The G1 figure review thread

The originals... ok, not exactly, but the original named "The TransFormers" anyway. Take THAT, Diaclone!
Generation 1, Generation 2 - Removable fists? Check. Unlicensed vehicle modes? Check. Kickass tape deck robot with transforming cassette minions? DOUBLE CHECK!!!
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andersonh1
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Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by andersonh1 »

Onslaught Six wrote:
andersonh1 wrote:Have you ever noticed that almost every time a new Indy Car Transformer comes out, it's named Mirage? RID had one, Beast Machines did, so did Generation 2... I wonder how Skid-z escaped?
Obviously, because there was already a Mirage in the line...and that didn't stop them later when they repainted BM MIrage.
That didn't stop them from giving us 2 Prowls in the same line... remember Prowl 2, the Spychanger?
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Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by Shockwave »

Nor did it stop them from giving us two versions of Side Burn, Scourge, Xbrawn, Prime and Ultra Magnus, since we got spychanger versions of all of those.
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Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by Onslaught Six »

Shockwave wrote:Nor did it stop them from giving us two versions of Side Burn, Scourge, Xbrawn, Prime and Ultra Magnus, since we got spychanger versions of all of those.
Side Burn's a goddamned mystery, but Scourge, X-Brawn, Prime and Magnus are all clearly supposed to be smaller versions representing the same characters. Difference! Prowl 2 and Mirage GT clearly have different names, even if they're extremely similar.
BWprowl wrote:The internet having this many different words to describe nerdy folks is akin to the whole eskimos/ice situation, I would presume.
People spend so much time worrying about whether a figure is "mint" or not that they never stop to consider other flavours.
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Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by Shockwave »

Oh, I thought we were just listing duplicate toys of characters. Yeah, if we're just going with ones that are the "same" but technically different characters then yeah, you're right.
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Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by Onslaught Six »

Side Burn is the only one that doesn't make sense, because while he's clearly the same altmode (Dodge Viper) with the same colours, his robot mode is different as is his transformation. This is, of course, because he's just a repaint of an unreleased G2 Gobot who happened to be a Dodge Viper, which is the same case with Prowl 2, who was an unreleased police car--but Prowl 2 is distinctly, at the least, a differently-named character--we got no individual bios for the Basics in RID due to trilingual packaging, but Hasbro was pretty well avodiing the "same character in multiple scales" gig back then--which is something I do wish they'd go back to. We could have had Animated Omega Supreme if not for Roll Out Command Prime.
BWprowl wrote:The internet having this many different words to describe nerdy folks is akin to the whole eskimos/ice situation, I would presume.
People spend so much time worrying about whether a figure is "mint" or not that they never stop to consider other flavours.
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Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by andersonh1 »

Time to review the reviled....


Wheelie

Now I have to admit, I bought this back in the mid-80s when it was originally available at retail. I hadn't seen the movie at that point, and my mom wouldn't let me watch season three of Transformers because it was on at 6:30 in the morning (or some time along those lines) when I was supposed to be getting ready for school. So I wasn't put off by the character because I didn't know anything about him. The little orange car was what decided me.

Auto mode: The orange creamsicle on wheels. And it's not a bad Cybertronian vehicle. It's kind of rounded with almost no sharp angles except for the very front. The fenders on either side run most of the length of the car, and the rub-symbol is dead center on the hood. There's a molded detail on the front that could be an air vent or a uni-headlight, and there are some tailights and another grill on the back. Clearance is very low, but it'll roll well enough without scraping the ground. Flip it over, and while the robot legs are visible, they don't scream "legs", so the robot mode is fairly well-hidden.

Transformation: Fenders become arms, the front half of the hood swings out to become feet, and the rear third of the car folds back to become a back hump. Or backpack, if you prefer. The cockpit folds up to reveal the face.

Robot: Well, it's nowhere near as good as the recent Legends version of Wheelie. The cockpit tends to swing down and cover his face all too easily, and with the huge arms and tiny legs, he's sort of a monkey with an egg body. Honestly, Wheelie's not that bad, but the proportions are very strange, and the various transformation hinges move out of place very easily when attempting to pose the figure.

