Hi there!
So last night I made a review of CRAZYDEVY'S MOST WANTED-02 (Devastator's articulated Waist) that I received along Fansproject WARBOT DEFENDER WB001
And now that I have played a bit with Warbot Defender, here's my Photo Review of it :-)
Pretty much everyone here knows about this fella... and pretty much everyone probably already seen Vange1us video review of it on youtube... if you haven't seen it You should... not that only is it a good review, but I'm going to make some comparison to his points of view on the toy... so if you haven't seen it, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_3F0-I9H74
The Box looks very professional... something you'd see retail in a store... Sorry I didnt take any photos of the box... I was too exited about opening and playing with it... haha :-)
And Now on to the good stuff... this is what you get:
The robot mode is SUPERB.. very solid, good balance, incredibly nice articulation... you can pose Defender in pretty much any position you'd like, he's so much articulated... he's got ball joints on the forearms... but the rest is pretty much all Clicky articulation, so it's very solid, holds into place... I couldn't ask for anything else.
Vange1us points out that His Defender has the right leg kinda loose...that it's a probable QC miss... and it probably is... sucks for him really... mine has very solid legs... it was one of the first thing I check opening the box. haha
On the other hand, mine has a loose wheel panel... like... hum... in Helicopter mode, the right front wheel panel opens up and kinda makes small wing... the one on the right is kinda loose compared to the one on the left which doesn't "flap" as much easily as the one on the right.
But just like Vange1us, mine also doesn't hold the pistols as tight as I would like... I mean they hold... just... not tightly like the sword.
Speaking of the sword, Vange1us seems to be scared to break the sword... and I felt the Same, it looks very fragile... but I found out... it's actually VERY solid for what it appears... I LITERALLY STABBED myself quite hard with it (It was an Accident! I SWEAR!) playing with defender, trying to learn the transformation... Defender kinda slipped out of my hands and with my lightning reflex and a face that indicated some heavy "OH SHIT" going on, I grabbed Defender before he hit the ground... but in doing so, the sword (as the helicopter's blade) stabbed me pretty hard on my hand, it bent, I gasp more air than my lungs could hold... and to my surprise... it didn't break... not even a stress mark... Wow... RELIEVED and pleasantly surprised :-)
In robot mode 2 things bothers me a little:
1-the back of his legs are Empty... it just plain doesn't look too good IMO... thankfully I never showcase my TFs from their backs... so it's pretty minor.
2-the second thing that bothers me the most is the chest plate... it's in Diecast... nothing against it... I love it... but it plain simply feel like Cold plastic to me... The diecast is so well made and painted... it actually feel and look like plastic... so I dunno why they even bother making the diecast parts... well... in diecast... but that is not the major issue here...
Transformation from Robot to Armored Vehicle is fairly simple, Lift his chest plate over his head, spin the waist 180 degree, fold the arms and legs inside, and voilĂ*
The Armored vehicle is pretty nice... I really like it, feels solid, the sword hold tightly under the vehicle... nothing really to say about it... it rolls good... hum... feels heavier... but that's only because he's all curled up into a ball basically haha
And the transformation to helicopter... hum... Frankly until the review video I never thought it would be THAT complicated... I simply thought it would be like unfolding the leg to make the tail, flip the wheels on the side to make wings... and thats it... but... damn I was wrong, there is A LOT of stuff you need to move to get the helicopter correctly... I mean I LOVE... FREAKING LOVE complicated transformers... but this one... I'm still using the manual to turn him into an helicopter...
Now I am coming back to the overall transformation... I want to clear something out... DEFENDER is not a "shellformer" obviously... I freaking hate those... he's highly complex... HIGHLY COMPLEX in case you didn't read... but here's the thing...
Comparing it to LEADER CLASS ROTF Optimus... he's quite complex... but everything on it is design to fit some place... he looks just as great in robot and in truck mode... but DEFENDER... hum... how do I put this... its not that the parts doesn't seem like they actually fit where they should... DEFENDER is a more of a "FOLDFORMER"... he just folds and folds and folds again and voilĂ*! A car! FOLD FOLD FOLD FOLD and voilĂ*! An helicopter. The complexity of DEFENDER is trying to fold correctly, in the right order and right angle... that's it...
I still need the Manual... even tho I KNOW how the arms should be placed in helicopter mode... but it's doing it in the right order, the right angle that's is hardest to pull...
Also I have to add that since he's a "FOLDFORMER", nothing really snaps into place... he just folds in the position he needs to be... and the clicky joints hold the parts together... Take a look at the photo below:
You see all the groves under the white plastic parts (near the heels)? both Vehicle and helicopter has several parts that "snaps" into the groves... but really... NOTHING actually Holds in those groves... the heels in helicopter mode snaps in there.... but the very second you just moves an arm... it will snap out... it just doesn't hold in there... same thing for the arms, and everything else that needs to peg in there... Luckily all the joints of DEFENDER are clicky, therefore all the parts still holds into place even if nothing is pegged correctly under the hood.
PROS:
+GREAT LOOKING Robot
+Highly Complex transformation
+Homage, accuracy colours to G1 Springer
+Highly collectible
+Posability
+Clicky joints
CONS:
-Price
-fold fold fold fold
-nothing actually tabs or properly hold together other than the clicky joints to hold everything together
Is DEFENDER worth the buy?
I'm still hesitant really... I watched Vange1us' video review while my DEFENDER was in the UPS truck coming my way... I was really worried that I made a mistake buying him... but Vange1us reassured me, what he says at the end of the video... that he's not cheap because he's third party, that I'm buying a great garage kit, limited, etc... Because this is what I wanted... it is a great TF after all... maybe it is because I never really like Cybertronian looking vehicles... My main Turnoff about this figure is the folding aspect of the transformation...
Remember when we were kids... playing with your TF toys with friends... and then playing with a TF you find out that... if in car more you Semi-transform it with the arms out and suddenly the car Kinda has wings... and with your imagination you open up the car's trunk and you have a tail-fin and your car is now actually a jet only because you folded a few parts differently... well it kinda is how this guy feels... on a much more complex level
I REALLY LOVE complicated transformers... the more my TFs feels like a Chinese puzzle... the more I like it... But Defender... instead of being a Solid piece of Engineering, he's a Solid piece of intricate foldings. The car and the helicopter actually do look a lot a like... and could easily had the legs just split up to make the tail, and voilĂ* the helicopter... but no the arms had to be folded back from A to Z in totally different position for the end result... looking almost exactly like it used to be in Vehicle mode...
I am still very undecided myself as if I made a good choice of buying him... because I love complexity, and even tho DEFENDER is incredibly complex... I'm not sure the folding aspect is the type of complexity that I enjoy.
But I did buy it for the robot mode, Robot wise he's incredible, nice looking, amazing articulation and all...
Fansproject always been my favourite 3rd Party TF makers... and DEFENDER being the first full fledge robot they made, I was compelled to buy it... see how they made it, and show support 'cuz I love everything they make... I cant wait for Bruticus adds-ons to come out, I got my Preorder on it since they announced it... and I'm also eager to see what's coming next... maybe Rodimus power armour finally? If you want my guess... they'll make a Repaint of DEFENDER... in the comics *spoilers alert* Defender confront his clone... which is identical but dark purple and orange colour scheme... I'm pretty sure he's next to come out of Fansproject...
That's it... hope I helped you guys enlighten about FANSPROJECT WARBOT DEFENDER WB001
Don't hesitate to ask questions, I'm there to answer them! :-)
See you very soon for my next photo review coming in soon.... hint: it's a locomotive TF... and I'm really excited about him ;-)
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