Learning to Love Transformers Again.

The Top 5 Transformers of 2015. Apparently.

This year has been nuts, man. To do Transformers 2015 justice, try and imagine a party where everything you wanted was there, you're shirtless, drunk and slam dancing on the speakers loud and proud as your favourite tune blasts out, the hosts gleefully offering up a pie eyed night to remember for everyone. Yeah, that sums up this year in robots. Whatever your poison, that glass you've been drinking from has been kept richly filled.

Officially, Combiner Wars took whatever us 'orrible lot call 'Classics' these days and gave it a good kick up the arse, dropping the Special Teams of old into the mix as well as enjoyable takes on IDW favourites, not forgetting to tear the original mean green killing machine from the clutches of Third Parties to, ahem.. devastating effect.

Masterpiece saw its star in further ascent as A Listers such as Ultra Magnus, Thundercracker and Bumblebee rubbed shoulders with the likes of (hardly a B Lister) Tracks, Clampdown and Road Rage while the shadow of Japanese G1 loomed over all in the form of the victorious Star Saber.

And Third Party? Man, where do you start? Third Party went off like a Disneyland fireworks display, showering Classics, Legends and Masterpiece collectors alike with hugely expensive shimmering shiny bangs, often of the same character (Hello Snarl!) with plenty of de rigueur Mickey Mousing along the way.

Spare a moment for the almost (MMC Spartan), the maybe (Maketoys Rear End) and the nearly there (Masterpiece Star Saber) as cherry picking just five figures from a year brimming with such goodness was no easy task. So let's have it.

And please, debate away.



#5 Maketoys Cupola

I was initially utterly cold to Maketoys' Re:Master line. Didn't want to see them jump on the ever growing bandwagon of 3P Masterpiece imitators at the expense of why I loved them in the first place. Cos y'know, typical fan waaaaargh. That was until I got hold of Cupola and his streets ahead of the pack flava.

Heft, quality, sharp as a knife looks? Yeah this boy's packing all the good stuff.

Don't get me wrong, Cupola isn't a perfect figure for everybody. There's an inventive but divisive (Yay! Maketoys staple!) transformation at the figure's core and some frustratingly hindered articulation around the waist, but overall this is a hella classy take on Chromedome's retro futuristic look, and definitely the kind of unlicensed figure that can sit in the collection not as a placeholder but as the standard. A brilliant, strutting example of a company changing step and not missing a beat.



#4 DX9 Carry

Well for a start this all in one (no separate trailer here), Studio Ox inspired, Scratchgate pioneering, former turbo revving young punk actually came packaged in (a rarity these days) vehicle mode, giving the wonderful mass shifting transformation some actual justice first time round. Carry explodes from a modestly sized (think Voyager) Space Winnebago into a beautiful Masterpiece scaled, albeit not entirely styled robot via some nifty legwork and all the panels ever, delighting, confusing and annoying all in his wake. 'But where do I put him?', they scream. Top work, DX9.

Treading that thin line between brilliant and maddening, Carry then takes all this good stuff and drops an absolutely rubbish (it's too big to properly hold!) Targetmaster companion literally onto his windscreen which, along with some rough housing on the assembly line, created some unsightly vehicle mode blemishes for a good few folk. H'WHY, DX9?!

Make no mistake though, this is a barnstormer of a Transformer, marrying inventive engineering with stunning good looks and moves, creating a fresh and daring take on Rodimus Prime.


#3 MP-22 Ultra Magnus

'I've never seen anything this beautiful in the entire galaxy. Alright, give me the bomb.'
Ultra Magnus, Fight or Flee

That is what we're in this game for

It's all very '86 and '87 this list, isn't it? And Ultra Magnus almost jumped on it for one sole reason. It's a good reason though: That first impression upon unboxing him.

'I could kill a man with this', thought the not so young Mr Manfish when removing him from the plastic clamshell. Cold, cold metal weapon made into knockout robot man. Seriously, that initial oooomph was joyous. And it continues with the bruising look and size of the dude. Magnus is huge, an intimidating addition to any shelf and a blinding display piece.

