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I've played ROTF the game on my brand-new laptop, and I must say I'm impressed by it. Long Haul was one of the playable characters, which is, to say, very surprising. (Breakaway being included was even more surprising, though)
While Long Haul is not exactly toy-accurate (guns/flamethrowers instead of blades pop out of his wrists) I really like him and now I like the toy even more. Still, he's a bitch to get into his alternate mode, isn't he? It took me four tries to figure out how to transform his cab, even with the instructions.
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Cool - glad he's getting some decent exposure somewhere!Blackjack wrote:I've played ROTF the game on my brand-new laptop, and I must say I'm impressed by it. Long Haul was one of the playable characters, which is, to say, very surprising. (Breakaway being included was even more surprising, though)
While Long Haul is not exactly toy-accurate (guns/flamethrowers instead of blades pop out of his wrists) I really like him and now I like the toy even more. Still, he's a bitch to get into his alternate mode, isn't he? It took me four tries to figure out how to transform his cab, even with the instructions.
I actually found Long Haul to be very straighforward to transform - I thought he was remarkably simple and traditional for a Movieverse figure. However, it was a bit fiddly to get the legs to fold into the cab right the first time, I guess...
Yeah. Trudging around Egypt and randomly shooting stuff... that doesn't make much of a resume, but being the very first character that the player uses in the Decepticon campaign...numbat wrote:Cool - glad he's getting some decent exposure somewhere!
Too bad he gets so little screen time...
I want my Scrapper...
Straightforward, yes... But damn, is he fiddly. I can transform him without instructions now, though, and he is now one of my favourite figures, displayed alongside Demolishor, Rampage and Dirt Boss. (Haven't gotten 'round to getting a Mixmaster yet).I actually found Long Haul to be very straighforward to transform - I thought he was remarkably simple and traditional for a Movieverse figure. However, it was a bit fiddly to get the legs to fold into the cab right the first time, I guess...
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Transformer Kamen
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That actually didn't take as long as I thought it would; it helped you only had a few typos to fix, so thanks for that. 
I have to agree with ElectricGecko on the new toy thing, though only in the realm of preferring not to have any crappy toys regardless of whatever name Hasbro slaps on them to keep their trademarks.
I have to agree with ElectricGecko on the new toy thing, though only in the realm of preferring not to have any crappy toys regardless of whatever name Hasbro slaps on them to keep their trademarks.
Aye - I have him out with Demolishor and Mixmaster myself. If you find Long Haul to be fiddly, Mixmaster will be a nightmare (in fact, I think that's just the way he is - terribly frustrating, but quite cool... a contradiction!).Blackjack wrote:Straightforward, yes... But damn, is he fiddly. I can transform him without instructions now, though, and he is now one of my favourite figures, displayed alongside Demolishor, Rampage and Dirt Boss. (Haven't gotten 'round to getting a Mixmaster yet).
I want him too...Blackjack wrote:I want my Scrapper...
Really? Since this review didn't pass through the spell-checker... I was so bored writing about the first Minicon (Windrazor) that I put the review off for a week or so.
Guess my spelling's improving. Yay me!
Thanks for proofing. Pictures would be coming soon, but then that means I have to dig these guys out of whatever cracks they have fallen into. Treadshot, Crosshairs, Scavenger and Overcharge are weaving in and out of the displays in my room, Longview and Sky Shadow're hanging out on top of Metroplex, but the others have disappeared to who knows where.
Guess my spelling's improving. Yay me!
Thanks for proofing. Pictures would be coming soon, but then that means I have to dig these guys out of whatever cracks they have fallen into. Treadshot, Crosshairs, Scavenger and Overcharge are weaving in and out of the displays in my room, Longview and Sky Shadow're hanging out on top of Metroplex, but the others have disappeared to who knows where.
Hmm... since I'm not especially liking the Voyager Mixmaster's colours, I'll get the GEEWUN colours two-pack, and get Hoist thrown in as well. (Also, that means I also get to review the duo yay!numbat wrote:Aye - I have him out with Demolishor and Mixmaster myself. If you find Long Haul to be fiddly, Mixmaster will be a nightmare (in fact, I think that's just the way he is - terribly frustrating, but quite cool... a contradiction!).
)Hmmm... other than Hightower, Scrapper, Overload and Alice, who else in the movie didn't get made into a toy?
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ElectricGecko
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It really is that bad. We're not making it up. It's made worse by the fact that he COULD have been a reasonably cool toy if they gave a flying feck. Which they obviously didn't.Blackjack wrote:Is it that bad?
Oh dear God. The return of Evac (a guy forever doomed to exist as a repaint), only even crappier than before. Part of me dies inside.Paul053 wrote:Now we will have the repaint of him.
