Counting 'em down again! One more time :)

[wervenom]

December 22 Bonus

Introducing on the brown fuzzy background, weighing in at 1750 grams, brought to me by way of TRU USA during the Black Friday sale, the 4th “planet” transformer that somehow is smaller than the 3 “city” bots I own

TLK Cybertron.

“Oh I see. Is that why you bought that? You said that was for me and now I see what you really needed it for.”

“No dear I bought the blanket for you just needed to use it for a bigger background. No worries the blanket is yours but Cybertron is mine.”

That was the exchange last night when my wife saw me shooting this guy. Now to be fair I did this with the new camera and I’m not entirely comfortable with it yet. It keeps focusing or more so not focusing on the entire shot. It’s not it, it’s me so have to keep practicing as I have been for a month but this is the first time I tried on a figure this large. Well regardless of all that here is the planet Cybertron or at least so the box says but it is a repaint of the Cybertron Primus but in some really funky colours. The story behind the purchase is just as just as entertaining as it was taking the pics. I went to the States this past Black Friday and the first store I hit was a TRU. For me I only wanted to see if there was any POTP figures with no luck but happen to stumble onto this guy again. When I looked at the price tag I thought it might be on sale so I asked the employee if it was really that price and she said she would scan it but instead showed up with a manager. He looked at it and she explained where it was and he said just give it to him for that price as it was our mistake. That’s all well and fine but I didn’t want it, I just wanted to know the price but hell if it’s nearly 50% off the asking price than why not, so for $79.99 he came home with me. I don’t even remember paying that much for the original to be honest but for an exclusive that may never show up here and it being a shopping trip I saw no reason not to get it for $70 off. Damn PCA lol. I never knew the original had sounds and lights since I bought it second hand (and for some reason came with blue hands which I can’t find a variant of) I never had instructions so had no clue where the batteries went. I didn’t care but now that I do know I wish there was a button to activate the lights in his eyes like Unicron rather than having to slide the chest mechanism up and down. Regardless it’s a nice figure, has a funky paint job and id different enough to justify having a second one.

“Don’t worry brother, I shall free you!”


“I say there, you photographer, free my brother from the sleep inducing plastic prison!”

[wervenom]

December 23

Introducing on the blue background hailing from Transformmission brought to me by way of Madhaus Toys at TF Con 2017, at a stunning weight of 2000 grams, the original nemesis to the Prime, the beast in black, the new “king” of the road, the master of motors

Transformmission Powertrain (aka Stunticon Motormaster)

So here is a moment I have been waiting for ever since I bought Disorder however long ago. Menasor in not my favourite combiner among them all but the Stunticons are among my favourite sub groups. Motormaster being my second favourite after Wildrider (because FERRARI). I really loved the look of his truck mode with the extra windows on top, the colour scheme etc. My only gripe with MM was that he was his whole truck as opposed the just being the cab and that made things even worse when Prime pretended to be MM and then he could transform to truck mode and his trailer didn’t show up. Regardless of the whole pocket dimensions and mass shifting thing I like the fact that TFM went for a balance in-between both and even pulled a slight tribute to RiD 2001 Scourge with the battle platform. So with Powertrain we get a nemesis roller that serves as shield and chest plate so is that supposed to be a nod to Blackjack maybe? Did Blackjack even exist in the comics that way? I don’t read the comics so have no clue about the whole IDW Menasor look. Overall the alt mode I find really impressive and the bot mode looks rock solid. I do wish there was a back and forth ankle rocker but the ankle tilt is decent. Now I did say looks rock solid but that unfortunately is not the case. As I transformed him I found some personal nit-picks with my copy but not enough that I wouldn’t recommend it if someone asked.

Problems I have are:
1) The backpack will not stay tabbed in securely and can be knocked loose easily
2) He can’t hold his sword worth a damn, falls out to easily
3) He gun handle is floppy. How is he supposed to aim when once he holds his weapon it droops
4) The bicep swivel is really free on both arms and I mean breathing on them will knock them out of place
5) Some things that tab are super freakin tight and others can blow off in the wind.

I really think the TFM should have easily caught these issues and had them fixed before release ESPECIALLY when we are paying the $ that we are being asked to pay. Now granted these pieces are not for everyone from a price point standing but for those, like myself, that chose to spend the money, the tolerances really need to be looked at from start to finish. This is the second combiner team I have been able to finish this year and I am really, really hoping that I do not have another Poseidon on my hands. I have seen reviews from various people regarding the combined mode, use of the legs parts, one guy cut right through them and didn’t slide them down, or maybe he did and they got stuck, I have no idea. I use the reviewers like most as a guide so later on, when I go to combine him, I shall decide for myself. Now seeing also how I have 4 MP sized combiners already in this cabinet I’m not sure I can fit a 4th one but collectively I like the look of the guys as individuals and may leave them that way for display but they have to be combined at least once so wish me luck.

