Prime - NYCC 2011 Arcee and Bumblebee

"Arcee is an accomplished, street smart and powerful fighter with little patience for those who don't know their way around a battlefield. Luckily, Bumblebee is as skilled as any other warrior in the Autobot army. Set loose on the streets of the big city with their human partners Raf and Jack, they're an unstoppable team in the defense of the planet."

Names: Arcee and Bumblebee (with Jack Darby and Raf Esquivel)

Faction: Autobot

Toy Line: Prime - First Edition (NYCC)

Continuity: Aligned

Arcee

Robot Mode

Arcee's robot mode is a mostly pink and white female form with some silver, black, grey and blue added to break up those colours.

Arcee's torso is made up mostly of her vehicle mode's bulk which includes having her seat as her abdomen, her headlights as her chest and even having the back of her seat as her tail/ass piece. Her windscreen, front wheel and handlebars are set up to just hang from her back behind her neck. Arcee's head is connected by a white neck piece that is connected by a ball joint, giving her the ability to rotate it up-down and side to side as needed. The actual head is made up mostly of a pink decorated helmet, featuring a frame around her face and a forehead chevron, her face is silver with sculpted feminine features like a mouth and thin chin. Her eyes are able to light up a bright blue thanks to her light-piping gimmick activated from the back of her head.

Arcee's arms are connected to the torso by a connector and ball joint combination, at the shoulder, which is hidden by a pink plate made from a side-piece from her vehicle mode. Her arms are very thin and white and features a pivoting joint under the shoulder guard, a pair of hinges to form her elbows as well as having a hinge on her wrist to allow her hands to be bent inwards or out. Her lower arms feature a small hole designed for her blade weapons, her hands are sculpted with thin fingers, but aren't able to hold anything.

Her legs are connected to her groin area by a ball joint that enables them to move as needed. Her knees are made of a hinge joint that is hidden behind a silver knee-plate leading to her lower leg, which is made of quite a large piece of her motorcycle mode's body, which also includes her split-apart rear wheel. Her feet are made up of small pieces of plastic that can only support her weight with the supports behind them (from the wheels)

Vehicle Mode

Arcee's vehicle mode is a pink and white motorcycle with some silver and black pieces and blue translucent windscreen and headlights. Her wheels are fully rotating (as you'd expect from modern toys) and she features several smaller pieces of detailing to make her more convincing.

If you don't have her blades attached like I have above she is able to stay upright by deploying her kickstand.

Accessories

Arcee comes with two pink and silver blades that clip into the round holes on her lower arms giving her an over-sized version of the blades she has in the cartoon. These blades are clipped onto the sides of her vehicle mode through a couple of smaller clips on the underside of the blades.

Bumblebee

Robot Mode

Bumblebee's robot mode is a mostly yellow and black masculine form with some silver, grey and blue pieces for detailing.

His torso is made of his car hood slit open and rotated to reveal his head, and also featuring several previously hiddenpieces from his vehicle mode (such as his abdomin piece and groin). His car doors and roof are reformed as his now iconic wings in this mode. His head is connected to his torso by a small ball jointed neck piece that allows him to move his head as needed. the head itself is made up mostly of his yellow helmet with chin-strap. This helmet features several ridges and the chin strap covers his mouth (as needed due to his lack of speech), his face is silver and features a sculpted nose and a pair of light-up eyes, which activate thanks to his light piping gimmick.

His arms are connected by a connector and pivot joint combination that uses the front wheels as shoulder pieces, covered by some more previously hiddenpieces. The upper and lower arms are connected by a ball joint each, creating an elbow as well. His lower arms feature holes for his blaster (or any other similar weapon), and the hands themselves are sculpted with fingers and a hidden peg hole for more weapons to be held if needed between the glasping hand, these hands are also able to bend inwards by about 90 degrees if desired.

Bumblebee's legs are connected to his groin by a a pair of pivoting ball joints that allow them to move as needed. His knees are created by a hinge joint, as like Arcee are hidden by a knee pad. The lower legs are mostly made up of the rear of his vehicle mode, including his rear wheels and windows. This of course makes Bumblebee very sound-standing and (shouldn't) fall over that much.

Vehicle Mode

Bumblebee's vehicle mode is a yellow and black sports car designed with a NYC Taxi motif, besides the taxi details this mode differs from the regular Bumblebee in a few ways, such as having a darker yellow and the black stripes being in different locations. His windows and headlights are made of a translucent blue plastic.

This mode also of course features several detailings common on car alternate modes now, such as wheels with hubcaps, eshaust pipes, side mirrors and more.

