Generation 2 was not the kiss of life it hoped for, it was merely a form of life support.

The cartoon was repackaged in the worst possible way, rendering it almost unwatchable, but the toy line was much better. Not only did we get new figures later on, but we got re-releases of the original toys in jazzy new colours. Blue Dinobots? Hasbro had you covered man.

Some of these were less successful, but there were a few good ideas in there. One of which, was repainting G1 Sideswipe from red to black, and making him an absolute nut job in the comic books

Takara, in an effort to get more life and money out of the Masterpiece Lambor mold, saw fit to pay homage to that character by releasing it as a Masterpiece figure, complete with comic inspired angry face. The Internet rejoiced and I screamed like mad...in my mind.

I had the original toy, and knew I had to pre order this the second it became available.

Hit the button to see the review, and lots of pictures.

Reprolabels Beast Hunters Smokescreen Upgrade Set

Recently, I ordered Reprolabel sets for Beast Hunters Smokescreen, and for Masterpiece Sideswipe. After hours of painstakingly applying them, and an equal amount of time spent cursing them, I finally finished and took a few photo's.

It was a painstaking process, but years of practice with Panini football sticker books has stood me in good stead, and lead to this moment.

Hit the jump for some pictures and brief thoughts of the set for Smokescreen

X2 Toys XT004 Interception Metroplex Gun Review

I have taken more photo's of this, than almost anything else in the history of my life. You may be forgiven for thinking that that must mean there is a lot to this set, and it would make sense. However, owing to me still recovering from knee surgery, and so not able to get in positions to take photo's easily, and also due to the sheer size of Metroplex - well that's how I ended up with close to a hundred pictures of something that does not really do that much.

Don't worry, I am not going to post all those photo's here, but I hope it goes some way to explaining quite why the photo's are not as great as I would like.

This right here is X2 Toys extra gun for Metroplex. Hasbro's retail release of the venerable Metrotitan only comes with one gun, whilst Takara's and special editions come with two. Metroplex is quite famous for having two guns also.

So these guys caught wind of an exploitable gap in the market, and then went a step further by making it transform.

Click the button below, to read the review, and see some more pictures after the jump.

Transformers Generations Legends Bluestreak Review

I have been off work for almost a month, after having an operation to reconstruct my ACL, which I tore playing football late last year. As I am bored, I have spent a ridiculous amount of time scanning EBay for crazy bargains, and I came across one with this.

For £2.34, buy it now, I got the Asian Generations Legends Bluestreak shipped all the way from the other side of the world.

That's less than the cost of a pint!

Renderform RF-015 Nightshade - Universe Darkwind upgrade set

A couple of weeks back, I picked up a Transformers Universe Darkwind (an update of Generation 1 Darkwing, and repaint of the Universe Voyager Silverbolt) from EBay for the bargain price of £1.24. Sure its a little battered, and was missing his gun, clearly it had been beaten up by a child - but that did not matter.

I really liked the figure as Silverbolt, but the the colour scheme on Darkwind looks better and really fits the character. Sadly, Hasbro didn't feel a need to remold the head so it was just a straight colour swap.
Boooo Hasbro!

So in stepped Renderform who created a new head and weapons set, that sold out and has been highly sought after on the secondary market. However, recently he did an updated version with a new head sculpt, and I managed to snag one.

You get a brand new, more accurate head, 2 grey G1 styled guns and as a bonus he threw in a gorgeous clear purple gun.

This is my first Renderform kit, and if you want to see some pretty pictures and read a review of the set - then click the button and continue after the jump.

Dr Wu P17 Bitz - Generations Blitzwing Upgrade Kit

 Dr Wu, purveyor of fine 3rd party Transformers upgrades you never you needed, has finally released his long awaited upgrade kit for Generations Blitzwing.

Is it worth buying? Hit the jump to find out

X2 Toys Strengthen Equipment - Generations Hoist and Trailcutter Upgrade Kit

With Trailbreaker (or Trailcutter as he is now officially named, but I will refer to him as Trailbreaker as that's who he is) and Hoist both making an appearance in the Transformers Generations line last year, gaps were filled in collections across the world.

