TransformMission Disorder Review

Newcomers TransformMission have released their first figure - a Masterpiece scaled version of Wildrider called Disorder. With a huge number of third party products hitting the market, is this one worth your hard earned cash?

Transformers Combiner Wars Deluxe Groove Prototype Review

MP-27 Masterpiece Ironhide

Introduction

Ever since July 2015, when Masterpiece Ironhide was sighted at Transformers Expo Taipei, Transformers fans have been waiting patiently to see just how good a job Takara Tomy had made of one of the fandoms favourite G1 characters. With it's recent release, we all finally get to make our own minds up as to whether or not Ironhide made the transition from cartoon to Masterpiece figure in one piece.

MP-26 - Masterpiece Road Rage

We all knew that Masterpiece Tracks would be repainted as one of the many versions of the mold that have been seen before but the repaint into Road Rage was not only a repaint but a slight remold to make the figure more feminine.

Road Rage was an eHobby exclusive release from around the start of the 21st century. It was a repaint of the original Tracks molds which itself has it's roots, like a lot of G1 Transformers toys, in Diaclone. Originally some of the European release of Tracks figures were actually reboxed red Diaclone toys. But Tracks was meant to be blue in the Transformers fiction and so the oddity that was red Diaclone Tracks in a Transformers box became legit when eHobby released Road Rage.

Anyway, let's see what we have got.

The standard Masterpiece box

The Contents

The box contains the usual plastic shell to hold the figure as well as the accessories. Sadly, unlike Tracks, you don't get a nice flight stand to go with the figure but luckily most Japanese flight stands work a treat and if you are lucky enough to have bought one of Takara Tomys new official flight stands then you will be rocking a 100% official display piece.

You don't get as much as Tracks this time

Once you remove the plastic shell you get to see the contents in the flesh, as it were. The figure comes with a new weapon which is an upscaled version of the weapon that came with the original Road Rage release. You also get a repaint of the Broadcast beatbox from the Tracks figure, this time it is Twincast. Also in the package is the same nosecone that came with Tracks and 2 sets of wing mirrors which can be applied to Road Rage to complete the vehicle mode look.

Personally I would love the wing mirrors to come attached to the vehicle to begin with. Trying to get them to sit securely in the holes for them is a challenge at best and an exercise in frustration at worst.

Everything out of the box

So with everything out of the box and the nasty wing mirrors kind of attached to the figure, let's see how the camera likes it.

Vehicle Mode

Yummy. I am loving the colour of this figure. 

Zoom Zoom

From the front the mold is still as impressive as it was when Tracks was released. The bonnet still doesn't quite sit flush for me and I haven't yet worked out if that is my fault or a fault of the mold but either way, it isn't too bad and certainly not a deal breaker.

Visible undercarriage is fine by me

Side on, the figure looks lovely. The red just seems to pop and, even though is not metallic like Tracks was, is still great to look at. When you consider how average a job the red paint work on Masterpiece Sideswipe was, you have to admire how wonderful this figure looks.

No junk in this trunk

From the rear the vehicle mode looks fantastic. I love how the dark colour of the grills hides the fact that a lot of robot mode is hangout out the bottom of the car. The sound choice of colour scheme creates the illusion of the car being a lot thinner than it actually is.

Still Zoom Zoom

Another shot from the front as the camera just seems to soak up this figure and it's lovely paintwork.

Robot Mode

The transformation to robot mode is identical to that of Tracks. There isn't much to complain about it once you have done it a few times. In fact, when you become familiar with the figure you will find yourself switching modes in a couple of minutes.

Road Rage is just as posable as Tracks and also benefits from these lovely feet which are really quite flexible and able to hold a pose that balances the whole of the figure with ease.

Balancing is not a problem for this figure

Look how much range those feet have

Flight Mode

So let's discuss the sore point that is the lack of flight stand. Tracks got one. Road Rage didn't. A part of me thinks this is something to do with Takara Tomy releasing their own official Transformers flight stand but that may just be my paranoia creeping in.

It's certainly worth getting a flight stand because this figure looks lovely in that mode.

 

The Differences

Let's take a closer look at the main differences between Road Rage and Tracks.

Firstly the face has been remolded to make it more similar to the original release and also more obviously feminine.

Compare this to the Tracks face sculpt to get an idea for just how much work was done to realise the Road Rage character facially.

It's really great to see Takara Tomy going to this length to differentiate the two characters.
 
Also, the thighs have been remolded to make Road Rage's more curvy and feminine.

Whereas Tracks thighs were kinda boring and traditional for a Transformer.

Once again, it's the little details like this that really make Road Rage stand out and not just another repaint.

Summary

For me, Road Rage is a much better figure than Tracks in a lot of ways. I love the face sculpt and the remolded thighs. For some reason they seem to fit the figures better than the original Track face and thighs.

The colour scheme works as we as Tracks but I do wish the red was metallic like the blue on Tracks. That kind of finish really shines when seen through the lens.

A flight stand would have been a great idea - if Tracks gets one then why doesn't Road Rage?

Other than that, it's a buy from me. In fact it's a buy twice from me as I liked it so much I want to display one in vehicle mode and one in robot mode.

Postscript

I always take more shots than I need to let's take a look at some of them.