Accessories

Bumblebee comes with a single blaster that can clip onto his forearm, this seems a bit odd considering that the RID version comes with 2 blasters, one for each arm. This blaster can be stored in vehicle mode on a couple of clips found on the rear of his undercarriage.

My Final Thoughts

Arcee's colourscheme is of course meant to evoke the colours of G1 Arcee as well, whilst Bumblebee is just himself, but with an NYC Taxi design.

It's likely that this toy set influenced an episode in the Prime TV series which was set in New York city and involved Arcee and Bumblebee as well. The only differences though are that the Autobots stay in their normal colourschemes rather than taking on these new ones, Raf didn't go and was replaced by Miko, and they don't wear these different T-Shirts.

I personally really love this set, the alternate colourschemes used can make it very easy to recast these characters as ones other than Arcee and Bumblebee (so people who hate have doubles on characters can be happy too). The only problem you might have with these figures however is managing to find them, due to them being exclusives they're harder to find at a reasonable price on the after-market (I was lucky to find these guys at Auto Assembly 2012 for just £20 for the set though)

So in short, if you can find these guys for a reasonable price, then I'd suggest you buy them, but don't bankrupt yourself getting them, they aren't THAT great.

Universe - Prowl

"As the right hand man to Optimus Prime, Prowl is right at home in the thick of the battle against the new Decepticon armies. Confused Autobots are scattered across the universe, easy pickings for the gangs of more organized Decepticons. As a dedicated administrator and logician, Prowl feels it is his duty to whip them into shape, and get them ready for a fight. It's only a matter of time until the Decepticons get themselves a real leader, and the Autobots need to be ready."

Name: Prowl

Continuity: Generation One

Toy Line: Universe 2.0

Size Class: Deluxe

Faction: Autobot

Strength: 7

Speed: 7

Rank: 9

Firepower: 4

Intelligence: 9

Endurance: 9

Courage: 9

Skill: 9

Robot Mode

Prowl uses a mostly white masculine robot mode with black lowlights in some areas such as on the lower half of his torso, his lower "wings", knees, feet, lower arms and "collar". He also has some small red markings as highlights, such as on his legs, groin, chest and head chevron horns.

His torso is made up of most of the front of his vehicle mode, and with his windshield and front half of his roof on his back as some minor-kibble. He features a pair of shoulder missiles, homaging those he has in his G1 toy, and can be folded back if needed into his "back pack" depending on your personal preferences on his looks. His vehicle mode doors and sides of his front wheel's arch form his wing-kibble (which is much rounder than his G1 counterpart's was)

Prowl's head is connected to the torso by a pivoting joint on his "collar" that allows it to rotate on a full axis (exorcist style). The head itself consists of a white helmet with red forehead horns surrounding his white chevron, the helmet also features some sculpted details that are purely fro decoration, such as ridges and panels. His face is silver with sculpted mouth, nose and cheek-lines. His eyes are formed from a blue light-piping effect that is activated from a port on the back of his head.

Prowl's arms are attached to the main torso by a lever-hinge-pivot combination that leads to his shoulder-upper arm piece, which allows them to move as much as possibly needed (watching out for the wings of course). His front wheels are found on the backs of his shoulder pieces. The elbows are formed by a pivot-hinge combination that connects to the lower arm piece, allowing him to bend his arms inwards a little more than 90 degrees, and rotate on the pivot fully, if needed. His hands are connected to the lower arms by a clip that allows them to rotate fully as well. The hands are sculpted with non-moving fingers and a thumb that form around a peg hole designed to hold his supplied weapon, all ready for battle.

His legs are connected to his groin area by a pair of ball joints that give him a great amount of splits action, if wanted. His knee is created with another hinge-pivot combination that allows him to bend back his lower legs if needed (for when he's running away maybe). This knee-part connects to the larger lower leg parts by another hinge-style joint that can also fold back fully as well (mostly for transformation needs, not actually for posing...unless Prowl has four knees....) The lower legs are made from the rear of his vehicle mode and thus features his spoiler, exhaust pipes, back window etc. His feet are connected by a connector hidden behind the car parts and can be moved slightly by a bar it's connected to and thus can be placed on most surface types.

Alternate Mode

Prowl's alternate mode is a white and black police car based on his G1 incarnation's, but in a more modern style with red sirens, rear lights, front indicators and clear headlights. This mode also features some sculpted details like door handles, exhaust pipes, front grills, spoiler and other small details. The words "Highway Patrol" and "Police" are found on his doors. His windows feature an opaque black plastic that enables you to look inside, but not clearly.

