03 May 2016

Mini-Spy Hard with a Vengeance / Rubsigns

These curious little fellows are an oddity in Transformers, as they’ve never been packaged to buy individually. Instead, the mini-spies were given away “free” in 1985, packaged with the Autobot mini-cars to introduce the new concept of heat activated rubsigns, so you could see which faction a character belonged to! Not like it was ever a big secret before mini-spies, with Transformers items branded with the appropriate faction logo right on the front of the packaging.

The real reason for the new rubsigns was slightly more insidious. Unsold stock from licensing deals (most notably Diakron) that pre-existed the Hasbro / Takara alliance were showing up for sale with the popularity of the Transformers cartoons, and Hasbro wanted to make it very clear to parents and children what a REAL Transformer was, with the instructions from 1985-1987 stating that only a REAL Transformer has the rubsign as a seal of authenticity – after all, Hasbro saw no money from these other toys. It also helped to distinguish Transformers from their rival GoBots, because to many a parent, a transforming toy robot was a transforming toy robot. Of course, children and parents back then couldn’t have known the intricacies of trade deals, or predict the rarity of the pre-rub toys, or even moreso the mythical unsold Diaclone / Microchange toys cluttering up clearance aisles with their weird colouring variations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7rBPpSNRxY

The Mini-spies were never named individually, but were available in four different body types; Jeep 4WD, Buggy, Toyota FX1 Concept, and Porsche 928, and in three different colours; White, Blue, and Yellow. That means a Transformers collector with OCD has no good way of displaying four different minispies, as two of the colours will repeat. This has never sat well with me.

One solution is to collect each mold in each colour, for a total of 12 variations. But wait, there are different faction logos; Autobot and Decepticon. That makes a total of 24 variations?!? What is a fanboy to do?

Well I’m sure many a collector will happily track down all 24 variations, but for me this was too much. I’m not bothered at all about faction variations, as to me any cars from the first three years have to be Autobots, right? Twelve mini-spies isn’t untenable, but it is now a question of space and as cute as they are, do I need that many variations?

But there is a real solution.

Contrary to popular belief, the Mini-Spies were not ported over from Diaclone or Micro-Change, yet they are Takara through and through, from another line called Mecha Senshi (Mecha Warriors), where they were packaged separately, and in great packaging too. In Mecha Senshi, they were only available in two colours; blue, and red.

Wait, did I say red?

Suddenly, my collecting woes are over!

I only found out about the red Takara versions a few months ago after a chat with fellow toy enthusiast Flux Convoy, and made it one of my priorities for Botcon 2016. It’s not like they are particularly expensive, but even Hasbro minispies can be hard to find, never mind a pre-Transformers version in red. I found one which was a little expensive for my tastes, but I couldn’t resist the packaging.

I’m trying to find out a bit more about the Mecha Senshi figures, like were they available to buy separately, or were they some kind of vending machine product, because the packaging almost looks more like a primitive gacha capsule. The current consensus seems to be store display, probably counter-top case displays. Any pictures or information would be gratefully received.

The thing I appreciate most about the Takara version are the stickers, although they offer little to the mechanized and awesome pull-back-and-go car mode, the robot mode badly needs some extra detailing, and the numbering of each figure is a great touch. It make me want to seek out the other three in Takara versions, but then I’m limited to the two colours again. And if I’m not going to do that, should I put a rubsign on the red version to give them a uniform look? It seems a nerd’s work is never done.

Rubsigns were phased out in 1988, most likely because the plethora of all new molds post-movie meant that distinguishing Transformers from previous incarnations of Takara product was no longer a concern. This meant that some of the combiners were available sans rubsigns for the first time with the gold-packaging re-releases of the early 90s. We wouldn’t see the return of rubsigns until Beast Wars year two, as Energon chips, and they finally returned to Transformers proper in 2006 for the Classics line, just as we always remembered them.

Note the Toyota listed as a Mazda, a common mistake.

Most people who collected Transformers in the eighties will remember the rubsigns with fondness, I’m sure. Together with the red decoder strip for text specs, and the iconic packaging, these things all helped to cement Transformers into an entire generations psyche, but as fun as the gimmick was, even as a young ‘un I felt that in some circumstances the rubsign got in the way. On top of Optimus Prime’s cab? No problem. Front and center on Soundwave’s chest in lieu of a proper show accurate faction sticker? Problem.