Presence

There's a lot to buzzkill that rush though. I can't pretend that this is the most dynamic Masterpiece out there. I can't pretend that the top of the truck doesn't just hang off his ass. And I am damn sick of wanting to move his shoulders up one click higher.

But nor can I say that any of that actually matters a jot to me.  Some toys are all about presence, and this toy defines it. Then you have that wonderful, wonderful transformation which simply invites repeat visits, an intricately detailed Matrix chamber, two truly horrific representations of Daniel and Spike and the fact that staring me down as I type this is the most gloriously realised interpretation of Transformers: The Movie Ultra Magnus I could ever possibly hope for.

Even though he was a bit rubbish in it and Marvel UK Magnus was like, miles better.


#2 Combiner Wars Devastator

I couldn't not have this on the list, the sheer amount of fun this set has given me has been one of the best experiences I have had as a collector all year. Look at these guys!

Not to mention how this this beast of a release does such an effortless job of straddling some not inconsiderable Transformers real estate.

Happy New Year! Screw you Mixmaster!

At its heart this is nothing more than a great big set of dumb fun kids toys.
On its chest it wears size and on point retro cartoon stylings with pride (those headsculpts are incredible), inviting serious collectors to take a second look at it as viable Masterpiece material.
And on double fists are HasTak's middle fingers raised at the glut of unlicensed Devastators out there.

Indeed

There's some very nifty engineering masquerading beneath a veil of simplicity in Combiner Wars Devastator too. Like everything on this breakdown, there are also legitimate flaws to gripe about - lack of elbow articulation on the individuals, Mixmaster full stop.. - but what captured me is that in hand, Devastator is about that aforementioned heart first and foremost. Some real love went into bringing this to general release. Love for the character(s), love for the toys. And it's a fantastic set of toys. I defy anyone not to be giddy as all hell when combining the big bugger for the first time. It's an event that'll stay with you.


#1 Iron Factory Ex-04 City Commander

Yes I'm having two Ultra Magnii(?) in this list. Fight me. Deal with it.

And we're going from one of the biggest to one of the smallest, with this Legends scaled figure, based heavily (and brilliantly) on Robby Musso's IDW Spotlight design from all the way back in 2007(!). And mark my words son, this one is a giant killer.

Put simply, this is plastic crack. Rarely has Iron Factory's crowning achievement been far from these addicted fingers. He's the essence of the fiddle former distilled to its purest form, a toy that dares you to put it down knowing you'll be back minutes later to get another fix find another pose to put it in.

The transformation is pleasingly simple but effective, though with some tight tolerances at first, and I do bemoan the lack of functioning rear wheels, especially at the price point. But somehow these qualms fade into nothing when set against the intricate comic accurate sculpt, the surprisingly comprehensive articulation and the raft of modular weaponry the figure has to hand. I can comfortably say that this is the best Ultra Magnus figure I have ever owned.

And he's packed with gear. This little figure feels like its own Special Edition, the play value of the included guns being immense, something well worth mentioning as it is a staple play pattern of the majority of IF toys.

Iron Factory have made a bold statement of intent this year, almost single handedly cornering the Legends Class market, a scale I had no interest in before 2015, with a steady stream of high quality releases. City Commander however, trumps not just their own material but proves you don't need size to stand head and shoulders above everything else. 2016 might just belong to them.

Fully deserved

The Manfish has a new blog which can be read here. As always, buy your toys at Masterforce. Please?

Hasbro Combiner Wars Titan Class Devastator Review (Part 2)

How did I close the first part of this review? Something about ‘big fun toys’? Well holy hell, son. Come meet one of the biggest.

Devastator has a lot to answer for. Me being late for bed the past couple of nights. Daft drunken video messages. My massive unrelenting stupid smile. And a pictorial review that basically devolved into playtime.

So forgive me if I gush and rest assured I promise not to dance around the flaws.

