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It started as a toy commercial disguised as a T.V. show, much like G.I. JOE. It soon gained an enormous fan base and spun into Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Robots in Disguise, and Armada. Now enjoy some toys.
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-NEW-Microman Batman, Catwoman, Batgirl and Batman variant-NEW-
Yeah, this is a departure from my usual reviews of TF toys, but these things are too good NOT to mention. From the Japanese Microman series come these cool-looking and nicely articulated figures (30 pts) from the Batman comics. They may be small (maybe 3"?), but they're great nontheless. They all share the ability to pull off some nice poses. This is something I've wanted for sometime: DC characters (particularly Batman-related) with Marvel Legends-like articulation. They all come with various sets of different hand molds (fist, open to hold something, ect.) and Microman stands. Batman (current grey and classic black w/ orb): As you can guess, these two are the same deal, except for coloring and that the orb variant was packed with Batgirl. They both come with the same accessories: breathing mask, batarang, batcuffs, and grappling cannon, hook, and line.I normally don't get repaints of stuff I already have (Marvel Legends Classic and Symbiote Spideys being exceptions), but I'm satisfied. It would've been kinda nice of the capes were somehow moveable or maelable in some fashion, but I guess it wouldn't look as good.
Classic Batgirl: One downside to Batgirl is that she only has a suitcase. One would think she'd have a batarang or something, but she can always borrow from Bruce, heh heh. One thing that sets her apart from the Batman figures is that her cape (and hair) have hinges.
Current Catwoman: While I prefer the purple Catwoman costume to what she has now, this toy still looks good. She comes with an extra head (sans googles), boots with climbing spikes, and naturally, her trademark whip. My only complaint is that the whip couldn've been made of something other than rubber, so IT could be more poseable.
There is a Flightgear Batman, where he has chrome armor and wings, but I neglected to purchase that. I didn't much care for the color scheme or the gimmick. Though I might still end up buying it. Heh.
All in all, these toys are cool, though each having unique cons that, while should NOT discourage Bat-fans from getting they're mits on them, do get each of them an equal, and I think, fair score. A- (maybe if they were bigger...) |
-NEW-Alternators Swindle-NEW-
Part of the new wave of Transformers combining classic design and current articulation, Swindle is a yellow Jeep in his vehicle mode. He has great suspension and "drives" very well. Kinda takes ya back to playing with those old NORMAL toy cars, doesn't it? In robot mode, he maintains his yellow scheme with black and some chrome and purple (what kind of Decepticon would he be without purple?). His gun stores conveniently in the spare tire casing. Sure, that sounds like a good idea NOW, but when he gets a flat tire...
Anyhow, he's a good figure. Nicely poseable, and manages to make a yellow color scheme work (take THAT, Bumblebee!). A |
-NEW-Alternators Grimlock-NEW-
Everyone's favorite badass leader of the original Dinobots returns as a Ford Mustang (American made, baby!). As can be seen, Grimlocks Sedan mode is silver with a red interior and is nicely solid. As a robot, he maintains his classic head and sports two weapons: a double barreled gun (kept under the hood in car mode) and a unique addition I always enjoy, a sword. I just LOVE swords. While he's a great toy, well articulated, and a nice addition to and TransFan's collection, he was a pain to transform. Several times I was worried I was about to break him. A- |
Supercon Optimus Prime and Overrun
He's smaller than his big brother. He doesn't come with huge trailer, and he doesn't combine with anything to become Super Flashy Optimus Prime. And that's some of what makes this toy so cool. He's got a lot of good articulation all around, even though I think his legs are a bit too stiff and immobile at the hip area. He can make some really cool poses. Overrun is your standard MiniCon. Nothing overly good or bad about him. The cool thin about him though, is that he's a "triplechanger", of sorts. He transforms from jet to robot to gun. It's really nifty. And you can place the gun mode on two spots in Optimus' vehicle mode. It's super neat, and recommended. A- |
20th Anniversary Optimus Prime
A long-awaited milestone for Transformers fans. Highly articulated, a well thought-out transformation, cool accessories (energon axe and Megatron pistol), and nice features (moving mouthplate and light-up Matrix). While it's a sweet buy, it does have its flaws. The feet come off rather easily and the panels used to move the fists inside the arm are hard to open. Other than that, Prime is a solid toy utilizing classic TF design and current toy articulation. But, it'll set you back quite a few bills. A |
Supreme Optimus Primal
Originally meant for the Beast Machines line, the lackluster "success" of Supreme Cheetor made Hasbro hold off on this super-cool toy. Fortunately, they released him for the Robots in Disguise line. He's ultra-articulated! His hands and fingers alone have more areticulation than most early Beast Wars figures. Different sounds for different kinds of flight, spiffy firing sound effects, and nicely crafted to the likeness of Primal from Beast Machines. The only problem: One of his arms doesn't pose as well as the other for the punching gimmick. A half-plus. (He'd get the other half-plus if that arm were more poseable) |
Megabolt Megatron
Another BM toy released in the RiD line, this is a surprisingly cool toy. Nicely articulated, fun transformation, and he looks cool with that helmet. If the missile didn't fire so surprisingly from pressing the button, he would be even cooler, but no toy is perfect. A- |
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