Pre-rub vs Rub

Other than the minispies, the idea of a transformers allegiance being a mystery until you checked the rubsign was never actually used to promote a toy or build mystique surrounding a characters loyalties, which I feel is a real missed opportunity. The closest we came was with Punch / Counterpunch, who had both an Autobot and a Decepticon logo. Even now, 30 years on, I think it would be very cool to introduce a character in the comic and his or her allegiance be kept a secret until the toy release, which reveals once and for all their true leanings. Although, I fear in the age of internet spoilers, this potentially cool idea would be blown before the toys even made it to the shelves.

Arguably, the best use of the rubsigns was on the Battle Beasts toyline, with their wood, fire, and water powers (think rock / paper / scissors analogue) hidden in a rubsign on their chest. In Japan, this toyline was actually a part of the Transformers line, with the Beastformers first appearing in the Headmasters cartoon. Perhaps we’ll take a look at this range another day.

Thanks for reading.

24 Apr 2016

MC17 and MC18 Trasformers (not Transformers)

Over the last few years, I’ve enjoyed branching out evermore into the Takara design back-catalogue, rather than just collecting Transformers branded items. This has opened the door to my love of big, bulky Brave toys from the nineties, and to the early 1980s Diaclone and Micro-Change figures that were not utilized in the Transformers line.

As a subline to the New Microman line, Micro-Change figures avoided all mass-shifting complications by existing in a 1:1 scale. Hence they were real world objects such as cassettes, guns, microscope, and Penny Racer deform toy cars. Only Browning held this scale over into the TF line, transforming into a tiny robot sidekick in the Japanese cartoon.

A quick look at a catalogue reveals some familiar faces, the shot below is of the 1984 Gig Trasformer releases.

Not pictured in the catalogue above are Perceptor and Blaster, and a few more releases that didn’t make it into Transformers.

I could write articles about each of these releases quite easily, and spend weeks just discussing some of the other Diaclone toys that never made it to the Transformers line, but today, our focus is on these two:

MC17 Con Combinazione

This guy is a working combination lock, known as Dial Man in Japan. I wouldn’t want to use it to secure any valuables because I imagine it wouldn’t take much force to tear it open, and I’d be more concerned about the damage to the toy than most “valuables”.

Packaged in alt. mode, it’s another one of the Micro-Change “common things beside you”, an every-day household item that also transforms into a robot defender. The combination for the locks varies, but due to its transformation the middle number is always 8, reducing 1,000 possibilities down to a mere 100. Like I said, you shouldn’t really be using it as a lock anyway, but as a kid I’m confident I totally would have. The “secret” combination is stickered on the back, and for the sake of completion and minty freshness that is where it will stay.

Shush! Don’t tell anyone.

The transformation is great fun, starting with unlocking it which pops up the robot head in the process. From there, it’s a few familiar twists and turns to get this into that familiar Takara bipedal form. It works exactly how you want it to. The metal hoop is very obvious, but Takara try to mitigate this using it as a missile holder (unshown, as I am keeping my missiles on the sprue).

He’s a lot of fun. He does come with a stickersheet (unapplied), but the simply factory-applied chest sticker screams early Transformer to me, and he’ll absolutely fit in with the rest of my curiosos and unreleased figures, squeezed in with the e-hobbies somewhere.

MC18 Magnetico

Released in Japan as Magneman, Magnetico is a working key lock, with a magnetic twist (the name might have given that away). Again, I would want to use the lock to secure a factory full of Aston Martins, but as a kid I would have had great fun with this. The lock mechanism is actually quite strong, with a metal lock coming up out of the foot into the hoop lock, put to the stress, I think the plastic would fail long before the metal mechanism.

No, he’s not just a Mini-Blaster.

Unlike MC17, this guy comes with a little handgun which can be stored in his opening chest cavity in either mode. The magic comes when you open the foot panel and jam the handgun into the open hole, this allows a release on the lock mechanism meaning you can pop it back down into the unlocked position. Quite genius, and like a lot of the Micro-Change, feels very ahead of it’s time (considering it’s now 33 bloody years old!).

