Welcome to the board. Your reviews are great and we'd love to have you around, but there are some things you need to know before doing your next reviews...
First, we'd appreciate it if you'll say which toys exactly you'll be reviewing by posting in the Claims Thread. That way, we don't get too many duplicate reviews.
Second, please use the review format when writing your reviews. All three are fine, but the 'final scores' section need to be changed a little to follow the format.
"We will win if we believe in ourselves and our unity."
After his ultimate sacrifice to defeat Megatron, in which he became part of the core of Cybertron itself, Optimus Primal rose to the level of a mythic legend among the grateful populace of Cybertron. Now as the battle against the ancient monster planet known as Unicron has begun once again, Primus himself has called Optimus Primal to be brought back into action to help in the fight for the very survival of Cybertron. Optimus Primal represents a uniquely powerful fusion of the Maximal Forces' advanced technology with the raw power of their mighty Autobot ancestors. In this supercharged form Optimus Primal possesses unmatched strength among the techno-organic populace of Cybertron. His weaponry has also been upgraded significantly: He wields an impressive array of both long range and melee weapons including twin battle blades that can cut through solid rock, a vanadium steel reinforced mace, left arm retractable double barreled plasma cannon, and twin indepently targetable shoulder mounted missile launchers. Rear mounted jets give him flight capability. Energy receptors allow him to absorb much of the damage from energy-based attacks and rechannel it back at his enemies. Intelligence, experience, passion and skill are all crucial parts of what makes Optimus Primal a born leader of the Autobot cause. Serves as an inspiration to help others find their own strength to keep fighting despite the odds.
Optimus Primal was the Maximal leader in the Beast Wars. Then in Beast Machines, he was the hippie leader. He ended Megatron's reign when the both fell into the core of Cybertron. He thought he was done. Until he woke up. In a new body. Kind of.
Alternate Mode:
Looks familiar doesn't it? Well that's because this was his mould for his first gorilla body. The colors kinda fit together on him. Its a deep purple or brown, I can't really tell. His forearms are red with his fists being black. He also has a scar maybe running from mid back to his face that is silver with a red outline. You really can't pose him standing up because his monkey feet can't support it. Tear drop. You can also see the inside of his arm which stands out, as it is green. You can also see his thighs which are green and yellow. Enter the Jamaican. Not much to his beast mode though but its OK. Its just a beast mode.
Robot Mode:
From beast mode to robot mode, Ol' Boss Monkey changes. The main colors on him now are still deep purple (or is it brown?) with the added colors of green and yellow. If you ever asked my Transformer lovin' uncle, he would say the best thing on a figure is gimmicks. So you can imagine what he did when he first played with the first mould of this. To his arms first. If you open his right arm, it shall reveal to you a mace. Yes, a mace. He never once used one on the show but who cares, right? The mace head is dark green or maybe black and the handle is yellow. To his other arm. If you pull the tab up on his other arm, BAM! His dual cannon pops out. The missiles can't fit in there when its closed so Hasbro thought of the fans who would loose the missiles and put two slots behind his head where they can be stored. Moving to his back. If you press the little button on his back, BAM AGAIN! Two hidden missile launchers pop with the missiles being able to store with launchers. Also when you press that little black button, two yellow swords will most likely fall out. They can fit into his fits like it was meant to be. Also on his back is a lever type thing. If you move this lever, his arms will move with MONKEY THUMPING ACTION!!!! Like the first mold of this, he comes with his vampiric looking mutant face. Not really big on those. Its badly colored with black and yellow. Way to be Hasbro, way to be.
Marks out of ten for the following:
Transformation Design: 8. This guy is really simple to transform. Like really really easy. Durability: 7. This guy is very hard to break. But his gorilla head can come off really easy if you're not careful. Fun: 9. For me being old enough not to play with toys, it's always fun to mess around with him. Aesthetics: 7. I have him up on display so I don't find him bad. Of course other people might think otherwise. Articulation: 5. His beast mode really only has one pose. His robot mode can pose really good for a big guy. Value/Price: 5. I got this guy online for $15 with shipping and handling. It just depends where you see him. Overall: 10. I would get this guy if I didn't already have him. He's like the first mold with a new color.
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Heres a link below to see the figure seeing as how I don't have a camera to take and show the pictures.
Hi, I'm Cal. I thought I'd make my debut here with a review of the new Challenge at Cybertron set. Forgive me for not stating my claim on this review as protocol suggests, but this was written spontaneously and I'd be honoured if it is selected for uploading.