His wheels are black plastic with sculpted tire-marks and a five-point spoke hubcap as well, which can move freely as needed across a smooth surface. His robot mode gun is found lodged in his undercarriage next to his head thanks to some small clips, but it doesn't hinder the wheel movement in any way (unless you place it in wrong)

My Final Thoughts

Prowl is actually quite a fun toy, definitely an improvement over the G1 version of his toy, so I would recommend buying him over the older version, he fits well with the other Classics-style figures (as you'd hope from a figure from that line). Also, despite being a different design, he still evokes the appearance of the older Prowl character model.

He's a little bit difficult to transform, especially if you're a bit young, but then again that's a trait of the figures released in this line, so they can have convincing looks in both modes.

This character model is used for Prowl's design in the All Hail Megatron storyline, and also in the IDW Ongoing series as well (albeit with some movie-like features in some places too) so he could easily be placed on any IDW shelf you might be making as well (if you do that)

Festive December - Soundwave

Soundwave

"It is said Soundwave can hear a fly sneeze. Uses anything he hears for blackmail to advance his status. Opportunist. Despised by all other Decepticons. Sensors can detect even lowest energy radio transmissions. Able to read minds by monitoring electrical brain impulses. Acts as radio link for others. Locates and identifies Autobots, then informs Decepticons. Carries a concussion blaster gun. Often target of retaliation by his comrades."

Generation: Generation One

Toyline: Classics 2007 Reissue Figure

Faction: Decepticon

Function: Communications

Quote: "Cries and screams are music to my ears."

Strength: 8

Intelligence: 9

Speed: 2

Endurance: 6

Rank: 8

Courage: 5

Fireblast: 6

Skill: 10

Robot Mode

Soundwave's robot mode is mainly blue and silver but also features several decals on various parts of his body, such as his shoulders and knees so as to add colour to the figure. Soundwave's chest is a clear window that can hold up to two of his cassette minions by opening it with the silver button on his left soldier. One of Soundwave's batteries from his alternate can be reused in this mode as a shoulder cannon for his right shoulder, it doesn't do anything, but you can open it up to hold his spare missiles if wanted. Soundwave's head is connected on a hinge and pivot joint combination that allows it to rotate at 360 degrees and further, plus also bending backwards as well so he can look upwards and see the sky falling if he wants to. His head is blue with a silver painted mouth plate and lowest segment of his sculpted forehead chevron, his visor-style optics are also painted yellow. Soundwave's head is also the basis for the Decepticon insignia in the toyline.

Soundwave's arms are connected to his upper torso by a metal connector on a hinge and pivot joint basis that allows them to be folded backwards as far as possible (about 90 degrees) and be rotated in a windmill fashion fully. His lower arms are able to bend forwards by about 90 degrees enabling him to create an elbow at the connection point. His hands are sculpted with non-moving fingers and both feature a peg hole designed to hold his blaster gun.

His legs are connected to his lower torso by two separate metal connectors that allow them to rotate sideways-outwards by about 90 degrees and to fold forwards by 90 degrees as well. Soundwave's knees are created by a standard pin joint that allows them to bend forwards (unlike human knees). His feet are metal and are folded outwards from his lower legs, which means they can be repositioned slightly as needed. Due to his feet being metal it makes his feet heavier than the upper body, thus meaning that he wont topple over from being top heavy when you reposition him.

Soundwave's two batteries are able to convert into two weapons for him, one of them turns into a shoulder cannon (as I mentioned before) and the other turns into his handheld weapon by just sliding out the middle section to give it a new shape and some more details and then inserting one of his three missiles into the hole at the barrel end. This blaster can be held in either hand by Soundwave.

Alternate Mode

Soundwave's alternate mode is a life-sized blue and silver micro-cassette player with a clear tape holder and several non working buttons. On his sides he also features a switch and a dial which, whilst able to move don't actually do anything. He also features several written words as labels for the tape player mode.

Soundwave's two weapons in robot mode are able to turn into a pair of batteries, which can be slotted into the rear section of the alternate mode and then hidden away with a battery cover. Soundwave's tape holder is able to open up by pushing the silver button on top and hold up to two cassettes (Laserbeak and Ravage in this set's case).

Ravage

Ravage is a mostly black jaguar in robot mode with silver details on his right hand side and chromed silver side rockets slotted into a hole near the back.

Ravage's legs aren't very good for balance, you need to have them perfectly even for him to stand upwards, otherwise he needs some form of support.