Free to transform him, you’re in for a treat, transforming like a slightly more intricate Blaster. He makes a fun robot, and again the metal hoop can be used as a missile holder. The slide-down hands are similar to what Astrotrain nearly received before Hasbro cost-cutting nixed that idea. You can see the hole with magnet reactive metal in his right shin, and the magnet in the end of his handgun; this is what is used to unlock him in lock mode.

No doubt had they been released as TFs they’d have been Decepticons due to the way Hasbro / Marvel split the 1984 range, but I like to think of them as classic enemies to each other rather than a sub-group within a faction. If I was in charge of naming them I would have made MC17 a Decepticon called Lockout, and MC18 an Autobot called Secure. But I’m not and they aren’t.

I’m no expert on the Micro-Change line at all, and I’m still collecting them and discovering more about them every day, but for my money there is no better collection of Micro-Change than in Ras’ collection. Check it out if you want to see some amazing bits.

In conclusion; these are not the most expensive toys in the world, nor are they the hardest to find. I bought these in the last five minutes of Botcon this year on a complete whim, offering a dealer much less than he was asking for on my way out of the dealer hall and to my surprise he said yes! Score. On tone with what I was saying above, they’re not the most expensive toy I bought at Botcon, or the rarest, but man are they fun!

Two original Takara molds from 1984 I have had no prior experience with, how could I say no? Easily my favourite purchase of the show.

Thanks for reading,

-Sid / CZH / Ceno / Another name I made up for no reason.

14 Apr 2016

King of Braves Gaogaigar HyoRyu and EnRyu

I am very pleased to show two new acquisitions, two bits I’ve been trying to hunt down for ages for my Brave collection.

Released in 1997 for the final series of Brave TV shows; King of Braves Gaogaigar, we have two great looking robots; HyoRyu and EnRyu.

Although not many figures were released in the final year of Brave, and given that it’s arguably the most popular of all of the series, with several licensed releases of Gaogaigar released by several different companies, these guys have been some of the HARDEST figures I have ever hunted for. Harder to find than most mainline Transformer release (but nothing like some of those early Diaclone figures!). It’s easier to find a Big Powered boxset, Darkwings, Grandus, than it is to find these, and trust me, I have hunted for them on Yahoo Auctions, various ebay sites, lots of dedicated giant robot forums, and even on foot looking around Hong Kong. It’s a testament to Transformers how easy even the rare figures can be to find, as everyone knows what they’ve got now. Not so with some of the Brave figures.

They’re not particularly expensive though, when I finally found them, the guy accepted a reduced Buy It Now offer for the two, and the only annoying part of the transaction was that he would not ship to the UK, so I had to send these to a very good mate in the US who is very patient and doesn’t mind me taking the mickey with proxy shipping. Thanks Kev.

Now bear with me with these, as I don’t watch the TV show, and I don’t understand Japanese, and I don’t actually know that much about the world of Brave itself. I just love the Brave toyline for one reason; they were made by Takara, and you can see the influence of some of those early G1 designers in these figures. I often look at these figures as a parallel universe where the Takara designers kept working on the G1 aesthetic with a heavy emphasis on fun and chunky toys with Giant Robo combination play patterns, while the Hasbro guys went their own way with Beast Wars. Essentially, this is what they are, but with zero official Transformers crossover, as these were designed for Sunrise, a famous animation studio who work with legendary mecha designer Kunio Okawara.

In their own way, Brave figures contribute, borrow from, and add to the world of Transformers, sometimes in ways people don’t expect.

EnRyu

G1 Inferno, EnRyu, and Maketoys Hellfire.

In the bright, primary colour of red, with an obvious firetruck mode and a huge ladder to go with it, it’s obvious to see the Inferno parallels with this guy. In all honesty, he feels more like Fire Convoy from Car Robots, or maybe Galaxy Convoy. Above, I show him with G1 Inferno and Maketoys Hellfire, just for a bit of context on the size of these toys. His elemental powers are reflected in the head on his forehead symbol.