Young and bold, Rodimus races headlong into danger, throwing caution - and his orders - to the wind. He dreams of heroic deeds and hopes one day to gain the recognition his actions deserve. Despite his inexperience, he is a talented fighter. In battle, he can often be seen racing at speeds up to 180 miles per hour, dodging explosions and laser blasts in an attempt to close on his objective.
Rodimus - by night known as Hot Rod - was the first new character to appear in The Transformers: The Movie and remains one of the most iconic Transformers of the series. Designed to be a ‘futuristic’ car in the far-flung future of 2005, Rodimus was chosen to be among the first of Hasbro’s new Classics line to receive an updated version of his original toy to appeal to modern fans. With the release of the Challenge at Cybertron set, Rodimus returns in cartoon accurate colours, along with Galvatron and Cyclonus, as a homage to Transformers 2010. Let’s see how he fares.
ALTERNATE MODE
Rodimus transforms into a modified Dome Zero concept car with his traditional spoiler adorning the rear. The design is certainly slick, as many of the early Classics were updated versions of the characters’ original alt modes. The windows are now angled acutely on all sides towards the roof, giving the body a much more streamlined look. The exhaust pipes are retained on the side of the vehicle - by two instead of three - and the engine hood is faithfully recreated. Rodimus’ weapon pegs underneath the rear of the car to create a Batmobile-style exhaust, where his flame-shaped projectile can be slotted. It’s a clever use of weapon storage, creating the impression that Rodimus is tearing around your room faster than Blurr. The alt mode also features an ‘attack mode’ where the back section flips forward to aim Rodimus’ weapon ahead of him, but this looks so ridiculous that it’s best left forgotten.
While the design of the car is without fault, Hasbro’s choice of colours for this Challenge at Cybertron set is... well... abysmal. The main problem for this mode - and this is what everyone has been complaining about - is that the windows have been painted with an opaque light blue. I can’t imagine what possessed Hasbro to make such an odious change to the Classics deco, but the result ends up making Rodimus look like a KO instead of an official release. The worst part is that the paint obscures the interior, which boasts a pair of front seats and a dashboard. Furthermore, the colours throughout are over-saturated, especially at the front of the car where the new flame decal is virtually lost against the orange hood. Hasbro really needed to take a cue from Takara and give Rodimus the same shades as his Henkei release.
ROBOT MODE
Rodimus’ transformation isn’t difficult, but the result isn’t exactly rewarding. I don’t know how Fort_Max and Knightdramon awarded this toy a 9.5 and 10 respectively, because Rodimus’ robot mode is hideous! For starters, he’s way too short, owing to the fact that much of the vehicle’s bulk becomes ‘backpack kibble’. This is doubly problematic, as it puts the spoiler at an awkward distance from the back. Rodimus has blocky, stumpy excuses for legs, which have limited backwards articulation and look broken if you twist them any more than a few degrees from their original position. The worst part by far is the arms. Oh dear Primus, Rodimus’ arms probably set toy design back at least ten years! Like the legs, they’re badly disproportioned and have about as much articulation as a Minicon. The wrists don’t rotate, the elbows don’t rotate, and the shoulders can’t extend sideways. What really makes my blood boil is that the placement of the elbow pins makes it look like his arms are splitting in two if you bend them. Worse, the length of his gun means that Rodimus can’t bend his elbow any more than 45 degrees! Truly awful design.
I have to give Hasbro some credit here for the deco - it does look a bit better than the original release now that his unsightly windows are hidden from view. Apart from the shade of red, Rodimus is painted almost exactly like his cartoon counterpart. Brownish-grey now replaces the orange on his crest and hips, and light grey is used for his face and hands. This does have the advantage of making the face sculpt look less like an old man, as well as facilitating fans’ perception of his wrist communicator as Hot Rod’s buzzsaw. All of the black parts on the Classics toy have been replaced with dark grey, notably the entire front of Rodimus’ legs, which creates a much better impression of the dark boots he had in the cartoon. One thing that surprised me is that Rodimus’ light piping has been neutered and his eyes painted blue. This is an unfortunate drawback, since the light piping was designed to cleverly blend in with the front of the windshield in vehicle mode. Also, the weapon projectile has been painted with another opaque shade of blue, which looks weird since the part is molded out of orange plastic. All in all, while the robot mode deco does have its perks, it doesn’t excuse a poor design and just as poor a palette for the vehicle mode.
