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Old 12-14-2010, 09:51 PM   #1
RNSrobot
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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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Old 01-03-2011, 10:36 PM   #2
joshimus
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Re: Powercore Combiners LINE review

Imo, I hate this line. I bought the Combaticons and while I like Bombshocks robot mode only a bit, he makes a phenominal torso for a combiner BUT the allspark blue joints blow. My biggest issue is the limbs. Ok, so they don't have bot modes, I can deal. However I would rather have ME transform the limbs into something BETTER amd far more stable than what we got. As far as I am concerned, the limbs are a step BACK from G1 toys. Sure they were bricks back then but they held their own and looks like...limbs.
The only good thing is that I plan on using basic figs and modifying them to be the lims instead.
While I will say one thing, some of the minicons are pretty sweet. Searchlights minicon NOT withstanding (glad I returned them).
Now, I will also say I am partically biased as I own 4 single figs and Combaticons and pretty much don't care about what is coming next (except heavytread looks nice)
All in all, I agree that his line had potential and they just took it too far and ruined the fun it could have been.
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Old 01-03-2011, 10:41 PM   #3
shockwing
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Re: Powercore Combiners LINE review

I want proper Combiners back, ones were they all transform into robots then make a bigger robot
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Old 01-03-2011, 10:47 PM   #4
Matrix_Holder
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Re: Powercore Combiners LINE review

I really like the Dinobot , stunticon (Menasor with the autobot car limbs) combiner and bombshock packs. there is alot of QC problems with the line, like limbs not fitting securely or not transforming at all...plus I have had a few where the sockets are already stressed or cracked right through. There are some great figures in the line but I really don't see it lasting much longer.
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Old 01-03-2011, 11:17 PM   #5
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Re: Powercore Combiners LINE review

After messing around with Bombshock... I really do think the gimmick is kinda neat, and I like seeing it in motion...but it can be the most frustrating thing EVER when you're trying to get the gimmick to work.

I'll agree with the statement about these guys being proper combiners though.

Still, I can see the potential PCC has to offer, and with a little more ironing out...these guys could end up being pretty cool.

That said though, I'm no way in any hurry to buy any more of these any time soon...the Dinobots and Constructicons are high on my list, but...that's about it.
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Old 01-03-2011, 11:43 PM   #6
Larkhainan
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Re: Powercore Combiners LINE review

They need elbows and the allspark blue sucks, but I agree with you - tons of the two pack commanders are miles ahead of the five pack commanders. The whole line stinks of budget cuts and proof of concept prototypes going to the shelf.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shockwing View Post
I want proper Combiners back, ones were they all transform into robots then make a bigger robot
It would be nice, but even on sale, four scouts (4x7) and one deluxe (1x10) is a much much higher price point than the PCCs. An entire line of those won't happen until they figure out how to work them into a major franchise again.
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Old 01-04-2011, 12:20 AM   #7
klez
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Re: Powercore Combiners LINE review

If you have problems with the limbs popping, trying applying tiny bit of instant glue on the four sides of the drones' connection port. I have the Bombshock w/Combaticons and the buggy feet likes to pop off before I fix it.

The thing with the connection is that it's only held by friction, but the connection is usually a joint you'll likely use in combine mode, and with a spring pushing on the connection, the limbs is easy to pop off.

As for a review, I have bombshock w/ Combaticons, smolder, and the 3 wave 2 2-packs. I like them, especially the the interchangable limbs idea, but I'm not sure where the line can go, given the waves of nice deluxes (HFTD, generations) competing each other. It does not help when there's only one good 5-pack for sometime (bombshock) and if you don't like repaints you won't get wave 3 5-packs and that limits the amount of limbs you'll get. I do plan on getting the wave 4 contructicons and dinobots for more limbs but it's going to be low on my list with RTS deluxes and new generations coming.

Last edited by klez; 01-04-2011 at 12:22 AM.
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