[wervenom]

Let the slaughter begin!

The combined mode, how do I start off? I have watched 6 different reviews now, 4 well known reviewers and 2 I have never heard of and there is a huge debate on stability, ankles vs shins, use or don’t use replacement parts or even slice them up to fit. I’m sure that there are many figures that have been debated about with just as much ferocity as this is or even more so in the dust and PayPal threads (lmfao) but seeing as how we are discussing Havoc I will weigh in with only my own experiences.

1) The replacements on the shins ARE needed on mine. I put Carnage on before I had even attached the leg to the main body and it was already leaning. It simply felt flimsy and based on that I made the decision to swap them out
2) You do lose the detail work put into the original pieces which is a shame, but, you will never see them when combined anyway so in the long run who cares?
3) TFM did make a mistake with the measurement and there are allegedly two sets of fixes out there. If you got the one that has one corner “cut” or “shaved” then you have the right one and NO surgery is required. What I would suggest is you place a small screwdriver and gently force the clip to its lowest setting and attach. I had far more trouble with Carnage than I did with Disorder.
4) Elbow clip for Revolt is necessary and works well. My Revolt is actually missing two screws behind the engine in alt mode so I’m really surprised at how TFM let all these things get by them.

Now with fixes applied I tried to stand him up with both arms fully extended and both weapons and the forward lean was absolutely minimal. I put him into various poses with little or no issue. I stood him straight and pushed on the chest just to watch him rock but he never toppled. He is by far more poseable and stable then TFC Poseidon which is a damn shame given how much I love the look of Poseidon. Now in this mode the sword holds better than Powertrain but not by much. Gun still droops but I found by placing the thumb under the gun when holding as a first negates that. I will not defend TFM and say that this is acceptable but seeing as I have already bought it I’m going to have to live with that fact and you would have to make up your own minds if this is worth it. The combined mode itself overall looks phenomenal and I’m not really an IDW person and would much rather have had a G1 style but I had already gone in and saw no reason not to finish. Beyond the nitpicks I have, it is a good set save for one genuine beef I have. He is too short. My biggest fear is going in on a Superion and have it be way bigger than Menasor when they should be the same size. Yes scale of a car vs plane counts but the gestalts were always reasonably close in height so it is a little disappointing. Beyond that I have decided he shall stay in combined mode now since he isn’t going to fall over thanks to some very tight fixes.

[wervenom]

December 23 Bonus

Introducing on multiple coloured backgrounds hailing from Hasbro brought to me by Think Geek in Buffalo by way of my wife for our anniversary and the fans that voted for him, at a weight of 3,830 grams, the big beast of a city that made the Constructions superfluous, the titan of 2017

Titans Return TRYPTICON!

So where do I begin with the big beotch? Well the truth I would imagine is best. I did not open him yesterday but actually back in August. The package was dinged up and had a weird feeling and since I bought him in the States, I didn’t want to drive back if something was wrong so I cracked him open in the hotel just to makes sure he was complete just in case. Then I waited till two days ago because the thought of trying to apply all the stickers in 4 hours just seemed like a big PITA and try and take pics. Now before I began I did the spring compression as a precaution and had no QC issues until after 4 or 5 transformations. I did something to the tail so it no longer stays extended on its own but that won’t matter that much in the long run. Hips are fine, tabs in with no issues and I have no problem with the chest staying closed as some people have reported. In fact, mine is the opposite as it’s a bitch to open. Now having said all that I really do like this figure and waited a long time to get him to have something to face off with Gen Metroplex. The city mode is great, the spaceship is a little unusual but workable. One thing I’m a bit disappointed with is no Brunt and I’m sure that by now some 3p has made one that I have not seen so I made my own out of TR Galvatron. I have said it many times, I truly despise that figure and it is such an insult to Galvatron so I promptly ripped him apart, made some mods and have a serviceable tank for Tryps. Also I know that a lot of fans complained about no working electronics like a walking feature but honestly how many people use that feature now? Not many I would say and how much more would he have cost if they did? I’m not willing to find out, especially seeing how people I know bought the Takara version only to find out that the figure was EXACTLY the same as the Hasbro version for $100 more. Well regardless of this I thank those who voted and most of all, my wife for 1 getting it for me and 2 “allowing” me to enjoy this hobby. She doesn’t say much anyway but it’s nice to have her overwhelmed by what I have instead of complaining about it.

[wervenom]

His Minions

[predahank]

Originally Posted by wervenom

Love this pic

[wervenom]

Originally Posted by predahank

Love this pic

Thanks man

[Billkrazy]

Ya man this is great keep it up

[wervenom]

Originally Posted by Billkrazy

Ya man this is great keep it up

I lol since tomorrow is the last day but I will have a surprise or two

[JonoPrime]

Been really enjoying this! Thanks for taking the time and work to post these. Looking forward to the last one