We’ll get something out of the way straight off the bat though. Getting Devastator together was one of those moments that will keep me a fan of Transformers forever, as building up this gargantuan green giant was an utter joy. There’s a penny that drops when creating the legs and you’re rewarded with some inspired transformation that increases both height and stability via multiple locking mechanisms. This continues with the firmest torso this side of The Rock. Stuff just pegs and tabs and slots in everywhere on this thing. There’s some good design here and it results in an enormous combined form that isn’t coming apart without a fight. It’s easily the most solid gestalt I own. Official or otherwise.

And that solidity is actually a bit of an issue. The chest shield in particular tabs into no less than four slots on Devastator and likes to stay there. It also likes to stay together itself as you slot its wings into the central piece. So far, so good and no stress marks. But both invite the use of force. The same applies to Hook and Long Haul’s chest and torso combination. Myriad points of contact, all of which are so, so happy to be one and so, so reluctant to easily come apart.

Again, no issue thus far in separating them but your eyes might widen the first couple of times round.

Let’s have a proper look at Devastator. The face sculpt, as with the individuals, is a highlight.

Considering this is my third time round the block with a version of the definitive G1 gestalt (and only my first official punt at that), man are Hasbro doing it right. He’s got that cartoon look down. A towering colossus, his bulky torso attaches to legs that look like some twisted amalgamation of scaffolding, cement mixers and scoops. Arms that might need to be bigger. Maybe. PE and Shadow Fisher think so. Not convinced yet.

I’m no huge fan of the hands though and find myself bracing the wrist when rotating to stop them popping out. That swivel is seriously tight. Irritating.  I would have liked to see articulated fingers too. He also doesn’t hold the gun well. I mean, he does, but it doesn’t seem to slot in anywhere. He just grips it. Like I would. And I drop stuff all the time when people pose me at the bar.

He does the articulation thing pretty well though, as we’ll see later on. One thing of note is that the green plastics used are of two types, with a subtle difference in colour and feel. There’s a flexibility to one of these that I can’t decide is worrying or deliberate, and it may well be based on the size of the moving parts and the pressure that these might be subjected to.

Scrappers ‘foot’ for example. I’m not saying leave him in this walking pose but he can hold it and that’s down to the flex in the scoop. I'm siding with deliberate based on keeping the big bugger intact.

 In case you haven't twigged, Devastator is huge. 18 whole inches of huge. Here he is with his Combiner Wars friends and enemies. 

Like a photo at the disco with the school bully

If the definitively scaled collection is your aim, you may find Devastator to be no friend of yours. Although I do quite fancy his chances at edging into an MP display *drops bomb and walks away*

Articulation. Let's do this. Here he is demonstrating that Long Haul sounding like cocking a gun actually has a purpose rather than just being for show.

Show?

Purpose

 Setting him against a similar sized adversary yields plenty of rewards, eh?

Don’t leave him like this either. He’ll get a big head.

Don't though. I don't wanna wreck your awesome toys through drunken tomfoolery

 Continuing this you can also have a ton of fun with him by taking those insane cartoon mass shifting moments to new heights. Playtime. It kind of became inevitable.

That is indeed one of the most regarded and sought after Prime's a man can buy...

..serving his own damn purpose

Devastator is hands down impressive. There is far more going on under the hood than its initial simplicity and detractors give it credit for. A surprisingly robust six figure combiner, his full robot mode is a serious amount of fun to both toy about with and display. It just looks and feels immense. I have voiced concerns about how tightly he tabs together in areas, but this hasn’t caused me issues. And I really can’t emphasise enough just how much presence, character and ooomph the fella has.

3P’s abound (PE, Nonnef, Shadow Fisher, Dr Wu) are queuing up to pimp this set depending on your preference of improving the individual figures or the big guy himself. Takara are going more anime accurate in terms of colour, paint apps and adding further articulation to some of the core figures.  And it’s going to be a customiser’s wet dream. All of this is cool.

But taken on its own merits, Hasbro's Devastator set is an utter success. These are 30 year old legacy characters long overdue the official treatment and they have been given some serious love here. That '8+' on the box is fooling no 30+ year old walking down a toy aisle.