Ravage turns into a micro-cassette with detailings on one side that show a track system in the holes and other small details on the same side, and a small diagram of Fortress Maximus on that side, which if you place a red decoder strip on top of it it will reveal his weaknesses for Soundwave. (It's his right leg). On the other side he features a rub sign insignia.

Laserbeak

Laserbeak's robot mode is in the form of a red and black condor with silver rocket boosters on his back. His wings are able to move back and forth as far as possible whilst on a pivot joint system, as does his head when attached to his neck and torso by a pair of pivots again.

Unlike Ravage Laserbeak is fully capable of standing freely due to him having struts rather than normal legs.

Unlike Ravage, Laserbeak's alternate mode features details on both sides, although the only really noteworthy part is the ribbon image in between the two holes and a rub sign insignia located under that image.

My Thoughts

These figures, despite being from the very basic Generation One lines are actually quite fun, their alternate modes are very realistic (and mostly life size too) and even have some added features such as the opening tape holder or battery slots.

I like this particular version of Soundwave because he is actually a repaint of the Soundblaster version of the mold, meaning that he has a double sized chest cavity and he can hold two cassettes in it at a time.

My only real issues with this set are very common complaints for G1 figures, he has limited pose-ability, he requires a lot of parts removal for transformation (all three do) and other minor details, but overall this is a good set and would make a good present for anyone at Christmas time in my opinion.

Mini November - Micromaster Hot Rods

The Autobot Hot Rod Patrol

"Each possesses 16 cylinders of carbonic Autobot muscle! High-performance avengers have more rubber-burning speed that the fastest squad of Decepticons. Usually seem cruising up and down Earth beaches and boardwalks. Highly mischievous and adventurous, sometimes mistaken for Decepticon punks. Though preoccupied with fun, still able to quickly respond to emergency roadway situations. Able to spot dangerous Decepticon highway marauders using telescopic, kelvar-energized, localizer radar. Each car is protected by a geometric shield which deflects Decepticon photon disintegration beams. Courage and tenacity are the patrol's finest attributes."

Generation: Generation One

Toyline: Transformers Micromaster Patrols

Faction: Autobot

Function: Highway Reconnaissance

Team Motto: "The essence of speed relies on our power to perform!"

Strength: 6

Intelligence: 8

Speed: 8

Endurance: 10

Teamwork: 9

Courage: 9

Firepower: 8

Skill: 9

Big Daddy

Quote: "We can take Decepticons any time, anywhere!"

Big Daddy is a black and orange robot with red flame deco on his arms. His head is encased in a protective area (like Huffer and some others are). His actual head features a follow shevron on his orange helmet. He has a dark blue face that features a sculpted set of eyes, nose and mouth.

Big Daddy's arms are able to rotate on a pin joint fully and features a sculpted pair of hands on the insides as well.

His legs are connected to the torso by a pin through the groin that allows them to bend forwards and back somewhat. His lower legs are connected to the upper legs by a pin that creates a knee joint (though both legs are stuck together) the two lower legs can be moved separately, but only up to the point where the knee pin is found (meaning he can lift his leg up daintily if needed). He is kept upright by his feet, created from some outward plastic, stopping him from toppling over.

Big Daddy turns into a black Modified Chevrolet Bel Air Hot Rod Convertible with red flame deco on the sides and white-grey windows. His rear wheels are much larger than his front ones, so he is forced to dip down, but this doesn't hinder his driving on a smooth surface.

Big Daddy features all the expected sculptings for a car mode of his model, such as doors, rear lights, headlights, grills and other such things. Big Daddy also features some fins on the back that really over-accents his dipping appearance, making him look like he's dipping further than what he actually is.

Trip-Up

Quote: "If you're not driving to win, don't drive at all!"

Trip-Up is a white and green robot with blue flames on his arms and gold and black detailings on his body. Trip-Up's head is surrounded by a protective barrier of sorts (sort of like Huffer and Pipes'). His head has a green helmet with a large Mohawk type chevron on top (sort of like Ironhide's from the Cartoon). His face is painted white and has sculpted eyes, a nose and mouth.

Trip-Up's arms are connected by a pin on each side that allows them to rotate fully on that point. He features a sculpted hand on each arm on the inside.

His legs are able to be moved forwards by 90 degrees and back by 45 degrees by a pivot joint that connects it to the lower torso. His lower legs are connected to the upper ones by a pin on the knee area, which stitches the two legs together as well, meaning they have to move together, unless you fancy some mod work. The two lower legs can be moved separately, but only up to the point where the knee pin is found (meaning he can lift his leg up daintily if needed)

Trip-Up's vehicle mode is a white Ford Mustang Hot Rod car with gold windows and blue flame door deco. His rear wheels are larger than the front ones, meaning that he dips forwards somewhat, but despite that he doesn't obstruct himself whilst driving on a smooth surface.