But whilst both share the same mold, and are excellent figures, something was clearly missing - mostly in Hoist's case.

So 3rd parties answered the call, and did what they do best - created an upgrade kit.
X2 toys is a new one on me, and I have no idea if they have released any other products prior to this, so I have no opinion of them as a company before this.

Is the set worth the £20 it cost? Hit the button below to read the review after the jump

Mattel Batman Classic TV Series Surf's Up! Batman

The old Batman TV show, it was awesome. Virtually everyone on the planet has either seen it or heard of it, as it has been perpetually re-run on TV stations around the globe. Defining the character for many different generations of people.

Characters tend to be defined, to each person, by the first version they were introduced to. So for many kids now when they think of Batman, their first thought is of Christian Bale growling. That is their Batman.

For me, when I read or hear the name Batman, the first thing that pops into my head is Jim Aparo's Batman. His work, was the first I was introduced to for Batman, when I was a child in the mid 80's as his was the standard from the comics at that time, and made its way into most of our British Annuals (hard back books that are particularly prevalent at Christmas time).

Not a week goes by, when I don't growl at Mattel or DC Collectibles for still not having put out a figure that matches that design. Grrrr.

But I was still a big fan of the old TV show as a child, as it was constantly on the TV.

For kids of the 60's, the Classic Batman TV series will always define Batman for them, and finally it seems to have made out of licensing hell so Mattel, DC and Warner Brothers can unleash a merchandising onslaught upon us.

Awesome.

First up, Mattel has made a range of figures, following in the style of their now dearly departed DC Universe Classics lines, based on this brilliant TV show. The first one I managed to acquire, thanks to an early Valentines Day present from my amazing Girlfriend was "Surf's UP! Batman!"

Based on this iconic scene from the TV show

There is no way I was going to avoid this figure, even if I hadn't got it as a gift, as it is just too crazy and amazing to skip. Mattel tried their best to make this happen, by not releasing them in the UK at places other than import stores - and we think Hasbro UK are bad.

So how does it stack up? Hit the button, and read the review after the jump.

Perfect Effect PE-DX03 Warden Review

Back in the 80's, Hasbro released a Transformers toy that I could not get my hands on for love nor money. It joined a list that included such mythical figures as Dinobot Swoop, as a toy I knew existed - but had no physical evidence due to it not appearing on UK toy Shelves. This toy was special, as it was the largest Transformer ever created and remained so until Generations Metroplex was released last year, so whats that? A 25 year run or something?
Yes, that toy was Fortress Maximus. Along with Swoop, its still a toy I have never owned - though I have seen it with my own eyes. The prices it commands today are far outside my budget, and this was also the case with the recent reissue, where I just cannot afford to spend £300 or so on a toy.
Much as I would love to, sadly that dream will only be realised by a Lottery win.

For many months, this 3rd party figure drifted under my radar. If by drifting under the radar, I actually mean I saw it and just was not interested at all. But then a funny thing happened, and in the last couple of days of 2013, some new pictures started to crop up online, that made it smash my radar like an 80's Axel Rose in a hotel room.

The end result? I think you can guess where this is going, but with 5 minutes to go before midnight, on New Years Eve, whilst very drunk, I put in a pre-order for Warden and with Kapow Toys. The early bird pricing was just too much to resist, especially whilst being compelled by the demon in the bottle...

Warden is Perfect Effects take on Fortress Maximus, or more specifically the version of Fortress Maximus that appears in IDW's popular line of Transformers comics. If you have read the comics, you know he is in charge of the Autobots top security prison - hence the name "Warden"

Clever, Perfect Effect, clever.

I am not actually sure where to start, the box advertises the figure as being "7 in 1!", so there is a lot to cover.

Better put the kettle on....there's a lot to get through.

Hit the button below, to read the full review, and see all of the photo's, after the jump

Transformers Masterpiece Smokescreen MP-19 Review

The 3rd of the Masterpiece Datsun figures to be released, Smokescreen is a fan favourite due to his character in the show, and also his original toy.

Takara have recently released Prowl (my review can be found here ), Bluestreak (still need to finish off that review) and then followed those with Smokescreen. Probably the most anticipated of the trio, due to being a beloved figure and also the most unique of the 3, he finally arrived in December.