Marks out of ten for the following:
Transformation Design: 5 - Nothing complex here, but getting Rodimus’ legs back into place in vehicle mode requires a little force. Durability: 10 - A toy this blocky isn’t liable to break soon. Fun: 5 - The vehicle mode is a bit more fun than other Autobot cars with its flaming exhaust and *cough* attack mode, but the poor articulation in robot mode limits his poses. More for display than play. Aesthetics: 4 - Neither mode is terribly pretty to look at. The robot mode is too stocky and the alternate mode is too garish. Articulation: 2 - Bad Hasbro! Value: 8 - This gets a high score only because Rodimus is currently skyrocketing on eBay in anticipation of Fans Project’s Protector set. But given the deco’s shortcomings, it might be worth investing in another release. Overall: 4.5 - I didn’t like this toy when it was originally released, and I still don’t like it now. Hot Rod was one of my favourite character designs in the cartoon, and Hasbro could and should have done so much better with this remake. If you still want to add this toy to your collection, you’d be better off sticking with the Henkei release. Otherwise, save your money for when Masterpiece Rodimus Prime comes out.
Name: Galvatron Allegiance: Decepticon Function: Herald of Unicron
“My power is everything; defeat is absurd.”
Arrogant, powerful, and ruthless, Galvatorn has emerged to seize control of the scattered Decepticon forces. He has formed what was once a loose confederation of assassins and warlords and turned it into an army capable of threatening the entire universe. Rumors abound, but no one knows where he came from; they only know that he arrived, and swiftly crushed all opposition to his rule. Some Decepticons hope another leader powerful enough to challenge him will soon emerge, but most are too afraid of him to even hope for someone better.
Ah, Galvatron. One of the most notorious figures in the Universe line. Legends speak of a toy with a transformation so difficult, so frustrating that even the hardiest of men have broken down and wept before this almighty conqueror. The source of this tale stems from the designer’s supposed intention to release Galvatron as a Voyager class figure, before Hasbro decided against another Voyager tank and scaled him down to Deluxe size, leading to some design nightmares. I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, that this could be overlooked and Galvatron wasn’t as bad as people made him out to be. Well, as Ace Ventura would say, “Denial can be an ugly thing.”
ALTERNATE MODE
My first problem with this toy is the choice of alt mode: a tank. Like, how many of these have we seen for a Transformer already? Galvatron was originally a cannon, and to me that made him stand out because his alt mode is unique among Transformers and a sensible evolution of Megatron’s equally unique pistol mode. But now Galvatron disappears among the likes of Brawl and Blitzwing as just another tank in the crowd. In fairness, it was the designer’s original intention to make Galvatron a Ghost in the Shell-style crab tank, and a holdover of that concept remains in the small legs underneath the back, which can prop the tank up for an angled shot. But this looks absurd, not least because tanks can raise their main gun anyway. The overall design is fairly uninspired - it just looks like a box with a turret - and is almost completely devoid of paint applications, even lacking the GALV-25 decal from the original release. The tank is armed with a pair of rockets on each side, some kind of launcher at the back of the turret, and of course Galvatron's signature orange gun. One small point in the toy’s favour is that the hairline trigger features a flat disc, making it easier to press (and easier to accidentally set off during transformation). The main difference in this mode compared to the Universe release is that Galvatron comes in a lighter shade of grey, which I think looks marginally better than the original dull grey, although not everyone would agree with me.
ROBOT MODE
Like most of his evil schemes, Galvatron’s transformation is overwrought beyond belief. There are a bazillion parts that need shifted, spun, pegged and twisted into position to complete the robot mode. I like transformations that are involving, but half the time it feels like a chore and you have to wonder if it’s all really necessary. The worst part is that the transformation doesn’t allow enough clearance for the turret to swing around to form his right arm, which means it will either pop off on a poorly-designed sliding peg, or you’ll be fighting to get his backpack kibble around it in one piece. His left arm is also liable to coming off its ball joint because of how loose it is. I had to apply two coats of varnish just to tighten it up. In fact, that wasn’t the only fix Galvatron required. The slots at the back of the tank that attach to the sides were too thick on my toy, which means I had to file them down just so they could fit properly. Grrrr...
