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Powercore Combiners LINE review
Suddenly have four combiners and a few extra commanders with all the great sales on PCC stuff lately.
I was disappointed when the limbs were revealed to be drones without vehicle/robot modes, but legends class combiner toys aren't very good (see: legends Devastator). Four scouts & a deluxe would be amazing but I understand Hasbro not wanting to put that kind of money in a concept. Even as "cheaper" and "value" toys the PCC seem to shelf-warming. It's a bit of shame because in terms of play value I think these are great for kids.
When executed well, the PCC gimmick is very cool. Bombshack w/Combaticons is a terrific gestalt. The problem is that he's only 1 of 4 initial 5-packs that actually succeeds. SkyBurst is mediocre in all three of his modes. Mudslinger is... okay but the bright green is totally at odds with all four of his tan/brown/red/white limbs. I don't have DoubleClutch but most people have reported bad engineering and QC. I don't find him or his drones overly attractive or appealing in pictures or in the store.
The commander 2packs have fared better, I think, especially the wave 2 ones. Sledge, IcePick and Leadfoot are all pretty fun individual toys and all three make good torsos (I think Sledge is the best). I have the CrankCase repaint of Huffer, since I didn't like the colors on Huffer, and it's a great toy with three good modes. The gestalt head HUGELY reminds me of Menasor and the Destron/CrankCase team is amazing in terms of color scheme and looking badass. Stakeout looks much better than Smolder and the Protectobots are cool. The only one I don't dig on is the helicopter one; he looks ugly and the upcoming repaint looks lousy as well.
The upcoming stuff looks even better. The new commanders all look excellent and both Dinobot and Constructicon sets look really creative, fun, and interesting. It looks like the design team is really getting into it as they do more...
As a whole, I think the PCC line is a great idea flawed by poor execution. And with such a small line, that's a real shame since to this point over half the toys have not been successful WITH THE GIMMICK. The entire point is combination. Ideally I want a commander toy that is great in all three modes (Huffer/CrankCase), but failing that go for great in combined (Bombshock - I know a lot of people like his robot mode, though). SkyBurst, Mudslinger and DoubleClutch are all poor. If they'd done Leadfoot with Rallybots and Sledge or IcePick with Destructicons you immediately improve the 5packs.
My only other gripe is unfortunate QC issues with my Destructicons but I don't know how widespread that is or if I just got a lemon set. Stupid dune buggy!
What does everybody else think of the line?
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