Broadcast and Twincast

Something is not right here

Those damn wing mirrors just don't want to fit flush for me

Road Rage and Red Bobby

You can buy Road Rage, Bumblebee Red and other Masterpieces at Masterforce

Iron Factory IF EX-03S Scouts & Sniper Review

I didn't even know about this set until TFCon 2015, amazing given that a) the prototypes surfaced close to a year ago and b) I am drawn to Iron Factory product like a Davey is drawn to rum.

Following on from a damn good Overlord and their Ultra Magnus meisterwerk City Commander (review to drop), the dark lord wizards of tiny revisit a couple of existing toolings to bring us the IF EX-03S five pack. Soundwave, Ravage, Buzzsaw, Lazerbeak and a rather outnumbered Perceptor are presented for your Legends collecting needs.

'Ultra Magnus, a cursory evaluation of Decepticon capability indicates whoever stuck me in that box needs a slap'

Utilising the mold originally released as Sonictech (their riff on Blaster/Twincast) works far better than I imagined for Perceptor. The boxy look suits him fine and he has been given not just a unique chest but two heads should you wish to display him IDW sniper style.

Which I do, ta

His shoulder cannon is attached by a piece that plugs into the figure's back. This is also designed to accommodate a separate cannon that allows for a more G1 configuration. A word of caution. The shoulder cannon ball joints are tight. Be careful when swapping them out the first few times.

One criticism I have with this figure is that when fitting the weapon in his hand, due to two painted surfaces rubbing against one another, paint chipping is unavoidable. Should've left the gun handle or inner hand unpainted. Irritating.

He looks right at home with his mold mate and the changes made do the business defining him as his own character. Round this off with his sniperceptor rifle and a perfect colour scene and what was initially met with a 'Well, meh' swiftly changed to a 'Hell yeah'. Job done.

Soundwave then. Whether blindly loyal, self serving opportunist or jilted hippy commune founder, he's a big deal. The Decepticon Communications Officer, like Perceptor, gets his own (beautiful) head and chest as well as iconic shoulder cannon. And just like Perceptor the retooled parts, while minimal, do a spot on job of standing him apart. This is a good Soundwave. Just look at those glorious colours!

Articulation on this pair is identical and well up to scratch for Legends sized figures.  Ball joints, swivels and hinges are all where they need to be. And in keeping with Iron Factory's play pattern, both are dotted with 5mm ports to really amp up their armaments. The set comes with the arsenal you see below and more, all you're really missing is a little canoe and some budgie smugglers and you could totally recreate that beach scene in Commando.

OVERKILL 

Transformation is quick and simple though this is where using the Sonictech mold causes problems. It's just not a very good alt mode. It's IDW Spotlight Blaster accurate, but remains a box with legs on top. I can imagine Soundwave blasting out er.. soundwaves from those speakers, but Perceptor? Maybe A Brief History Of Time as he scorches through the battlefield. It helps that both characters have had recent, mobile depictions that deviate from their original (but powerfully iconic) alt modes but still.. poor. Not the shining light of the package.

Move along please, nothing to see here..

A little imagination though, goes a long way..

As seen above, Iron Factory releases often come with their own private armoury. These gun packs are from the City Commander release and separate into two shotguns, missile pods, a hand gun and a blast shield, just the ticket for beefing up these little buggers.

These gun packs are what you get with the IF EX-03S set. The shields here though, they're a little more involved..

.. and this is legit amazing. With ball jointed legs, a hinged neck and ball jointed head, you get a far more expressive birdbot than first thoughts might suggest. These two properly spark that 'YES! Here is why I am in this game' feeling I love about the hobby. Lazerbeak and Buzzsaw shields should not work but do so well.

 The rest of the guns double up as a flight stand. Yep. Wonderfully daft stuff.

Ah, and who might that be skulking in the background? Why, it's everyone's favourite espionage specialist and if you were reading Marvel, one of the very first Transformers to be introduced to our hungry little minds.

A four treaded Cybertronian anti aircraft artillery (..wut?! I miss cassettes too, but don't be fooled into thinking these can't interact with the big man) transforms into an adorably buff feline. Ravage looks fantastic, with some great options for poses and a sculpt full of character.

 

Ah yes, something about interaction. ASSEMBLE!

Brilliant

Ludicrous 

Stupid

Brilliant, ludicrous or just plain stupid, these are but a few of the options available to you in terms of using the minions/weapon packs to kit out their boss. This is one of my favourite aspects of the Iron Factory line. Pimping your figures with modular weaponry is an utter joy. Inadvertently creating a griffon combiner made my day.

'5 minutes. I leave you alone for 5 minutes'

In closing, this has been an absolute blast to review from start to finish. You get play and display options through the roof, some inspired takes on classic characters (the minions are superb) and in terms of bang for buck, a metric ton of bitesized fun that you're not going to get bored with anytime soon. The alt modes on the main figures are pretty rubbish but that gets eclipsed by everything else they have going for them. The Iron Factory line as a whole is hard to stop fiddling about with and this release might just top them all in that respect. Not bad for a bunch of retools and transformable shields. Highly recommended for Legends collectors or to anyone who just wants a great desktop toy.

Superior

Buy 'em here Iron Factory IF-EX03S 5 pack