*Updated with show info from the Wiki in italics*

GGG Super-AI Vehicle Machine, model number GBR-3. His vehicle form is a fire truck, and he attacks with a handgun and an infrequently used chest-mounted flamethrower, the “Chest Warmer.” EnRyu also carries a Mirror Coating-equipped shield on his left arm, which is capable of returning attacks if it can fully absorb them. After the initial Primeval attack, EnRyu is retrofitted with the ability to fire Ul-Tech beams in place of heat from his handgun. When first charged with “THE POWER”, EnRyu instead fires bolts of the mysterious energy from his handgun. There is a running gag focusing on EnRyu’s inability to land correctly after aerial deployment – although he actually lands properly in vehicle mode once and later as the pilot of Liner Gao, suggesting it is his construction (or the weight of his Mirror Shield) that throws him off. He eventually gets used to it, and in FINAL he manages to save a falling elevator car while crashing.

His name means “Fire Dragon”.

Has a hot, headstrong, brash personality. Even though they are twins with the same AI and the same training, the brothers have opposing personalities and sometimes argue. HyoRyu suggests in a passing remark at one point that EnRyu’s hotness is a result of his overloading heater (to which EnRyu retorts that HyoRyu’s cooling systems have cooled his heart as well).

HyoRyu

HyoRyu is the blue one, and visually borrows quite a lot from Grapple with his crane mold, a slight retweak of EnRyu as with their Transformer predecessors. The blue works well, and has inspired me to attempt a G2 Grapple with the blue colourscheme at some point. Notice the ice detailing on his head as well.

*Updated*

GGG Super-AI Vehicle Machine, model number GBR-2. His vehicle form is a mobile crane, and he attacks with a rifle and a freezing ray, and a Chest Thriller that blows our freezing winds (which he often uses to put out flames). After the initial Primeval attack, HyoRyu is retrofitted with the ability to fire Ul-Tech beams in place of cold from his rifle and gun if he wishes. When first charged with “THE POWER”, HyoRyu fires bolts of the mysterious energy from his weapons.

His name means “Ice Dragon”.

Has a calm, collected, calculating (all compared to EnRyu) personality.

In robot mode, these guys are simple enough. The emphasis for this toyline was similar to the TV show, it’s a constant battle of one-up-manship leading towards the Ultimate Perfect-Mode Combination Super Robot, a format that Car Robots / Robots in Disguise (2000) followed. If you’re looking for super detailed, multi-articulation from your robots, then these aren’t the guys for you. However, Bandai have released non-transforming PVC versions of most of the characters from King of Braves, so you might find something more action figurey for you yet!

Obviously, these guys share the same base mold (as do their brothers Furyu & Rairyu, but more about them another day!), but with subtle differences such as mirror heads, and differing alt. mode kibble like the fire-ladder and crane, which can be held as weapons or stored on their backs, but it’s a bit clunky. Better to put them to one side and forget about them for individual modes.

They can store their handguns in their legs, and these guns actually double as the hands for the combined mode. This is a great feature, but while they can be stored I wouldn’t recommend it, as getting them out again can be a pain. Given that the combined mode head and breast plate cannot be stored, it sort of defeats the purpose.

Wait, did you say combined mode?

Duh! It’s Brave.

ChoRyuJin

The combined mode of HyoRyu and EnRyu!

These guys basically split down the middle and stand on end, and then join with the other one to form a very unique looking combined form.

Again, you can store the ladder and crane on the hips, almost like a sword scabbard (as seen on the excellent Duke Fire), but alas, with no sword, they just make the figure insanely deep and limit display options, so I leave them out.

*Updated*
The Symmetrical-Docked form of HyoRyu and EnRyu, formed when their “SympaRate”, a measure of their synchronization and unity of purpose, reaches 100%. ChoRyuJin is a defensive specialist with his Mirror-Coating Chestplate (which he uses at the risk of his life) and ability to use the Eraser Head tool. He also possesses HyoRyu and EnRyu’s Gun, Rifle, and Tonfa attacks, usually used in “Double” form (firing from both sides at once). He can also fire all of his projectile weapons at once for a full-burst-style attack. After the initial Primeval attack, ChoRyuJin is retrofitted with the ability to fire Ul-Tech beams in place of heat or cold, which appear similar to most beam weapons in anime.