Eh, he wasn't always a repaint. Cybertron did an original mold for him. Two, actually... one Voyager and one legends. Those two, meanwhile, are doomed to be repainted.ElectricGecko wrote:Oh dear God. The return of Evac (a guy forever doomed to exist as a repaint), only even crappier than before. Part of me dies inside.
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Treadshot A1
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electro girl
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Analysis of Henkei! Henkei! Hot Shot/Hot Rod -- [PROOFED]
At art college I was tasked with analysing an object that would not normally be considered art and so I chose My Henkei Hot-shot. I was told this would count as a second review but feel free to shunt it into essay writing if you see fit.
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Henkei! Henkei! Hot Shot/Hot Rod is a Transformers toy and as such converts or ‘Transforms’ from a car to a robot and vice versa as is typical with most Transformers toys (although many robots will not necessarily transform into a vehicle). It was produced by the Japanese toy company TakaraTomy the business partners of the American toy company Hasbro who created the Transformers franchise from toys made by TakaraTomy. The toy was released in 2009 under the name Hot Rod in Japan and Hot Shot in the United States.
The main colour of the toy, and that which is most associated with the character, is a pale yellow which is more dominant in the toys car mode and serves to show it as a normal toy car and thus a disguise for the robot. This seems somewhat odd as few cars are this shade of yellow and the unusual colour may actually serve to draw attention to the car instead of blending it in with its environment as is the main function of a Transformers chosen ‘disguise’. This can give an ironic feel to the figure because in order for the car to maintain the function of a disguise it would be ideally nondescript. However for the toy to function as a character it must stand out in looks and personality and to function as a toy it must stand out to children with bright colours and shiny bits. When the toy is turned into a robot the colour red is prominent and shows the parts recognisable as those that would be seen on a robot. This relies on the pre-existence of a culture that recognises robots and in order to be perceived as robotic people must first have an idea of what robotic is. Without this previous knowledge of what robots look like in our culture these parts of the toy may simply be conceived as humanoid.
The toys texture is that of smooth plastic common in toy production but it is not completely flat as some areas are raised to show mechanical parts and other details.
The subject matter is the character of Hot Shot who first appeared in the part of the Transformers franchise known as Armada and its accompanying cartoon that ran from 2002-03. The toy itself is from the toy line known as Classics/Universe 2.0 which aims to represent former Transformers characters. So it can be said that the toy represents different parts of the Transformers brand, one that shows a part of Transformers history where the brand gained popularity among a different generation of fans and perhaps more importantly, toy buyers. And the other that shows the need to look back on all aspects of the Transformers brand aiming to appeal to Transformers fans rather than just the general public.
This shows that underneath all the nostalgia or desire to give attention to all Transformers continuities there is still an underlying agenda to sell toys and consequently make money for Hasbro and TakaraTomy. Even the subject matter is from a time when the aim was to make Transformers popular and profitable, much pressure was put on the armada cartoons production team to have episodes ready in time for kids to see the characters and then buy the toys at the expense of animation, narrative and dubbing quality. As was the aim with the original 1980’s cartoon the Armada cartoon was more so than other series a big toy advert and gave Transformers massive exposure. Because of this I find this figure a little bit witty as for me it serves to highlight the terrible TV show that potentially saved Transformers and at the same time it comments on current business practices surrounding Transformers such as the re-colouring, re-naming, re-packaging and re-releasing of certain figures and the movement of a figure from one toy line to another in order to make it more profitable.
There are different influences at work on this figure as it portrays the same character but within the different contexts of the Japanese and American versions of the character. The colour scheme of this toy is influenced by the television show and depicts the character as he appears there, as is the norm with Japanese versions from this toy line, it also has chromed parts, whereas the American toy shows the character as he first appeared in toy form in 2002 and has no chrome. Hence the subject matter appears within the context of Japanese society and culture and must be looked at as such. To me as a western user of this toy it portrays the Japanese as having a need within their toy culture to portray things a certain way e.g. "this is what the cartoon shows so that’s how the toy should look" and it makes me feel left out that western Transformers don’t get chrome. Compared to the toys western counterpart and its context that portrays the toy in an American way, it looks like the old American toy and references American fan-fiction. However it is interesting that the western fan interest in the Japanese toys has given them a different context to be viewed in. Because of the attention to detail of the cartoon shows, extra chrome and in this toys case extra weapons that were omitted from western release, these toys are generally seen as superior and represent a western discontent among fans with our own toy market by creating a demand and a toy culture among western Transformers fans were this discontent is shown by paying higher prices for imported toys, In my case buying the Japanese Hot Rod to use as a western Hot Shot because it’s better.
