DOTM Toys. A Short review

[joshimus]

I'll be honest, since I found Voyager Prime at Sears a couple weeks ago and disliked it and took him back I found myself skeptical of this line. For starters, i'm not digging the Mechtech gimmick to begin with but was more surprised at how crappy a figure that version of Prime is.

Needless to say I did buy a fair bit today so I will do basic reviews of my thoughts on the particular figures. One thing I will mention is that while I can enjoy both modes it is the transformations that really make a toy for me. For example I love transforming HA Jazz or Leader Starscream and Generations Lugnut is fun to transform among others but those come to mind off the bat. A fun transformation makes a toy feel more than just a vehicle and robot mode for me. So lets begin the reviews

Start off with Autobots:
Leader Sentinel Prime
Ok, first and for most I dig both modes. I find it neat that his legs open and you put his arms inside for transformation however his transformation itself I don't enjoy. It's not particularily fun especially with the panels and such. As much as I loved ROTF Leader Prime he suffered the same issue. Looks great in both modes but not fun to transform.
I know a voyager one is being released but I plan on putting the Leader with the rest of my movie figs as he'll fit moreso than than a smaller one. So from that standpoint he was worth buying.

Cyberverse:
Prime - much better than the legends class and I actually dig this one a lot. I mean for a small size he has decent posability, gimmick doesn't interfer and his flaws dont bother me so much because I like his transformation as well.

Ironhide - Looks nice in both modes and transformation is pretty good BUT his arms pop off ALL THE TIME. Plus where the ball joint for the shoulder is makes him look stubby. He's ok at best not really a must buy. More interested in the Leader one anyway.

Sentinel - Yeah got that one too. Not bad overall but much like the larger one I dislike transforming him as the panels, even as little as he has, is annoying to line up. His sheild is the back part that you also need to line up and it's just annoying. Not bad but not a must buy.

Powerglide - Is pretty nifty. Nice transformation and looks good in both modes. Better than I expected. His feet look a bit silly though.

Decepticons:
Voyager Megatron
First off I was looking forward to this figure and while he doesn't disappoint he doesnt rock my boat either. His head feels a bit too small. His transformation is actually pretty good though and I really dig both modes and can't wait to start my repaint but he still looks good for those that don't paint their toys. I recomend him.

Starscream Deluxe:
Ok, big screamer fan so yeah I bought this one too. Nothing special, bit too whiteish but overall not bad for a deluxe though pretty simplistic. Don't care for his weapons at all. If you like Starscream then yes get him but if not he's passable. I have a shelf unit dedicated to Starscream and the seekers (thundercracker and Skywarp) so obviously i'll add this little guy too.
Again, not bad but not really something people should go crazy for.

Cyberverse:
Megatron - Smaller and more compact but kinda nice. His transformation is fun but his grill gets in the way too much. They could have lowered it a tad more and I may still do that at some point. His weapons are nice and overall i'm pretty happy with this little guy.

Blackout - Heard a lot of good reviews about this one and gotta say I agree. His transformation is done really well especially with the feet folding in and blending with the chopter mode. Scorpy is a small little thing, nothing special but makes for a fun little gun. I recomend him just because he is superior to the Legends verson and as a small figure is pretty darn nice.

Well that's about it. I passed on most of the deluxes and prefer Leader Ironhide. I'm kinda trying to buy less and will wait to see IF I like the Wreckers and Crankcase before I buy the figures....and on sale cause I never buy toys I "meh" want at full price. I don't mind full price for something great.

So that's my basic review. Cyberverse leaders are pretty good so far, didn't buy any of the smaller ones, and the line seems subpar at the moment, or maybe i'm just bored, I don't know. For the most part I recomend Voyager Megs and the cyberverse leaders (ironhide at your own risk as the arms do bug me)

[Matrix_Holder]

The only one that I want out of everything I have seen is
Cyberverse Powerglide...and that Tomahawk repaint for DOTM
Vortex, I hope he is not a Japan only TF
other than that I dislike the whole line thus far.
The figures are much smaller now because of that stupid mechtech crap,and now they cost more too
It looks like the only figures I'll buy from DOTM will be the repaints from the HFTD, Generations and RTS
lines. less money on DOTM means more money for 3rd party upgrades and that's just .

[digitalskull]

Of that line... Maybe 2 or 3 TOPS will make my shelves!!

[Scrapper6]

Originally Posted by Matrix_Holder

The only one that I want out of everything I have seen is
Cyberverse Powerglide...and that Tomahawk repaint for DOTM
Vortex, I hope he is not a Japan only TF
other than that I dislike the whole line thus far.
The figures are much smaller now because of that stupid mechtech crap,and now they cost more too
It looks like the only figures I'll buy from DOTM will be the repaints from the HFTD, Generations and RTS
lines. less money on DOTM means more money for 3rd party upgrades and that's just .