Trip-Up also features several sculpted details like air vents, headlights, front grill, bumpers and much more. Trip-up also has the newest make of car out of the four members of this set, so he seems a bit out of place in this sense.

Greaser

Quote: "I dig watching Decepticons crack up after I cross the finish line first!"

Greaser's robot mode is an orange and black stubby robot with yellow flames on his arms and sides. Greaser's head is all black, except for his silver optical visor. He features a pair of horn-like ears, a noticeable helmet and sculpted nose and mouth..honestly his face reminds me of G1 Jazz's, maybe he's a fan?

Greaser's arms are connected to his torso by a pair of small pins that allows them to be rotated a little under 90 degrees downwards and they feature some lightly sculpted fingers. Greaser's legs are connected by a pivot joint that allows them to move forwards and back as needed. His lower legs are connected by a pin that allows his knees to bend forwards by about 90 degrees (thye are connected together though). He's able to stand stably due to the extension from the rear of his legs. The two lower legs can be moved separately, but only up to the point where the knee pin is found (meaning he can kick you in the shin at an awkward angle if wanted)

Greaser's weird....it looks like he was originally supposed to transform in the opposite direction but was changed pretty much last minute. His arms are very gimpy, his legs are clearly backwards, and the majority of his decoration is hanging off his back. It just seems to me that they must have originally planned for him to transform more similarly to Hubs, but was changed for some reason and this was what they were left with.

Greaser transforms into an orange Ford Deuce Coupe Hot Rod complete with larger than life engine block (which in fact ends up being higher than his actual roof).

He features a set of blue windows, yellow flame deco on his sides, sculpted doors, sun roof panel, headlights, wheel hubs, front grill, bumpers and all other expected car detailings for this model of vehicle. His wheels are able to fully rotate and he features a larger pair at the back, but unlike the rest of his team, this doesn't make his dip forwards that much.

Hubs

Quote: "I enjoy burnin' rubber over Decepticon metal."

Hubs is a green and white robot with orange flames on his arms. His face is red and is sculpted with a just visible mouth and eyes, and also has a sculpted forehead chevron and horns. His stubby arms are able to move on a pivot joint fully and feature a sculpted hand on the inside of each one.

Hubs' legs are connected to his lower torso by a pivot that allows them to move forwards by about 90 degrees (in 45 degree increments) and backwards by 45 degrees. His lower legs can fold back 180 degrees (for his transformation) but are stuck together by a pin which means they can't be split apart (unless you're willing to do some modifications). His feet are just some poking out plastic from the front that stops him from toppling over. The two lower legs can be moved separately, but only up to the point where the knee pin is found (meaning he can lift his leg up daintily if needed)

Hubs turns into a green Willys Coupe Hot Rod. He has larger wheels at the back of his vehicle mode that makes him slope forwards slightly.

His wheels are working and allow him to roll along a smooth surface with ease. He features a sculpted car boot on the back, a large hot rod engine at the front, blue windows, orange flames on his sculpted door panels, sculpted headlights, front grill, bumpers and other such expected things.

My Thoughts

Ah the Hot Rod patrol, a colourful, yet random collection of vehicles, whose only connection is that all four have exposed hot rod engines. Like most transformers sold in pairs/groups these guys have been gang molded in pairs (to save on production costs and plastic usage) Big Daddy and Greaser are one pair, with Trip-Up and Hubs beings the second one.

This team was mostly ignored for a long time, until Dreamwave decided to use them as the main characters in the (painful) Micromasters mini-series, possibly the last fully completed series' from Dreamwave before they went down the pooper.

So far, only Big Daddy has received a new updated toy, in the form of his Movie toy counterpart (a repaint of Cybertron Downshift) which looks very close to the G1 version, so he could easily fit in with the aesthetic of the Classics line if needed. And something of note, the ROTF figure Hubcap looks quite a lot like Greaser (minus the flame deco) but seems to emulate Hubs' name...interesting....