In conclusion I find that the artistic nature of Henkei! Henkei! Hot Rod/Hot Shot lies mainly in the context be it social, cultural, historical or economic as something as simple and insignificant as a child's toy can take on so many meanings to different people and says different things about different cultures and sections within those cultures.
_______________________________________________
Henkei! Henkei! Hot Shot/Hot Rod is a Transformers toy and as such converts or ‘Transforms’ from a car to a robot and vice versa as is typical with most Transformers toys (although many robots will not necessarily transform into a vehicle). It was produced by the Japanese toy company TakaraTomy the business partners of the American toy company Hasbro who created the Transformers franchise from toys made by TakaraTomy. The toy was released in 2009 under the name Hot Rod in Japan and Hot Shot in the United States.
The main colour of the toy, and that which is most associated with the character, is a pale yellow which is more dominant in the toys car mode and serves to show it as a normal toy car and thus a disguise for the robot. This seems somewhat odd as few cars are this shade of yellow and the unusual colour may actually serve to draw attention to the car instead of blending it in with its environment as is the main function of a Transformers chosen ‘disguise’. This can give an ironic feel to the figure because in order for the car to maintain the function of a disguise it would be ideally nondescript. However for the toy to function as a character it must stand out in looks and personality and to function as a toy it must stand out to children with bright colours and shiny bits. When the toy is turned into a robot the colour red is prominent and shows the parts recognisable as those that would be seen on a robot. This relies on the pre-existence of a culture that recognises robots and in order to be perceived as robotic people must first have an idea of what robotic is. Without this previous knowledge of what robots look like in our culture these parts of the toy may simply be conceived as humanoid.
The toys texture is that of smooth plastic common in toy production but it is not completely flat as some areas are raised to show mechanical parts and other details.
The subject matter is the character of Hot Shot who first appeared in the part of the Transformers franchise known as Armada and its accompanying cartoon that ran from 2002-03. The toy itself is from the toy line known as Classics/Universe 2.0 which aims to represent former Transformers characters. So it can be said that the toy represents different parts of the Transformers brand, one that shows a part of Transformers history where the brand gained popularity among a different generation of fans and perhaps more importantly, toy buyers. And the other that shows the need to look back on all aspects of the Transformers brand aiming to appeal to Transformers fans rather than just the general public.
This shows that underneath all the nostalgia or desire to give attention to all Transformers continuities there is still an underlying agenda to sell toys and consequently make money for Hasbro and TakaraTomy. Even the subject matter is from a time when the aim was to make Transformers popular and profitable, much pressure was put on the armada cartoons production team to have episodes ready in time for kids to see the characters and then buy the toys at the expense of animation, narrative and dubbing quality. As was the aim with the original 1980’s cartoon the Armada cartoon was more so than other series a big toy advert and gave Transformers massive exposure. Because of this I find this figure a little bit witty as for me it serves to highlight the terrible TV show that potentially saved Transformers and at the same time it comments on current business practices surrounding Transformers such as the re-colouring, re-naming, re-packaging and re-releasing of certain figures and the movement of a figure from one toy line to another in order to make it more profitable.
There are different influences at work on this figure as it portrays the same character but within the different contexts of the Japanese and American versions of the character. The colour scheme of this toy is influenced by the television show and depicts the character as he appears there, as is the norm with Japanese versions from this toy line, it also has chromed parts, whereas the American toy shows the character as he first appeared in toy form in 2002 and has no chrome. Hence the subject matter appears within the context of Japanese society and culture and must be looked at as such. To me as a western user of this toy it portrays the Japanese as having a need within their toy culture to portray things a certain way e.g. "this is what the cartoon shows so that’s how the toy should look" and it makes me feel left out that western Transformers don’t get chrome. Compared to the toys western counterpart and its context that portrays the toy in an American way, it looks like the old American toy and references American fan-fiction. However it is interesting that the western fan interest in the Japanese toys has given them a different context to be viewed in. Because of the attention to detail of the cartoon shows, extra chrome and in this toys case extra weapons that were omitted from western release, these toys are generally seen as superior and represent a western discontent among fans with our own toy market by creating a demand and a toy culture among western Transformers fans were this discontent is shown by paying higher prices for imported toys, In my case buying the Japanese Hot Rod to use as a western Hot Shot because it’s better.
In conclusion I find that the artistic nature of Henkei! Henkei! Hot Rod/Hot Shot lies mainly in the context be it social, cultural, historical or economic as something as simple and insignificant as a child's toy can take on so many meanings to different people and says different things about different cultures and sections within those cultures.
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A Chinese cartoon where the robots turn into blingwads!
A Chinese cartoon where the robots turn into blingwads!
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Knightdramon
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I think I've found my calling!