Big fun toys. I've said it before and I’ll say it again:

 It’s all I need. 

The first batch of Devastator sold out quickly but you can preorder our second batch arriving in about 4 weeks here.

The Japanese version is out in January 2016 but can be preordered here at a lovely price far below RRP.

Hasbro Combiner Wars Titan Class Devastator Review (Part 1)

Devastator.

A fan favourite if ever there was one. The myriad unofficial versions of the Constructicons are a testament to the less than jolly green giants enduring popularity. And not since the live action movie series’ namesake almost slapped his bollocks in John Turturro’s face has a combiner courted so much controversy as this Hasbro effort.

Clocking in at a massive 18 inches tall, this herculean robot first made headlines back in January 2015 after photobombing a bald German attending Nuremberg Toy Fair. Cries of ‘RUINED FOREVER’ as well as delighted purrings of anticipation quickly followed. The official reveal at New York Toy Fair crystallised feelings towards this giftset and it’s safe to say that the Constructicons’ debut split a lot of folk straight down the middle. Simplicity and size have taken precedent over complexity and articulation, the end result aiming to deliver the definitive Devastator at an affordable (comparative to his 3rd Party rivals at least) price point. But in doing so, have Hasbro delivered a true Titan class killer to the Combiner Wars or have these design choices simply poured liquid haterade upon a raging flame war?

Easy there. Let’s take a look at the Constructicons themselves first.

Scrapper and Scavenger

Packaged in vehicle mode, I was immediately taken aback by the size of the damn things. The second thing that hit me is how cartoony they are. Strong notes of 1985 melt into a lingering Sunbow finish. I’m drinking a vintage drop of Heavy Metal War aged in bleached VHS right here. This is a good feeling.

Hook and Long Haul

They’re not light either. In fact they feel pretty decent (it’s certainly a different type of plastic than normally used though) but those awful clip on wheels never look good anywhere, seem cheap as hell at this size and some silver rims on toys this big would’ve definitely helped offset that. It also appears that somebody forgot to colour Bonecrusher in. Although that is accurate.

Bonecrusher and Mixmaster

All of them, bar one, do a fantastic job at looking like they rolled out of the cartoon. I get that Hook takes some liberties (that suspicious purple block in the middle of the vehicle is fooling no one, son), hell they all do to some degree but Mixmaster is the anomaly here. Turning him into a frontloading cement mixer definitely flies in the face of the cartoon love fest the rest of them are having. I understand that this was to help create a stronger leg for Devastator, but ain’t nobody inviting Mixmaster to their alt mode party this weekend. Perfect Effect might have their own plans for that though. Them and about 8 million other guys. We’ll touch on the vultures circling as the review progresses.

No cake or vodka for you Mixmaster. Not now. Not ever.

In the meantime, these are all big badass construction vehicles. Long Haul in particular is a giant. I do lament the lack of functionality in these forms. What you do have is limited (Hook’s crane - it just goes up) or plain non-existent (Long Haul’s truck bed - fixed) but Kid Me wouldn’t mind. Kid Me would be too busy flipping Autobots with Scrapper’s scoop, swinging Scavenger’s shovel at volcano ceilings and generally just smashing them into stuff. Yeah, Kid Me..

Listen, they look good, they feel good and they evoke the cartoon all over your play space. Round 1 done and I am satisfied.

None of the transformations are a bother. Some, like Mixmaster’s sadly, are pretty uninspired and see the guy basically lying down for a kip. Others, like Scavenger and Bonecrusher are nicely involved. But crucially they’re easy to flip back and forth and that keeps a big part of Combiner Wars’ play pattern going. These are toys first and foremost and there’s no need to set aside a chunk of time to transform these Constructicons. A chunk of space, however..?

‘Scrapper, report!’

'All present or accounted for noble leader..'

