Size: Capsule
MSRP: NA
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Your favourite TF reviewer is (finally, let me say) on holiday, but this won’t take him away from introducing you to the Movie toy line!
Because I didn’t manage to take pictures for a complete gallery, for this time I’ll be using some official pictures, directly from www.transformers.com ; these “capsule” reviews are just an appetizer and are meant to give an idea about the toys.
Let me know what you think about this format, it could be used for some more frequent reviews. There you go!
Size: Leader
MSRP: $40
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Leader class Optimus Prime is a great transformer: massive, fun, with functional gimmicks and lots of personality. You should definitely get one as soon as possible, it probably holds the most value among all the Movie toys.
The upcoming blue & white Nightwatch Optimus Prime seems to be a valid alternative, but it’s much more on the Ultra Magnus side of the Force. Ehr.
PROS:
good detailing, original and involved transformation, working and interesting gimmicks, nice weapon, good articulation, long smokestacks
CONS:
weak ankles, no orange blade to be found, the robot mode is pretty unfaithful to the Movie character, weapon is not disguised at all in vehicle mode, rubber smokestacks, gap in the rear wheels’ section.
BUY?
Definitely Yeeees (best leader of them all, including repaints)
Size: Voyager
MSRP: $20
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Blackout is a fine example of the Movie’s new aesthetic approach: organic, highly detailed, yet not so humanoid as you’d like. Its gimmicks involve a mini-Scorponok figure and spinning rotor blades, both work very well.
Please not that in those official pictures its upper legs and waist are mistransformed.
PROS:
good detailing, original transformation, working and interesting gimmicks, faithful to the Movie character, massive weapon
CONS:
smaller and shorter than most Voyagers(Megas), Scorponok is basically unpainted, blades don’t stay as straight as you’d like, balance issues caused by a TOO massive weapon, better displayed than played with
BUY?
Definitely Yeeees (second best Voyager after Ironhide)
Size: Voyager
MSRP: $20
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Ironhide, like Blackout, shows where the Movie has taken the TF brand. Its legs’ automorph gimmick works fine, revealing some complex detailing. There’s a silly blue, gray and yellow repaint coming out in next months, I highly recommend this version instead. In robot mode, the only thing recalling its alternate mode is the shoulder panels, aint’ it cool? One of the best TFs ever, period.
PROS:
very good detailing, original transformation, working and interesting gimmicks, uber-cool weapons, taller and slender than on screen.
CONS:
a couple of parts could have used a better engineering, but it only depends if you are going to play with it, the automorph gimmick can be stubborn sometimes
BUY?
Definitely Yeeees (best Voyager of the whole line)
Size: Voyager
MSRP: $20
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Ratchet takes a character well known as a white ambulance to turn it into a green rescue vehicle. Moreover, you get 2 different shades of green. This sucks. Its future white and red repaint doesn’t seem to make a big difference, so you could as well get this one. Ok gimmicks, good transformation and disguise… at least!
PROS:
good disguise, original transformation, ok gimmicks, ok weapons, that’s quite similar to the on-screen character.
CONS:
proportions suck, half of its axe is unpainted, its colors suck big time: 2 different shades of green, for no reason at all… and its repaint WON’T be better!
BUY?
If you really have money to waste, get it on sale: it’s probably the worst Voyager of the whole line, by some distance.
Size: Deluxe
MSRP: $10
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Bonecrusher deserves to be purchased, if only for what he can give during his short screen time. Great detailing, original disguise and transformation, new gimmicks and a cool character make this one of the best deluxes ever. But it’s not so humanoid as many fans would like it to be, it’s almost… “experimental”.
PROS:
great and innovative disguise, original transformation, great and original gimmicks, very similar to the on-screen character, uber-cool.
CONS:
it could have been much better as a Voyager, proportions suck because of the “alien” theme and many fans won’t like it because of its pronounced diversity.
BUY?
If you like the new Movie aesthetics, you should get one as soon as possible. It’s probably the second best Movie deluxe after Bumblebee 2008 (the second, upcoming, model).
Size: Deluxe
MSRP: $10
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Barricade is a fundamental character for the first half of the movie and its toy makes him justice. It’s an evil, EVIL Decepticon, try to put this TF next to Powerlinx Armada Demolishor to get the difference…
PROS:
great disguise(IT’S A MUSTANG!), nice detailing and articulation, original transformation and a bonus Frenzy figure!
CONS:
boring gimmicks, Frenzy is actually nothing more than a chunk of plastic.
BUY?
I’d buy it for the character alone, but the awesome alternate mode also makes it a highly recommended purchase.
Size: Deluxe
MSRP: $10
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Swindle comes directly from the movie’s comic prequel and from the videogame and represents a drone, much better than a Decepti-clone, anyway.
I’d get it mainly to complete the “drone squad” with the future releases of Dreadwing and Payload.