Galvatron’s robot mode is a thing of ugly. Only the head and torso bear any resemblance to the cartoon character; the rest of the design could belong to anyone. Gone are Galvatron’s rounded, silver legs from the show, replaced by blocky, disproportioned parodies that position the knees way too high. His lower legs are more than twice as long as his thighs! Although the level of leg articulation is decent, Galvatron’s poor balance cancels it out. Moving up, the face sculpt is even worse than Tankor’s, making him look like the ugly grandpa who always rants at you. The left arm is okay, but his firing arm is bulky and restrictive. Swivelling the cannon around to face forward means splitting the turret in two, but the cannon doesn’t peg anywhere, which means you have to try and wedge it between the two halves to try and stop it from flopping around uselessly.
Concerning the deco, the layout isn’t significantly different from the Universe version. Apart from the lighter colours, Hasbro retained the annoying use of orange on Galvatron’s wheels and hinges. His left shoulder now sports a purple Decepticon insignia, which is made visible against his shoulder by applying a white backdrop. The biggest boon of this release are the painted knees, employing the same red and black colours as the character model. While this looks slightly more attractive than the Universe toy, it’s still a far cry from how good the deco should be. Considering Rodimus and Cyclonus were coloured as cartoon-accurate as humanly possible, I wonder aloud why Hasbro didn’t invest the same attention to detail to Galvatron. His joints aren’t supposed to be orange, his left forearm isn’t supposed to be grey, and the colours on his legs are the wrong way around! Purple should surround the knees and grey for the shins, but Hasbro got this reversed. I also seem to recall Galvatron having black toes. But even if he was painted as faithfully to the show as anyone could manage, it still wouldn’t hide the ugly design, the poor articulation, the obscene transformation, and the all-around crapiness. As a wise man once said, “You can’t polish dog turd.”
Marks out of ten for the following:
Transformation Design: 1 - You will cry! Durability: 4 - Too many small moving parts make this a rather unstable toy, and those arms will pop off time and time again. Fun: 3 - A rather dull tank mode, awkward transformation and limited poseability. Aesthetics: 3 -Galvatron was mishandled right at the planning stage, not least because of the poor choice of alternate mode. A clunky, blocky, kibbletastic design. Articulation: 5 - The humungous right shoulder means Galvatron can’t aim in as many directions as you’d like him to, and his awkward balance hampers his leg articulation. Value: 5 - Not something I’d advise you to buy voluntarily, but he does come packed with two other Deluxes. Overall: 3.5 - Short of Tankor, Galvatron is probably the most ill-conceived toy of the line. It comes as a particular blow to me, considering Galvatron is my all-time favourite Transformers design. I can only hope that he gets selected to be the next Masterpiece, then Takara can revisit his classic cannon mode.
Constructed from the cast-off chassis of deactivated Decepticon warriors, Cyclonus was programmed by Unicron to be loyal only to Galvatron. Powered by nuclear engines and a small fragment of his creator’s supernatural power, Cyclonus wields enough might to sterilize the surface of an inhabited world by himself. He never unleashes this power without his commander’s leave, however, and he focuses all of his energy on ensuring that Galvatron is obeyed without question by those under his command.
Ah, this is what you’ve all been waiting for. The main reason for buying the Challenge at Cybertron set is to get your hands on Cyclonus who is, for once, painted in scrupulously cartoon-accurate colours. I’ve been wanting to get my hands on this toy since BotCon photos showed up online, but I couldn’t afford him up until now. Luckily the wait was well worth it, because this latest deco of the toy is by far and away the best.
ALTERNATE MODE
Cyclonus transforms into a hypersonic starfighter that is a perfect match for his on-screen appearance, right down to the twin lasers in front of the cockpit. The design is sleek and well-proportioned, sports a pair of machine guns on the side, and comes with full landing gear that puts the Seekers to shame. I particularly like the fact that the designers retained the needle nose instead of opting for a tapering fuselage like the G1 toy. It should be noted that the new colours means the wings appear to flow more smoothly from the main body, and Cyclonus’ head blends in better underneath. In this mode, his Targetmaster partner Nightstick can mount onto the roof of the jet, giving Cyclonus a bit of extra firepower to gun down those worthless Autobot vermin. One minor point against Cyclonus is that the design leaves a visible gap in between his legs, but it’s forgivable when it allows a much slender robot mode.