This looks ace. There are flaws (oh, are there flaws) but getting this lot together for this shot was a blast. Hasbro have gone for the animated look writ large with plenty of nods to the original toys decals and colour layouts. It works. As a group on a shelf, man are they gonna look the part for you.

Scavenger

Easily one of the most posable Constructicons, Scavenger also succeeds in being one of the least compromised. Ball jointed all over the show he can rack in plenty of characterful poses and even with that ridiculous non face of his, that stuff you need to make it in life? 

He’s got it.

Mixmaster

Honestly? Utter garbage. His massive backside makes him slope back on weak hips, and he lacks the character the others have (this is important) to counter things like weak arm design.  

Dat ass..

Maybe he’s a slow burner – his face is evoking the Decepticon symbol in a big way but like his vehicle mode, this one is doing nothing for me. Dr Wu is actually cashing in (I'm as shocked as you are, my friend) on this weak link and making his own Mixmaster from scratch. It’ll likely cost at least half as much as this entire set too.

Long Haul

Remember when Cartman went full BEEFCAAAAAAAAAAAKE? Someone else did as well.
The size of this one is staggering. The size and shape and the noises it makes. It's like cocking a gun when you move his hips. There are some glaring issues. His arms are ridiculous affairs that articulate sideways at the elbow. It doesn’t matter. This is one you need in hand to make sense of. Pictures, maestro!

Hugs for all!

Hugs and death

Bonecrusher

The best transformation brings (technically) the best overall figure in the set to the table. One that is wearing a big green onesie. Hey, it’s accurate! Reports abound of poorly locking hip tabs are not an issue on mine and I can see it being more of a mistransformation issue than a design flaw. Or I got really, really lucky. Another brilliant headsculpt and as with Scavenger ball joints aplenty, this is Bonecrusher ripped right out of the cartoon for your pleasure.

Hook

Even with the horrendous (and they are) compromises around the elbow section Hook almost gets away with it. Why? Presence. His snooty superiority complex sneers through this sculpt, particularly in that nailed down smug visage of his. There’s a trend here. You spotted it yet? He is hollow in the legs and arms though and it’s inescapable however you look at it. 

'I'll allow this. We all hate Mixmaster too'

But his articulation is surprisingly decent, allowing for some impressive leg and foot motion. A strong showing, and probably my overall favourite.

Scrapper

Probably a bit gorgeous

A wonderful looking robot, the cartoon influence shines through in a lovingly on point headsculpt, his colours and detailing are simple and crisp and then you get to his arms and you’re like, ‘Dude. Where’s My Elbows?!’ Like his brethren, Scrapper suffers from design elements cut by out Hasbro for financial reasons. And it blows. It does. Perfect Effect have got a set coming out that give him, Long Haul and Hook the full forearm makeover.

Though if you can get past this flaw, he is a great toy to look at, remains fun to play with and the one that actually sold the set to me in the Toy Fair reveal. Food for thought there. It’s not necessarily always about moving like Jagger when you’re born with swagger.

Passable

You two are carrying around the big guys bra. Stop it right now.

As we bring to a close Part 1, this is an ideal time to mention the upcoming Unite Warriors Takara release of Devastator in light of all these 3Ps smelling the blood in the water. As you can see, the Constructicons have to make do with Devastator’s combiner kibble as weaponry as opposed to their original guns. The Japanese release rectifies this and actually gives Scrapper and Long Haul fully functioning arms as well as breaking up Bonecrusher’s inner treads with some purple. It’s also expensive.

But.. and this is a big but, I did not expect to be this impressed with the domestic, no frills release. These are toys. Big fun toys. And sometimes you just want big fun toys. And today I am drowning in big fun toys. Hollow legs, dodgy arms, none of that has actually impeded the fun I am having today with this set. And if you like your Constructicons cartoon, I hope the pictures speak volumes.

'It's uncharismatic you pathetic little runts'

Next? Something about preparing for devastation.

The first batch of Devastator sold out quickly but you can preorder our second batch arriving in about 4 weeks here.

The Japanese version is out in January 2016 but can be preordered here at a lovely price far below RRP.