I got mine delivered on Christmas Eve, so he was a Christmas miracle - and a welcome distraction from the mass eating of festive chocolate.

So does he live up to the hype?

Hit the button below, to see the complete review and photo's, after the jump

Transformers Prime Voyager Ultra Magnus

I will let you in a little secret - I don't really like Transformers Prime.

Its not that I dislike it, but its a show and toy line that I am very indifferent too. I watched the show, all the way through to the end (including the movie), but it never really grabbed.

Yet somehow I have managed to end up with a shelf full of Prime figures, featuring the entire show cast minus, Predaking, Skyquake and Shockwave.

This implies that I must really like the toy line, but I don't. Most of it feels a bit rubbish, with figures being fragile, being overly complex, feeling cheap, and generally not being fun toys.

I will say there is one clear exception to this, which is Wheeljack, who is the best Wheeljack figure we have ever had. Starscream and Dreadwing are both cool Voyagers, and having a small army of Vehicons is of course awesome.

Those exceptions made, as a whole, its not a good line - the fun is missing.

So how did I end up with so many of them? Surely it must mean I do really like them, and somehow I have tricked myself into thinking otherwise? Well, it is actually thanks to them being on near permanent discount at almost every shop in the UK.

I think the only ones I have paid full price for are Wheeljack (who is the one figure I would say is awesome) and Ratchet (just....I dunno...because).

Ultra Magnus is one of those figures I have seen in pictures and on shop shelves for a long, long time, and sort of liked without ever being interested enough to buy him. Then when he came into the show, he had a different design to his toy, which then was translated into a brand new toy - which was a remold of the original Optimus Prime Voyager which has been clogging up shelves for well over a year.

What?

Hit the button below, to see the complete review, and photo's, after the jump

MMC Fortis Review

Bovis is the 2nd of Mastermind Creations Feral Cons to be released, though was originally intended to be the 5th. MMC bumped him forward, and delayed the others in order to make a couple of changes to them. It makes sense, as the only other one that is out, is Bovis and he is pretty much the same figure - so the mold did not really need changing.

I put a review of Bovis up recently, so please read that for more thoughts on the mold. As it is, I will speed through this one, as there is not a great deal off difference.

A disclaimer is necessary though. I had a real hard time reviewing this figure, trying to find new things to say about it, whilst trying not to be critical of how similar it is to the previous figure. Bits have bee rewritten, deleted, changed, started again - so it may not be as coherent as I would like, and I apologise in advance.


Hit "READ FULL REVIEW" below, to see the complete review, and photo's, after the jump

MMC Bovis Review

Mastermind Creations having been slowly knocking out their 3rd party Feral Cons, which are updated versions of the original Generation 1 Predacon's.

Slowly is not an understatement, as the whole project was announced well over a year ago and pre orders up not long after. Bovis was finally released in October, whilst Fortis (the not Headstrong was pushed forwards to November, but then delayed until December. Leo Dux (not Razorclaw) was moved forwards to December, but has since been delayed until March (that is ages!)

So you can see, MMC are not shy in delaying their figures. I can't really criticise them for it, as if it results in better figures, then its got to be a good thing. When you are dealing with such expensive, collector driven pieces - you have to get it right. Thankfully MMC have embraced the online communities, and scored a lot of brownie points a long the way.

        Photo Courtesy of Lazyaza on TFW2005

The Feral Cons combine into Feral Rex (or will eventually), who is their version of Predaking. As you can see from the photo above, he looks amazing, which is why fans are literally salivating at the thought of getting all the figures for this guy. I have never been so excited for a set of figures, even if the wait is long (with many a winding road...zing.)

I got Bovis back in October, but never got round to doing a review of him due to forgetting he was even there. So when Fortis finally landed last week, I decided to do a joint review seeing as they are both almost exactly the same figure.

Doing this did not work so well, so I decided to just review them both separately.

So here is my long overdue review of the spectacular Bovis, Mastermind Creations version of the G1 Predacon - Tantrum.

Hit "READ FULL REVIEW" below, to see the complete review, and photo's, after the jump