ROBOT MODE
Transforming Cyclonus is arguably the easiest of the three Challenge at Cybertron toys. The parts move intuitively and nothing is forced. One clever touch is that the legs extend by splitting vertically into two halves and reattaching below the knee. It’s nice to see designers thinking outside the box. In robot mode, Cyclonus could easily have been ripped off the screen and plopped on your desk. He is that accurate! Not only from the front, but from the back too; the cockpit retains the same placement and orientation as seen on the character model. Nightstick can also be stored here if you feel like giving Cyclonus a Brawl-like gun turret. You don’t even need to remove Nightstick during transformation. Otherwise, you can place him in Cyclonus’ right hand - only his right hand - or attach him to his wrist like in The Headmasters cartoon. Cyclonus’ proportions are superb and he stands a full head taller than most other Deluxes. I love the head design with his hard-edged face and red light-piping, giving Cyclonus a demonic gaze. He’s got good articulation, balance, and is far more poseable than any other jet in the line.
Unlike the Universe release, which was too dark, and the Henkei release, which was too bright, this Cyclonus comes in a smoky shade of purple with light grey as a secondary colour. It’s a palette I find more fitting for Decepticons, who appear more ominous in darker colours to distinguish themselves from the brighter Autobots. Some younger fans might find the muted colours a bit bland, but to G1 nuts this is the stuff of legend. Besides, the deco comes with a dash of orange and more saturated purple to help break up the colours, as well as the painted silver face from the Henkei release. Extra points for painting Cyclonus’ horns purple for the first time in any toy of the character. Some fans have pointed out that the thighs feature two different shades of grey, but honestly, it’s only noticeable if you look at them really closely under good lighting conditions. The only drawback to the deco is that the purple Decepticon symbol on the chest gets a little lost in the same way that Rodimus’ flames blend into the hood. Not really something worth complaining about.
NIGHTSTICK
Like Cyclonus, Nightstick is an excellent match for his cartoon appearance and features shoulder and elbow articulation. Because the barrel of his gun folds down behind him to form a third leg, he features significantly better balance than, say, Jolt. Nightstick is coloured almost exactly like his Henkei release, with metallic silver replacing the chrome legs. The main difference is that his face retains the gold paint from the Universe release. While this isn’t as faithful as the Henkei orange face, it does have the advantage of making the red goggles easier to distinguish. Personally, I like the colours.
Marks out of ten for the following:
Transformation: 8 - Apart from the fact that the legs don’t sit very well in jet mode, this is as clean a transformation as you can get. Durability: 9 - Doesn’t feel at all flimsy for a jet. Nothing likely to pop off. Fun: 10 - Having a Targetmaster on hand (or in hand) is a real treat. Both characters are faithful renditions of their cartoon appearance. Aesthetics: 10 - There's drool left on my keyboard from staring at this design online. The new deco is a fan's wet dream. Articulation: 8 - No waist articulation, but Cylonus’ spry legs make him quite poseable. Value: 10 - Considering Henkei Cyclonus costs an arm and a leg on eBay these days, you can get an even better Cyclonus for a bargain deal. Overall: 11! - Yes, an eleven. Kamen awarded a 10 in his review of the Universe version, and this is even better! Cyclonus is one of my favourite characters and I was enthralled when his design was revealed at BotCon. However I was a bit miffed that neither the Universe nor Henkei releases were painted with cartoon-accurate colours. Hasbro revised that and delivered the best Cyclonus in this or any other series. He is quite possibly my favourite Deluxe toy ever!
Wasn't sure where to put this thread, but I wanted to alert the webmasters of a problem with the toy review archive. http://www.tfarchive.com/toys/
Viewing this page on a computer is fine, but there seems to be a glitch when viewing it on a mobile device like an iPod. The scrollbars for each section do not display, meaning it's impossible to select any reviews that are not immediately visible. I hope this can be addressed soon. Ta.
How much did the whole set cost you? That Cyclonus looks glorious (even compared to the already-very-cool Universe deco) but I'm not sure I'm interested in owning yet another Rodimus or Galvatron if I'm going to end up paying close to full price for a deluxe for each of them.
Name: Soundwave Partner: Ratbat Allegiance: Decepticon Function: Sonic Warrior Motto: "Are you ready to rock?"
After a couple of years working alongside Laserbeak, Soundwave realized it was time for a change. His new partner, Ratbat, lets him lay down multiple tracks of sound at one time, creating frequencies that can do more than just control other robots. Now, Soundwave is into straight-up mind control. Using complex synth beats he can make people -- and even Autobots -- do whatever he wants.