PROS:
it’s a drone and you can see it, original transformation
CONS:
offensive and silly gimmick, very particular appearance that won’t please most old time fans, boring color scheme, parts don’t align very well in car mode.
BUY?
Not recommended, unless it’s on sale or you really love the VG’s drones.
Size: Deluxe
MSRP: $10
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Bumblebee is a nice toy on its own, though it doesn’t have any resemblance to what you see in the movie. REMEMBER TO HOLD DOWN THE BUTTON WHEN YOU CHANGE IT BACK TO CAR MODE, OTHERWISE THE AUTOMORPH GIMMICK WILL IRREVERSIBLY BREAK. If you are careful and keep the button pushed while moving the front part, nothing will break, trust me.
In the pictures above you can see both “classic” and “2008” versions, I highly suggest getting the latter.
PROS:
its character is half of the Movie by itself, nice color scheme
CONS:
awful feet, it doesn’t have any resemblance to the character you see in the movie and its upcoming 2008 version is MUCH better.
BUY?
Not recommended, unless it’s on sale. Wait some more weeks for the 2008 version.
Size: Deluxe
MSRP: $10
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Yeah, you get a TF that changes into a comet-like thingie. I personally like the idea and its transformation is not so simple as you may think, but I know it’s not for everybody. You could want it a little more if you got IDW’s movie prequel.
PROS:
iconic character, ok transformation, good detailing, original idea, very good articulation
CONS:
boring color scheme, bad weapon, Protoform Optimus Prime got a slightly better disguise
BUY?
most people won’t like the idea of a comet-TF, so it’s really up to you.
Size: Deluxe
MSRP: $10
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A Decepticon TF tank is always cool, but a Leader version is coming out veeeeeery soon (as shown, though mistransformed, in the last 2 pictures), so why should you get satisfied with such a small version?
This character deserves more. Fun toy, anyway.
PROS:
nice character, original transformation, heavily loaded with weapons, good detailing
CONS:
silly red missile killing the disguise (sigh), its main barrel can’t move vertically, useless shoulder panels won’t lock into place (unless you close the small panels on the turret against them to get some more stability)
BUY?
Nice deluxe, but I’d wait for the Leader version.
Transformers Movie: Final Battle Autobot Jazz
Size: Deluxe
MSRP: $10
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You want a piece o’me? You want a piece o’me? Yeah, we get… 3! Final Battle Jazz points of interest reside not as much in its battle damage as in the fact that in car mode there’s no difference!
Final Battle Jazz and a store exclusive G1-themed Jazz will come out soon, so pick up your favourite. A toy that’s more interesting than good.
PROS:
iconic character, good detailing, great disguise, original transformation, some cool ideas all around, nice weapon
CONS:
bad proportions, hindered articulation, originality is paid off with awful arms, car mode has no disguise for the weapon
BUY?
I’d get it on sale. The Final Battle version will have the weapon you have seen in the movie. You can always get and combine both versions to have a more faithful version… sigh.
Size: Deluxe
MSRP: $10
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Wreckage, the silent assassin, should have been a movie character, but it was left out of the cast, together with Arcee, beacuse of CG costs. I believe the Movie lost something, this guy is uber-cool. And its blades can be linked together to let Wreckage join the Dark side of the Matrix!
PROS:
original disguise, great use of the automorph gimmick, nice articulation, great proportions, not so strange as many other characters, very cool appearance, great accessories
CONS:
articulation has some issue at the hips and waist, not really a movie character, there’s a small panel that is quite hard to align to complete the transformation (right above its ass, basically)
BUY?
Great deluxe toy, highly recommended: even better than Bonecrusher, because its much more “traditional”.
Size: Deluxe
MSRP: $10
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Scorponok transforms just because it’s sold as a Transformer. Its interaction with Blackout works very well, even if it’s completely out of scale. A fun toy… and one of the most detailed TFs ever! If you ever bought Armada Sideswipe, you shouldn’t complain too much about Scorponok.
PROS:
AWESOME detailing, all gimmicks work fine, it can be “powerlinked” to Voyager Blackout as a huge minicon, its beast mode is so cool that you will forget about any other possible mode, very fun toy
CONS:
its robot mode is just a formality, don’t bother transforming it
BUY?
Great deluxe toy, but not a real TF: mildly recommended, highly recommended if you plan on getting Voyager Blackout
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessss.
That’s how it ends. I still don’t own Leader class Megatron or Protoform Optimus Prime, so they have been kept out of this “special”. I highly suggest to be patient and to wait for the upcoming new versions of most characters.
In case Charles was wondering: yes, I put my hands on the new Japanese exclusive microns, BWAHAHAHAHAH!
I wish you all to enjoy your summer, see you in 3 weeks!
Take care,
Rikkomba