I've heard this complaint alot, but I have to wonder about it, people are complaining about the sizes of the figures compared to the earlier lines. I haven't seen any comparison pictures before now, but I just have to wonder, how much smaller are these toys and why exactly does it bother so many?

If it's only the price for plastic content factor I guess I would have to agree that some things are a bit unfortunate, however when I look at my deluxe figures I note a distinct pattern.

Sizes will fluctuate, compare the movie figures to the Armada figures, there is a definite size change, Armada deluxe scale figures are much bulkier looking and slightly taller than most Movie deluxe figures.

Now look at RID/BM/BW figures, with few exceptions the Beast Era deluxes are quite a bit shorter in comparison to most mainline deluxes which came out in the past five years.

But then we also have the old Beast Wars Mega's, before Voyagers came along the Mega Beast Wars figures were equivalent of slightly larger figures. But comparatively they are decidedly shorter.

I can understand why Hasbro stopped making such large Voyagers, that being said I certainly would prefer it if the size class would be phased out a bit, perhaps go back to calling them Megas and charge five to eight dollars less for them. Then again these new Mech Tech weapons seem to even out the price to plastic ratio.

It's a line wide gimmick, it is unfortunate that we seem to lose out on larger more impressively detailed figures, but on the flip side of that coin, too many figures like that and we'll start expecting Hasbro to top themselves time and time again.

But no matter how small these Voyagers look like or are, nothing can be as bad as Beast Machines Megatron, the Mega Dragon, nothing!

[Batman]

Voyager Megatron and deluxe Ratchet are awesome.

[jackwacko]

Voyager Ironhide:
Absolutely love the dude from the waist DOWN! his legs have that's just disgustingly awesome. The torso does make a sharper V chest than I'd wanted, but its not bad. The arms are on a very weird joint, but still gets the job done.

Mechtech:...its alright, I'm cool with spinning guns. Do make sure to check the the figure AND the gun when you're buying.

[Incepticon]

I was hoping to get lured into the DOTM stuff when all the displays came out today, but it turned out that I dislike the figures even more in person than I already did thanks to online pics & reviews. Seeing these things close up, I personally think the Mechtech gimmick kills them - mainly due to all the little holes & pegs visible on the figures. And the Voyagers... wow, they really DID shrink them down. I thought it was a bit of an exaggeration at first, but holding DOTM Prime next to ROTF Prime, it really IS a night & day difference size wise. It's like an all new size class, and I can now see how & why it would drive some collectors nuts.

Having said that, I'll probably still grab Leader Sentinel & Voyager Shockwave once they inevitably get clearenced to half price since I do like them. Hopefully at least another one or two are unveiled later that will also grab my interest.

[jackwacko]

Now my opinion is coming from buying a single figure (Voyager Ironhide, my first Ironhide ever), it probably won't reflect the entire line.

What I can say though is, while the figures are definitely smaller, they've become a lot smarter at using the parts. I've played with a Movie 1 Ironhide, and yes its a lot bigger, but its not a very sturdy toy at all. DOTM I.H though, while smaller in alt-mode, feels very solid and sturdy (with the except of the chest).

Secondly, they've really improved on the sculpting details. Ironhide here has "Road Armor" sculpted on his elbow pads, a very accurate face scult, and a very nice autobot symbol on the rear.

Couple things i'd like to rant about. Considering the good amount of paint-apps i've seen on several of the Wave 1 toys, there seems to be something missing from all of them; a faction symbol. Prime doesn't have it, Megs doesn't have it, Ironhide has it in Vehicle mode. The only voyager that has a really visible faction symbol seems to be SkyHammer...

Overall, I'm not totally digging MechTech, but its definitely not what's killing the toys, its the economy.

[joshimus]

Well I have changed my mind. Sentinel Prime is no longer being considered "great" in respects for me being ok to pay full price. Gonna package him up later and return him. His annoying transformation is not only making me feel I paid too much for this figure, but also destroyed my desire to repaint him as well. I'll get him again on sale at some point but off the bat, not worth the price.
So far my first impressions of DOTM toys aren't that great. Hopefully Shockwave won't disappoint me but as it stands my interest in this line is "meh" at best.

Still really like a few of the Cyberverse leaders though.

[jackwacko]

Originally Posted by joshimus

Well I have changed my mind. Sentinel Prime is no longer being considered "great" in respects for me being ok to pay full price. Gonna package him up later and return him. His annoying transformation is not only making me feel I paid too much for this figure, but also destroyed my desire to repaint him as well. I'll get him again on sale at some point but off the bat, not worth the price.
So far my first impressions of DOTM toys aren't that great. Hopefully Shockwave won't disappoint me but as it stands my interest in this line is "meh" at best.

Still really like a few of the Cyberverse leaders though.

Damn, DOTM returns already?!?!? Sentinel's ringing up for ~$70 after taxes here in BC, and I don't see them moving at all. Hopefully a sale will move some of these things, because a wall of BB's and Skids that are smaller than the yellow package BB's and Skids really don't look good.

Anybody got the playsets and willing to comment about them? O_o