I'm not very familiar with the Animated universe, because I was only able to watch the last half of the final season. Because of that I missed all of Soundwave's appearances, but the motto and profile that came with this toy is enough to tell me that this guy doesn't share much common ground with original character. That's fair enough, since his role as Megatron's favourite henchman seems to have been pretty much co-opted by Lugnut in this series. Animated Soundwave seems to be one of the wacky theme villains that the show used when it wasn't dealing with the primary Megatron-related plot that ran throughout the series. Soundwave's schtick is music, obviously, and that's completely fitting. Like the original, this Soundwave has animal minions to do his bidding. Instead of being cassettes, though, they now turn into musical instruments. The original toy came with a guitar Laserbeak and this one comes with a keytar Ratbat.
Alternate Mode: Soundwave's alternate mode was very, very familiar to me, but it wasn't until I actually held him in my hands that I realized why. He turns into a Scion xB, the same vehicle mode as Alternators Skids. The instructions call him an SUV, but he's actually more of a cube-shaped subcompact with room for four people and not much else. He's slightly modified from the real car, though, to dodge license fees and lawsuits. Most Animated vehicles are heavily stylized so that they fit in with the line's distinctive look, but Soundwave is actually a fairly realistic depiction of a real-life vehicle. That's probably because the xB looks pretty odd and cartoony to start with, so it didn't need much tweaking to fit in with the Animated look.
Soundwave's colour scheme is based on Soundblaster, a Japanese-exclusive redeco of the original toy that was released in 1987. His main colour is a very dark greyish blue, with translucent red windows and red, gold and silver paint highlights. He has a gold Decepticon badge on his hood and his grille is painted silver and shaped to resemble the tape deck controls on the original Soundwave. His doors have faux tape player spools molded onto them, and his hood, roof and rear fenders all feature generic red deco patterns. He's actually very pretty, and I definitely like this look over the blue and gold original version of this toy.
Robot Mode: The original Soundwave was probably the blockiest of the original Transformers, even more so than Optimus Prime. Because of that, translating him into an Animated design was always going to be a dicey prospect. As a huge Soundwave fan I appreciate the effort, but the design compromises necessary to make him look like Soundwave while at the same time making him look like an Animated toy are just too much.
Soundwave's main colour is the same grey-blue that you saw in vehicle mode. He has red highlights on his shoulders, forearms and knees, as well as a translucent red chest plate that's meant to evoke the original's tape-deck door. A set of silver play/pause/stop/rewind buttons right below it add to the look, along with a gold Decepticon badge and border around his chest plate. His head resembles a highly stylized and cartoony version of the traditional 'Soundwave' head, complete with a light-piped red visor and a light blue-grey faceplace.
Soundwave doesn't have much to brag about in the articulation department. In theory his ball-jointed elbows and universal-jointed shoulders should allow him a wide range of arm movement, but in practice he has so much kibble that they are pretty severely restricted. As a consequence of his transformation Soundwave has articulated wrists, which aren't very good for display but add a lot of value if you're posing him with Ratbat. Soundwave's head appears to be mounted on a ball-joint, but it can't move more than a fraction of a millimetre up or down so he's pretty much restricted to looking from side to side. His waist can rotate 360 degrees, but he's severely bow-legged, so his ball-jointed hips and knees can't be posed in nearly as many poses as they should be. In his normal stance his hips are spread apart almost as far as they'll go, and he won't stand very well if you try to push them together because he has no ankle articulation.
The whole package leaves me cold, as if I'm looking at G1 Soundwave reflected in a funhouse mirror -- my brain knows what Soundwave is 'supposed' to look like and something about this toy just doesn't compute. I feel the same way about most of the older characters who've been re-imagined for the Animated series, though, so take that with a grain of salt. I really do think that this toy would have worked a lot better if it wasn't trying so hard to be a slavish G1 homage. In that respect Revenge of the Fallen Soundwave is a much better re-imagining of the character, keeping just enough of the original to be recognizable but not afraid to do its' own thing.
Ratbat: The original version of this toy came with a Laserbeak that transformed into a guitar, but he's been dropped for the 'Electrostatic' version of Soundwave. Now he's paired with Ratbat, a keytar patterned after everyone's favourite G1 fuel auditor. And while Ratbat is recognizable as...well, Ratbat, his colour scheme is very different from the original. Mostly black, he features purple keys and has some red bar displays on his neck in keytar mode. He also features a gigantic bat's head at the end of his neck, looking for all the world like some sort of crazy instrument from hell designed by Ozzy Ozborne. That's the sort of thing I'll never quite get used to, because even though it looks cool it's obviously the result of Ratbat's designers not knowing what to do with his head and just saying "eh, it'll do". He looks really cool as an accessory to Soundwave in this mode, though, and he's pretty much the only thing that makes the bigger toy's robot mode worthwhile.
