Along with Car Crash and T-Bone, my package from
Ages 3 and Up contained these premiere transforming items from MECH iDEAS. It all started when we revealed this image at TFcon 2012's Third Party Panel...
I still love that Crue is like the one with the Motley...anyways, I recall the room erupting when we revealed these two. Clearly the third party Topspin and Twin Twist, two characters that have gotten no official updated love since their G1 incarnations. Fast forward a few months later, add some paint apps and here's the final product.
Since this is the first jaunt by MECH iDEAS I can understand people being skeptical. New third party toy hhhhmmmm hrrrrrmmmm are they good? Aren't they? Well lets take a look.
DC01 Apex
Alt Mode
Apex's alt mode is a Cybertronian plane, a portly one at that, hence why I like to think of him more as a slower moving flying craft more then a jet. You can attach the guns or not, and store the hammer quite awesomely in the back end there. Not gonna lie, he's kinda fun to play with him slowly hovering around blasting things.
The alt mode is solid. Everything pegs in nice and tight. The plastic is amazing quality too and you never feel like you're going to break something on these guys when you play with them.
What's super cool about Apex and Geminus, while they're essentially the same toy with minor remoldings between the two to make completely different characters with that brotherly feel. In the Transformers fiction Topspin and Twin Twist had been portrayed as brothers so its nice to see they keep the same "mold" with subtle differences.
Robot Mode
Topspin and Twin Twist were the "Jumpstarters", known to transform faster then any Transformer, and while they transformed in a simple spring loaded flip, Apex and Geminus do not. They have a nice transformation that isn't very complex but does what it needs to amazingly well. Getting from point A to point B may not be instant but it is quite quick.
Poseability is nuts. Head is on a ball joint, full shoulder movement, bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, wrist rotation, waist rotation, full hip movement, thigh swivel, knees bend 90 degrees, ankles tilt up/down and side to side. Leaps and bounds better then the other Topspin incarnation we've gotten...
The weapons are molded in black and have this sexy gun metal paint applied to them that give them that shimmer. He's got the two gatz, or that wreckers-esque hammer. The hammer can also collapse (IE for its alt mode storage) but can clip on the forearms too for an additional arm blaster (see it on the first pic I posted with Geminus).
DC02 Geminus
Alt Mode
The twin twisting drilled alt mode. Basically the shoulder stacks on Apex was replaced with drills, the wings and portion on his robot mode legs got tank treads. The only downside I could see someone having with this, the cockpit isn't painted like it is on Apex, and there aren't wheels on the underside to let him roll like a Transformers toy typically would. Either don't really bother me to be honest but I could see how it would someone.
Robot Mode
Transformation and poseability is the same as Apex, which like I said earlier, awesome. I have a soft spot for "brother" Transformers and these guys had me at "Wreck and Rule!"
More molded changes seen here, different head (duh), shoulders, and two different pistols. The hammer is the same between the two. To be honest I like having Geminus with the hammer more, being the "worker class" type, I find it more suiting that he use it over the flyer Apex. What I also like, you can still store the guns on their backside while using the hammer so they don't get lost, or as an alternate holster.
Conclusion
Not many may know this, they use the same plastic that Mastermind Creations uses, and the quality feel is totally there. There's some janky portions...the elbows are a little weird and while poseable can look awkward in certain positions. The only other downside is the head rotation, when you turn their head left or right there's plastic in the way from letting them keep their chin flush, resulting in a head tilt when looking side to side.
These small short comings aside, I don't think they ruin these figures by any means. This is still the best versions of Topspin and Twin Twist we've got. And to be honest, the best I think we will EVER get. I know they may not have been the most popular G1 characters having no screen time ever, but I know many have a soft spot for them while growing up, or because of their Wreckers connection and infamy. There's so much love put into these figures to make them truly top notch homages and great pieces for a collection.
I mean...look how great they look in a third party Wreckers group shot!
Again big thanks to
Ages 3 and Up! These 2 are a home run and make me look forward to seeing what else MECH iDEAS has in store for the future. From what we've seen, they're taking a shift from G1 and tackling Transformers Animated, something a third party company has yet to do. Their first 2 figures? Huffer and Pipes you say? Tickle me interested and totally down after how great these guys were.