In technical specifications (and finally shown in FINAL), he also has the desperate final attack “Super Nova” – in which HyoRyu and EnRyu turn their respective dials to “Infinite” and simultaneously blast the enemy with their Chest attacks. Due to the placement of the chest plates on ChoRyuJin, he could not actually use this attack while Symmetrical-Docked, but it may imply that HyoRyu and EnRyu must have a similarly high SympaRate.

Transformers fans might find this combined form concept slightly familiar looking. It was one used in Transformers Animated for the combined mode of Jetstorm and Jetfire; Safeguard.

A lot of people would argue that while the show pulled it off, the toys didn’t manage to execute the look as cleanly as they might. One of the few disappointments of the TF:Animated line.

It just goes to show that even the most obscure of combining gimmicks, from a more obscure TV show with no real ties outside of a toy licensee, can go on to have impact over a decade later in the TF fandom. And that’s why I love this hobby, every single moment adds something to the overall tapestry of the brand. Mecha informs Transformers, Transformers inform Brave, inform Giant Robo Mecha, inform Transformers. It all comes full circle.

Thanks for reading!

Click here to see their brothers FuRyu and RaiRyu in a more recent article.

06 Apr 2016

As found at Botcon…

I have a small wants list for Botcon, I try to keep my options open though as you never know what might turn up.

Case in point: thirty minutes after arriving at the Botcon hotel in Kentucky, I find these…

G2 Dead-End

G2 Wildrider

G2 Streetwise

G2 Groove

20160405_223146
Megamus, who regularly hosts the Megatoyfan Parts Party at Botcon (room 1578 for those of you at Botcon) has these four UNRELEASED G2 figures available for sale. For the sum of $2,500 each.

Sadly, as incomplete sets, I feel buying these would commit me to hunting down and completing both sets, and given the rarity of G2 Motormaster and Hot-Spot, that could take a lifetime and a house deposit. I hope these end up in an amazing collection.

Amazing figures to see and hold in person, and in a fandom where the term “grail” gets thrown around a lot, these are true grails.

Thanks to Megamus for allowing me the chance to have a look at these extremely rare figures and to take photos. You can check out his Transformers for Your Listening Pleasure Podcast here.

23 Mar 2016

He’s on fire! The Inhuman Scorch.

Two days back, we took a look at Boss on this blog, today, we’re looking at Scorch, as part of a week long look at the Turbomasters cars, a quick one each day, and then a recap and group shots at the weekend. They are firmly G1, sometimes known as Euro G1.5 and occasionally mistaken for G2 figures. Some people know a few of the molds from Machine Wars and even the Universe line of repaints, but not all the molds have been re-used.

The Turbomaster Cars for instance, were released in 1992 in Europe by Hasbro, and they were also released by Takara as part of the Operation Combination series in Japan later the same year, but they never saw release in the United States, ever, and to date have never had any repaints, retools or reissues.

The gimmick for this series (other than Transforming, of course) was missiles! Lots and lots (and lots, seriously) of missiles. Their rivals are the Predators (sometimes called the Predator Jets, who we will be looking at next week) also has the same gimmick, but with much more generic – and fragile – launchers.

So, Scorch then…

He actually has one of the most awkward robot modes of the group, mostly because of a very unique transformation that rotates his front wheels up towards the top of his cab. His head is quite reminiscent of Armada Red Alert’s head and gives him a distinct look as a robot. His light-piping works to great effect and he had very powerful missile launchers, and comes with enough spare that you can clip them on to the side of the legs. Annoyingly, it was during the photo-shoot for this that I realised my Scorch pictured here, has the wrong missile-launcher. This has since been rectified.

As a truck, he should be fairly generic and boring looking vehicle, probably the most generic of the team. Luckily, a big-ass missile launcher and flame decals help, as everything with flames is 22.7% cooler, and he totally pulls this off. The real appeal of this guy comes with just how quick he is to transform back and forth, something which gets lost in the “super show accurate” complex transformations we find so often in the adult collectible field. As part of a play pattern, a kid could transform this guy sub 10 seconds without any risk of damage.

The central section on Scorch is prone to paint wear, as it’s actually all clear-pink molded plastic with the yellow bits painted on. Between this and the easily damaged fire pattern on the hood, it’s not always easy to get this guy in great condition, despite their relative cheapness in Europe.