I'd personally say that this team is well worth getting personally, and this is from someone who's not all that fond of the G1 toyline in general! They have fun looking alternate modes, they all look pretty good, and due to them being quite underused, they won't be on any scalping radars, so they shouldn't be too expensive (my complete boxed set was about £5 on ebay)

Mini November - Legends Trailcutter

Name: Trailcutter

Faction: Autobot

Toyline: Reveal the Shield

Generation: Generation One

Size Class: Legends

Strength: 8

Speed: 4

Rank: 7

Firepower: 5

Intelligence: 8

Endurance: 9

Courage: 7

Skill: 6

Robot Mode

Trailcutter's vehicle mode is predominantly black with a blue chest panel and silver and red highlights on his legs.

His torso is very basic in design (very appropriate for a G1 based figure) due to his very small toy size, and has a slightly portly build to him. His head is connected to the top of his torso on a pivot that can rotate upwarps by about 180 degrees. His head is sculpyed with a helmet, forehead chevron, mouth and chin. His visor is also sculpted, but also features some blue paint as well, making it more distinguishable from the rest of the face (his face could really have used some silver paint or something). Above his head is a silver device that is fictionally able to be re-purposed as his force-field generator.

Trailcutter's arms are connected to his upper torso by a hinge joint and a ball joint that allows them to bend backwards by about 90 degrees (if wanted) and rotated on the ball as much as needed. Due to his small toy class he doesn't feature any other joints for an elbow, however he does feature a set of sculpted hands, including fingers and a singular separate thumb.

His legs are connected to the torso at a groin area by a ball joint on either side that allows them to be spread outwards, kick forwards and back as needed. Again, like with the arms, he lacks a knee joint due to his size class, however he does have a pair of feet that are able to fold back on themselves (mostly for the Transformation sequence, but you can repose them slightly if needed to)

Trailcutter is a fairly sturdy figure as well, and despite his basic design and small format, he actually looks quite good as well, in my opinion any way.

Alternate Mode

Trailcutter's vehicle mode is a black camper van with a dark blue windscreen, gold headlights, silver grill and front bumper.

Trailcutter features sculpted windows on the rear section, side view mirrors, doors and other standard features on a van like this. His heat sensitive rub-sign insignia is found on the top of the back of this mode.

His wheels are sculpted with tire tracks and are free spinning, allowing him to roll along a smooth surface (aided by a lack of undercarriage kibble as well of course.

My Thoughts

Trailcutter is a very worthwhile figure to add to your collection, he's a long overdue update for one of the original toys, Trailbreaker (renamed for Trademark reasons). However Trailbreaker has also received some additional attempts at a new toy, such as the Overhaul/Leobreaker character from the Cybertron series (with Leobreaker even retaining the end of his name).

Additional toys that were originally going to be Trailbreaker's but were either repainted/renamed as other characters include Universe Spychanger Ironhide, Universe Deluxe Ratchet, and a remold of Alternators Hound (used instead for Rollbar and Swindle).

Trailbreaker (using his original name) has been appearing steadily in Transformers fiction for G1 media since his creation.

This figure, despite it's limited articulation and basic design is in fact quite a fun figure to play with, especially for young kids, or even just for a G1 fan who wants a new version of Trailbreaker, complete with almost intact name.

Rare Toy - Punch/Counterpunch

PLEASE NOTE: This review was originally written at an earlier date, so it might be outdated or lacking by my current standards



Punch

Counterpunch

“As the explosions roar and laser bursts slam into armor plating, Punch remains cool and aloof. It's a characteristic that his fellow Autobots envy during this time of war. However, buried in his processors deep below this false aura of composure, lurks a rampant paranoia with which the Autobot spy is in constant conflict. Recently his paranoia has become so intense that when in infiltration mode, Punch has started to black out due to immense fear. When he reboots he finds that he has no recollection of how he has completed the mission, but is always thankful that his Counterpunch persona has seemingly pursued the objective on its own.”

Role: Double Agent

Quote: “I fear my Decepticon Counterpart is nearby. Really nearby”

Strength: 6

Intelligence: 9

Speed: 8

Endurance: 6

Rank: 7

Courage: 10

Fireblast: 6

Skill: 9


Robot Mode



The robot mode for this figure is very complex, as there are 2 of them, though it's easy to convert between the 2, they both look very different

Both bodies are fully pose-able in their limbs, which includes elbows and shoulder joints for the arms, and knees and thigh joints on the legs. Both modes can also rotate their waists 360 degrees and reposition their feet for stability. The head can also rotate as well, also, the helmets on the head can tilt forwards and back to reveal the required head

The wrists on the hands can be twisted 360 degrees, but the fingers aren't articulated. However they have got plug holes so they can handle the supplied gun

The Decepticon side (Counterpunch) is mostly blue, red and black and has a red face and knight-helmet with a chevron on the forehead. The hands of this side are backwards however, so unless you remove them and then replace them manually, it will be backwards.