Overall: Not as bad as his reputation would suggest, and the auto mode is decent. But far from the strongest Transformer of all time, even for a mini bot.
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Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by 138 Scourge »

I would drive Wheelie's auto mode happily. Really, if you look at the way a lot of cars have been going lately, he's the closest to looking like actual 21st century vehicles.

But yeah, much as I like the character, that toy just irritated me to no end. I see what they were trying to do, and I have a feeling the cockpit thing was supposed to suggest the brim of a cap, like the animation model sort of has going. But it didn't quite work out, clearly.

So yeah, I'm pretty happy to have the new version, that's a much-needed upgrade. :lol:
Dominic wrote: too many people likely would have enjoyed it as....well a house-elf gang-bang.
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Re: The G1 figure review thread

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138 Scourge wrote:I would drive Wheelie's auto mode happily. Really, if you look at the way a lot of cars have been going lately, he's the closest to looking like actual 21st century vehicles.

But yeah, much as I like the character, that toy just irritated me to no end. I see what they were trying to do, and I have a feeling the cockpit thing was supposed to suggest the brim of a cap, like the animation model sort of has going. But it didn't quite work out, clearly.
That's the impression I got too, that they were trying to suggest a baseball cap.
So yeah, I'm pretty happy to have the new version, that's a much-needed upgrade. :lol:
I love his little slingshot. He's Dennis the Menace! Maybe that makes Kup Mr. Wilson. :lol:
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Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by Shockwave »

SDCC Blaster and cassettes: I nabbed this set recently and while I've had Blaster before, I've never owned the Autobot cassettes so I figured I'd go ahead and review them.

The box: Ordinarily I wouldn't comment on packaging but this is just so flamboyantly over the top I have to. The outside slip cover box is shiny reflective foil in red and yellow. It's bright, flashy and over the top, much like Blaster himself. The inside box has the usual Universe 2.0 design. If you have Perceptor or the Insecticons you know what I'm talking about.

Blaster: Alt mode: He's a boombox. The tape door opens and that's pretty much it for features in this mode of the toy. The red/grey/yellow color scheme works well. Robot mode: In this mode we get a lot more black, mostly by virtue of the limb joints. Articulation is one of the better ones for G1, He's arms move, as do his wrists and head. Pretty well stiff from the waist down. Due to his transformation he could side kick someone but I'm not going to count it. My only real complaint with this figure is the feet. They're just a couple tabs from the top of the boombox front and aren't really sturdy enough to keep him from falling backwards. They do well enough to prevent falling forward, but there really needed to be something on the back. Overall I would recommend this as a decent G1 figure, but it needs to be taken for what it is and the time it was produced. It certainly wouldn't hold up by today's standards.

Steeljaw: He's a lion that transforms into a cassette: Mostly yellow with gold wings that attach in bot mode. Transformation is similar to Ravage, almost identical although I'm not really sure what else they could have done with it.

Ok, screw it, I apparently don't have a full review of these things in me. I mean, we all know what they look like, how they transform so what does that really leave to say about G1 figures in general? I like the Autobot tapes as much as I do the Decepticon ones. I think the designs were clever and added a lot of play value to the cassette deck bots. Obviously they were designed over 25+ years ago and they have some flaws, but they're still neat and interesting for what they are. The only thing I don't like is Rewind/Eject's arms and head. The head pops up in alt mode if the arms aren't all the way in. And the arms are weird too, there's like a little hand thing that comes out of the bottom of them, but they don't look like they're on the correct side. Or maybe mine was missassembled.

Overall, I would recommend this set. Between the fabulously gaudy flashy outer box and the fact that you get four classic characters all in one box (which averages out to around $20 per figure), and they are all new and complete, it's epic win!
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Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by 138 Scourge »

You know, I really like the designs of all the Autobot tapes. Ramhorn and Steeljaw looked good, and there's an appeal to Rewind/Eject's transformation scheme. But still, I never really dug Blaster having tape minion guys. Couldn't give you a straight answer as to why if my life depended on it, though.
Dominic wrote: too many people likely would have enjoyed it as....well a house-elf gang-bang.
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