Ratbat features a very simple transformation (the keytar basically splits in half to form a bat) and almost no articulation (his head can rotate 360 degrees on the wrong axis and his wings can wiggle a bit). I expected as much from the get-go, but once I realized how big he was (almost as big as a Scout-class figure) I'm not quite so accepting of that. There's no reason he couldn't have been designed with better wing articulation, a proper neck or even functional feet. As it is he can't do much but stand there and look cool -- and he even has issues with that, because it's almost impossible to get him to peg into his mountings on Soundwave's roof or forearms, and he can't stand on his own unless you push his wings forward and let them hold his weight.
A new Ratbat toy doesn't have very far to go to make me happy, but this one falls pretty short of what I'd deem acceptable.
Marks out of ten for the following:
Transformation Design: Soundwave's transformation leaves him with a lot of kibble, and I don't think they were even trying with Ratbat. 4/10
Durability: Ratbat feels very flimsy. Soundwave appears to be as durable as your average modern Transformer, although mine has some issues with a few joints being too loose or too tight. 6/10
Fun: It's Soundwave! With a keytar! Unfortunately that's all it is, and the novelty wears off fairly quickly. 4/10
Aesthetics: Ratbat looks pretty cool, but Soundwave tries too hard to be GEEWUN and sort of falls on his face because of it. 4/10
Articulation: Soundwave has lots of joints, but too much kibble to really make use of them. Ratbat can't even that. 3/10
Price: I got them on clearance and I'm still not sure they're worth it. 4/10
Overall: Soundwave and Ratbat aren't the worst toys ever, but any stretch of the imagination. They're not very good, though. Unless you're a Soundwave fanboy (guilty as charged) or a hardcore Animated completist, there's no reason to own them. 4/10
The small scrollbars work beautifully in my brother's Nokia. With the Blackberry it's a bit of a challenge since the page moves up and down sometimes when you click on the mini-scrollbars...
Thing is, I've opened the review page with an iPhone previously, and the scrollbars work fine. Have you updated your iPod software? I'm not really well-versed with Apple hardware, but it might be a bug in the browser program...
The cheapest I've seen for this set is £35 at Auto Assembly. It was originally sold at the Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong convention, but is slated to be released as a Target exclusive. If you have Target stores in Canada, I suggest you sit and wait.
Blackjack wrote:Thing is, I've opened the review page with an iPhone previously, and the scrollbars work fine. Have you updated your iPod software? I'm not really well-versed with Apple hardware, but it might be a bug in the browser program...
Odd. I'm using an iPod Touch 2G running firmware 3.1.2. I daren't upgrade because of reports of battery and connection issues. What firmware are you running, Blackjack? The scrollbars don't load because the iPod Touch was never meant to display scrollbars on any web page in Safari. I've attached a screenshot so you can see that they are absent from review sections as well as the drop-down menu.
I've had the same issue on my Droid, although several times the scrollbar has eventually activated after a wait. Sometimes it just doesn't come up at all and I'm stuck looking at the first few entries for a category
You might be able to work around this by clicking inside the box you want to scroll (not on a link, obviously, but on the white space) and then scrolling up and down using your equivalent to up-down arrows. It's hardly ideal, but it might be a functional workaround.
Cal wrote:Odd. I'm using an iPod Touch 2G running firmware 3.1.2. I daren't upgrade because of reports of battery and connection issues. What firmware are you running, Blackjack? The scrollbars don't load because the iPod Touch was never meant to display scrollbars on any web page in Safari. I've attached a screenshot so you can see that they are absent from review sections as well as the drop-down menu.
No idea about my friend's iPhone, but I do know it's on a Safari browser program (the default one, right?). I'll check and come back to you on it if possible.
Warcry wrote:You might be able to work around this by clicking inside the box you want to scroll (not on a link, obviously, but on the white space) and then scrolling up and down using your equivalent to up-down arrows. It's hardly ideal, but it might be a functional workaround.
There are no up and down arrows on an iPod Touch. It's not a phone. And the scrollbars don't appear no matter how long I wait because they were never meant to display in Safari.
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