The Autobot side (Punch) is mostly blue, yellow and black and has a yellow face and more standard helmet. The feet in this mode aren't very supportive due to where the lower part of the leg is found in this robot mode


Alternate Mode



The alternate mode of this figure is a Lamborghini Galardo, one of the fast cars on Earth as of writing this.

The bulk of the car is blue with black speed lines on the side, air vents on the hood and windows. His wheel rims are red with red tires. He also has a speed-breaker on the roof and a spoiler on the back.

The car's headlights are painted over with the same blue paint as the rest of the car. His rear lights are a pale green on a mostly purple with silver highlights rear section (this gives him some added colour in Decepticon mode)

His licence plate reads P CNTR P, an obvious reference to his name Punch/Counterpunch

The wheels are able to role along the floor with some ease, as with most modern car alternate modes


Transformation

The transformation sequence IS complex, but not as hard as some other figures available with the Collector's Club. The Transformation from car to robot mode (either robot mode) is the more difficult part, and can be fiddly in places (like the connection of the chest/back/car hood to the internal clips or the rearrangement of the arms to look more comfortable.

The transformations from the robot modes to each other are relatively simple, and only require the rotation of the legs by about 90 degrees, repositioning the arms to better fit the opposite side, and tilting the helmet to reveal the different head


Accessories



Punch/Counterpunch comes with his exhaust pipe and speed breaker, the Exhaust pipe can become a small gun, or can "combine" with the speed breaker to create a larger gun (although the "combined" mode doesn't really work that well). The speed breaker can also be attacked to either mode's backs by the clips on their backs (also covering the opposite insignia at the same time)


Availability

Punch Counterpunch was release by Fun Publications in 2010 as one of the two purchase-only exclusive figures for the year, twice, and both times it sold out within a matter of hours. He cost me, including shipping costs about £59. The reason I got him that cheap, was because a bunch of UK fans grouped together and bought them as a bulk, and split the shipping and customs fees between us.


My Thoughts

Punch/Counterpunch's robot modes are great physical updates for the original version, and both sides have a great homage to the original toys by having the rub sign insignia stickers (which was a rarity to have on toys when this toy was released. The great articulation also helps with things as well. The two robot modes are both dissimilar enough to be mistaken for 2 different figures. The usage of this mold was perfect for this character

The car mode is perfect however, I can't find a fault with it at all. The colour-scheme is beautiful and complements well (ie the dark blue and black fit well together) and is also fun to play with in vehicle mode

The combined gun mode is fairly pitiful, which I rarely use myself, but I'm sure some do

Overall I think this figure is great, he has a great set of robot modes, car mode and character. He makes a good update for the original character from the 80's. So I strongly advise anyone who can (from a second party dealer now obviously) to buy one...or 3!

Rare Toy - Dion

PLEASE NOTE: This review was originally written at an earlier date, so it might be outdated or lacking by my current standards



Dion

"There was a time when Dion cared little for the echoes of war beginning to spread across his home world. Occasionally he'd opine on the feats of the new robots with flight capabilities, who he secretly envied, but otherwise turned a deaf audio receptor to the discussion about the start of what some were calling the second Cybertronian war. All that changed the day the war finally found him. The flying robots landed at the front door of the storage depot, led by the one called Megatron. Amicable at first, the encounter quickly turned for the worse when Megatron unleashed his full fury on the dockworkers and fled with that cycle's shipment of Energon.

When Dion awoke, he now was fully aware of what Megatron and the Decepticons were capable of, and having lost all that he had known, Dion decided to join the Elite Guard and now works to stop the Decepticons any way he can!"

Role: Infantry

Quote: "Efficiency makes you strong. Speed makes you lethal."

Strength: 7

Intelligence: 7

Speed: 9

Endurance: 8

Rank: 6

Courage: 9

Fireblast: 9

Skill: 8


Robot Mode



Dion's natural robot mode is very constrictive, his arms can't move very much because of the back kibble, and of course his eye's pipe-lighting gimmick is hindered as well, however it still looks good, and emulates the original character model for the character as well.

Since Dion is a straight repaint, he has no remoldings, but it should be noted that he uses the Japanese version of the toy (hence the weaponry) His head is quite well detailed, and comes with a visor that comes over his entire face

Dion's colour scheme is designed to look like his original colours, but better suited for this new mold. He's mostly orange with blue, white and black highlights as well, and also has a small Elite Guard insignia on his left shoulder, which I think is very nice

His legs can bed at the knees and the very top of the leg as well via hinges. His feet can also be repositioned for whatever surface he is to be set up on, as with most recent toys as well.