This guy has had a few different re-names along the way; in some parts of mainline Europe he is known as Dragon, and in Japan where he was released with Shadow Jet / Falcon he was called Fire Road. Curiously, these releases under Operation Combination are considered completely separate characters to the European releases, and not just different names for the same characters.

Fireroad and Shadow Jet

I only actually realised while researching this blog post that his 2010 reimagining for Botcon saw him named Turbomaster – not the first time a subgroup name has been reused for a single figure (we’re looking at you Beast Wars Insecticon and Dinobot). Using the Classics Hound mold, the figure is a great little toy, but as a Scorch re-imagining it leaves a lot to be desired, mostly because the head-sculpt wasn’t changed and there wouldn’t be room for a proper sculpted Scorch head as part of the Hound toys transformation. As always; I was happy to see the re-imagining of an obscure figure into the wider CHUG line, but without his team-mates, he is just a floaty individual which doesn’t quite fit anywhere.

Next: He saved every one of us!

22 Mar 2016

Fans Project LER-04 Severo

I just got a brand new toy in to look at, the fourth in the Fans Project Lost Exo Realm; Severo.

I’m quite a fan of FP, I’ve been collecting their stuff since City Commander hit, and have bought pretty much everything they’ve released since then. Some would say the once undisputed kings of the 3P game have fallen from grace, thanks to Maketoys, MMC and Fans Toys, but another way of looking at it is that FP are keeping it real with their own design choices and aesthetic, rather than switching out to the fashionable choice of Masterpiece style.

Rear box artwork

Which leads to the question; in a world where most collectors have switched to MP, are the Lost Exo Realm figures needed as Dinobots?

Inside box flap

Lets look at the competition; Toyworld have finished their set which started strong and seemed to lose some along the way. G-Creation Shuraking are over half way through and seem to have really found their audience though there are rumours this might be their debut and swansong. Fans Toys keep on keeping on with their MP Iron Dibots, with just Stompy to finish the set and their own version of Grimlock as Grinder for those who no longer wish to keep MP08 (original or OS KO) wearing high-heels. Gigapower still seem intent on releasing their second offering, they might be missing the boat, but offer the biggest bots on the block to compensate. Last but not least we have the incredibly cool, solid and no drama Fall of Cybertron style figures from Planet X – all five of which are out and looking awesome, with an additional Paddles retool of Sludge for those that need the sixth member (which includes me).

Straight out of the packaging

(Side-note here to mention Iron Factory have a very cool offering on the way as well, but very much their own thing based on the War Within Dynobots and own scale, pre-orders now open)

A Throne fit for a King

So with all those in mind, do FP’s Dinos still have a place?

Let’s have a look at Severo, their version of Grimlock, and then make a decision.

Long Live the King, the King of Kings.

Usually, I’m quick to moan about figures packaged in robot mode; I think alt. mode packaging gives us a valuable fun first transformation (nearly always easier to unfold a figure without instructions than collapsing a robot back down), coupled with the actual reveal of the robot which harkens back to the promise of those original 80s toys: Robots in Disguise. With this figure, I will make an exception.

A throne fit for nothing.

He’s not the first Grimlock to come with a throne, even the official MP08 figure has had an official throne released, but the difference in quality is worlds apart; the FP version is a solid mold made of durable plastic with a quick wash to give it some texture and bring out the detail, and is also a two piece construction like the Hasbro offering, but screwed together. If you dropped a screw on the Hasbro version, it would probably tear through it.

Severo’s throne just looks cool, and the option to store weapons on the rear is a sensible one, especially with the Game of Thrones style sword arrangement. Even without the final figures released and only swords available, this works very well. Very cool FP, very cool indeed. I can see people buying the rest of the Dinos just to collect the swords to make this an amazing diorama. And yes, it includes a crown, slightly bigger than the MP08 version, which actually gives Severo a bit of a Jothri feel, making him look more petulant and dangerous.

His robot mode is exactly what you expect; big, strong, and angry-looking. This is a Grimlock that means business; more Marvel Comics than Sunbow animation – Blaster wouldn’t stand a chance. I wasn’t expecting it, but there is a nice bit of detailing on the back of his arms which gives a little nod to the War Within Grimlock robot mode (a personal favourite of mine and one I hope to own better executed than the Titanium), it’s little details like this that show the care and attention FP put into this guy, drawing on multiple versions of the character for inspiration. The head sculpt is interesting, managing to go classic and feral without the overly detailed “exposed teeth” design that has been popular for the character since Maximum Dinobots – I don’t miss it. He has chunky hips, but nothing distracting, I only mention it because stylistically he closest to the Toyworld re-imagining which – in my opinion – suffered from child bearing / combiner hips.