His arms are able to bend at the elbows as well by a hinge like with the legs, and the shoulder joints can be rotated forwards and sideways as well, however the back kibble restricts the movement of the arms, so it's nothing to take note of still. The hands aren't articulated, but can hold standard sized weapons, including the two guns that he comes with.



Now despite the limitations caused by the back kibble, you can get around this, by using this fan mode that is readily available. Basically, you remove the orange parts of the back kibble from the black clips on the back, and slide them into the opposite arm to where you removed them from (ie the part from the left of the back, goes on the right arm and vice-versa, this creates a "boxing mode" also, the two guns that come with him can be clipped into the now vacant back clips, to give him a set of over-the-shoulder cannon weapons.




Alternate Mode



Dion's alternate mode is of a Hot Rod style sports car with a stylized rear spoiler.

The car is mostly orange, but has a blue colour scheme at the front, covering most of the hood and bleeds onto the doors (which is partially designed as an Autobot insignia as well.

Dion has a white rim around the edge of the entire car with details all across it. The windows are partially see through, but the side windows are purely dark grey paint. His headlights are realistic looking, but his rear lights are just painted over

His wheels are able to turn, as with mode recent car Transformers, so he can roll around a table unaided (unless he's mis-transformed of course). His doors, can open in vehicle mode, but there's no where to go inside the car

Because this is the Japanese version of the mold, he has a portion missing from the rear bumper for the guns to sit, where they can be used as exhaust pipes (with the missiles acting as blue flames/smoke coming out of it)


Transformation

Dion is a bit fiddly to transform, but only because you have to be able to hold a few things at the same time for either mode. The most complicated part is having the groin area split apart, then flipping the part portion of the robot mode, whilst having to handle the back kibble and arms and keeping everything in place when transforming him


Accessories



Dion comes with quite a few accessories actually for a loose toy, he comes with two white and black guns, each with a clear blue missile that he can hold in robot mode or vehicle mode as needed, but the best part of the accessories section is his little Minicon/Micromaster buddy.....


Cop-Tur



"Many amongst the AUTOBOT forces consider COP-TUR to be something of a renegade. With his permanent slouch, gravelly voice, goonish chuckle, and crude sense of humor, many take him to be little more than a dim-bulb thug and wonder why he's allowed to work alongside the Elite Guard. His commanders overlook his personality flaws because there's the brain of a mechanical genius whirring away inside that smirking bullet head. He's an expert in customizing Cybertronian anatomy, as well as designing more powerful, adept and efficient ELITE GUARD combat bodyforms to counter the escalating DECEPTICON threat. Top command figures it's better to keep him around, annoyances and all, than risk him turning to the DECEPTICONS."

Role: Mechanical Engineer

Cop-Tur is a small blue helicopter with some blue and orange parts (using some of Dion's colours of course) and is used to emulate the Go-Bots character of the same name. The robot mode is difficult to pose and is always in a slouching pose because of this, which is even referenced in the bio written above. His arms are able to bend at the elbows and can also rotate at the shoulder joints. His legs can also move at the upper-most parts to go in any direction. The helicopter propellers can also rotate by just turning/blowing them


Availability

Dion was made available as a membership incentive figure, given to all members who are active before Mid-March 2010 for free, and mine arrived about four months later in July. He was later made available on the Club's Online store

He is a pure repaint of the Japanese Henkei version of the Universe Hot Shot toy and comes with all the same accessories as that version but in new colours.


My Thoughts

I actually really enjoyed this figure, he was my first Club Incentive figure, and made a great addition to my collection (especially since I love obscure characters)

I love the redesign of this obscure character, especially since it's the first in the "free" toys that wasn't part of a set. I think his robot and vehicle mode are both well redesigned (deco wise etc)

However the Autobot insignias on his doors were marred by the unpaintable hinges which was annoying, since we have a nice, ornate blue Autobot insignia, with a bright orange blob in the middle, which is annoying

Another annoying thing with him, was that one of his legs and his head is prone to fall off, whilst I'm not sure if the leg thing is the same for all the copies of this figure, or if it is just mine, I do remember seeing a lot of complaints about the heads though, with one person even complaining about the head being absent in it's entirety!

The play value of this figure is quite high as well, especially if you do my fan-mode as well, since that increases his articulation somewhat, increasing his interactibility with other figures. Also because he's a recent car mode figure, he is able to roll out with the best of them, and fits with other recent car mode Transformers in a line up