Melee-Master for the win

He comes with his popular G1 style gun and sword, as well as two massive extra miniguns which work really well on dinosaur mode. As is tradition with the retail release of the Exo-Realm, he has Target Master style companions, not one, but two. Pottao and Kottav are mean looking little bruisers that look like they could wipe the floor with most other Solerons. Each can become a melee weapon, but it’s when you combine the two together into it’s final Melee-Master form that you get a mace like weapon that totally suits old Grimmy. I mean Severo. No, I mean Grimlock, this guy is every inch Grimlock.

The transformation is fun, easy and instinctive, enough so that I have been able to do it without instructions both ways. Obviously, the transformation borrows a lot from previous Grimlocks, who mostly all follow the standard G1 transformation (except Pretender Classics and Don Fig’s CHUG update), which makes him a bit easier to handle ‘structions free, and the legs borrow more than a little from the MP offering.

So onto Dinosaur mode, how is he? Honestly, I feel like the neck is too long, and the tail too short. The neck is probably about right in all honesty, we just expect Grimmy to have a shorter neck due to the original toy and animation model, and I think it looks better than the Toyworld version in all modes for a comparison – as I felt that had a looong neck. The tail could have down with an extra fold to enable it to be longer whilst still storing in alt. mode, but it’s a small complaint. It also would have been nice if his claws were separately articulated like the MP, but this might be a good thing given how sharp they are. Also, I’m not a huge fan of the joints that hold his wings / dino upper chest in place, as they sort of stick up in dino mode, mostly because they double as weapon pegs and posting the miniguns in place does mitigate this look massively, but when un-weaponed they are noticeable, and for the sake of 3-4mm, then could still be functional and less obvious. Other than these complaints, he looks great in dino mode, especially with his team-mates.

So, does he fit in a collection? Absolutely, though it depends what you want him for. If you just wanted a single Grimlock all on it’s own; I recommend MP08 above this, as I love that toy a lot. However, toys don’t exist in a vacuum and Grimmy needs his team mates. If you’re looking for MP style, you currently cannot beat out Fans Toys. If you want combining Dinobots (always controversial to some in the fandom), there are other choices available. If you want stylised FOC guys, see Planet X because really, they are awesome and their Grimlock analogue Vulcan is extremely awesome.

Severo, Columpio, Velor, and Cubrar

However, if you want a decent re-imagined Dinobot team for your Classics Collection, then I feel that the FP Exo-Realm are the way to go. The CHUG figure is almost ten years old now (ye gods!), and wasn’t a great figure in its day and has remained all on his own for all that time (although, when you know it’s an update of Pretender Grimlock not G1 Grimlock it makes a lot more sense).

Solerons: Diaclone Drivers and Melee Masters.

The Lost Exo Realm are definitely more than the sum of their parts. Each release has bolstered the other releases and the closer we get to them being a team, the happier I am. Are they flawless? No. My Columpio needs wrist joints and I always want my Sludge’s to be bigger, and he still needs me to do the hip swap but the after-care replacement parts were at least provided. I don’t like Cubrar / Slag’s head and his Splinter Cell goggles, but the chrome horns really pop. I wish Volar / Swoop had more in the way of locking the legs into place and hiding his hands, but he comes with a choice of bodies and look at that wingspan!

4 down, 2 to go.

As a team of re-imagined Dinobots, these guys are the best game in town. Once you factor in all their weapons, their Melee-Master companions or Diaclone Driver tributes (depending on if you go for the regular releases or convention exclusives), and their choice of G1 or Diaclone colours, they really do become a set that will please most CHUG collectors. I look forward to their Snarl and their mysterious Fembot completing the team.

LER05 – ???

Severo is now in stock and available to order from Kapow Toys.

Posts Tagged: Transformers

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As found at Botcon…

He’s on fire! The Inhuman Scorch.

Fans Project LER-04 Severo

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