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!!!
User avatar
138 Scourge
Supreme-Class
Posts: 2833
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:27 pm
Location: Beautiful KCK

Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by 138 Scourge »

Okay, I'll contribute an actual review here, because why not? Obscure character go!

Pretenders Snarler: Scored this guy a few years back for three or four bucks. Not complete, mind you, but still. He's obscure enough that the guys at the Vintage Stock didn't actually realize he was a Transformer, they just thought he was a big green pig toy.

Pretender outer shell thing: Snarler's a really good sized wild boar in borderline-psychedelic colors wearing body armor. The head on this guy seems disproportionately huge, it's almost as big as the rest of his body. It works, though, it almost gives him an Ed "Big Daddy" Roth feel. The Pretender shell's pretty detailed, there's a hair texture all over it, there's really neat sculpting for folds of skin under his eyes, he's got big warty knobs along the size of his head, and big mean curved tusks. Then he's got...it's either body armor or mechanical parts going on here, the sculpting doesn't really make it clear. It looks like it could just be a high-tech harness, but you could go either way, depending on preference. There's a few bits that snap onto the shell, a couple of bits of shoulder armor with...I want to say "spikes", but they're flat-tipped, and a rifle that pegs into a hole on Snarler's back. Now, mine just had the one shoulder armor piece, and is missing the gun. Also, the gun, I could see why it detaches, gotta be used by the inner robot and all, but I can't see any earthly reason the shoulder armor's detachable. Even without those things, though, you've got a pretty fierce looking warthog critter here. Until you take into account the color scheme. Snarler's mostly a dark teal, with blue-green tusks and shoulder armor, and silver body armor. Add in bright orange eyes, and near-florescent green hooves and a horn of the same color coming out of his head, and you've got something that just screams "Late G1 color scheme", all right. Still, it's not so crazy that it's overly distracting (and not that I would mind it a bit if it was), but these colors actually do work for the pig.

Inner Robot: Just split the outer shell down the middle, and get the robot outta there. Easy as anything. The inner transformer basically is in robot pig mode inside there, so that's where I'll start. The robot pig's pretty neat, really. The head's a neat-looking bit of designing, it's got a visor instead of eyes, and a drill standing in for a snout. There's extra pointy things on either side of the snout to give the impression of tusks. It winds up looking equal parts robot pig and piece of mining equipment. The rest of him's about what you'd expect from "Late G1 robot pig mode", basically robot-stylized beast, but it works well enough. Late G1's interesting color choices happen again here, the head and butt are purple, the shoulders and back legs are brown, and the forelegs and tail are dark blue, with dark blue stickers to add detail on the shoulders. It's a bunch of odd color choices, but they're all fairly subdues, so he doesn't come off as too garish. Transformation here's about as simple as it gets. Fold the butt down to be the robot legs, try to fold the back legs so they're out of the way, fold the head back to hang off the robot's back and reveal the robot head, then fold the front legs down to get the robot hands to point out. Now, this robot mode...well, it doesn't quite work. It's got big chunks of the pig kibble just hanging out everywhere. The pig head just becomes...not even a backpack, just a big pig head hanging out by the back. The front legs hang down off the arms, and interfere with even a G1 toy's limited poseability. If you try to lower his arms, the pig forelegs just run into the rear legs. Then the lower legs of the robot are all one piece, but supposed to resemble two, the tail being at the center of this unifoot does sort of make them look more like two parts, so that's something. Overall, though, the robot mode's the least interesting bit of this toy.

Overall, though, I like this thing. The Pretender shell has a lot of character, and the robot pig mode has some interesting design things happening. Hardly a must-have, but certainly an interesting curiosity. Pretenders may have slacked on the inner robots, but the fact that they have these big weird outer shell forms can add to their coolness. So with Snarler, you probably don't need to go nuts trying to find him, but hell, you could do a lot worse.
Dominic wrote: too many people likely would have enjoyed it as....well a house-elf gang-bang.
User avatar
Shockwave
Supreme-Class
Posts: 6205
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 4:10 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by Shockwave »

138 Scourge wrote: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.
Oooh! Oooh! I think I might know this! It's because Autobots don't have minions, they have friends. Decepticons have minions.
primus.allspark
Protoform
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:09 pm

Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by primus.allspark »

Here is a review I did a few weeks back.

Permalink:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nVW ... n_US&pli=1

I picked up a G1 Warpath on eBay this week, but the seller neglected
to tell me it has stress marks and a large white scratch on it. They
were not visible in his picture. Kinda ticked me off, but it is in great condition
otherwise.

On to the review!

Overall I’d say this is a very solid toy, definitely what I call a “brickformer”,
yet for such a basic toy the design was very well done. In vehicle mode
Warpath is a General Motors M551A1 Sheridan ARAAV tank, and a
very good likeness at that. The mold of course takes a few deviations,
but that is expected from me. His robot mode is... kind of goofy looking.
For a toy made in the 80’s, and with the technology available this is of
course forgiven. His head looks to be in an awkward position, resting on
very back of the turret. Though he does have two separate legs his feet
are composed entirely of the tank’s front section, so his walking ability
is severely impaired, but beyond those few gripes this toy is actually
pretty awesome. I love his tank mode, and I may just display him in that
form on my shelf because it is just that good.

Transformation is very easy:

From vehicle mode to robot mode: Slide front and rear sections part from
each other. Swing the rear section of the tank upwards so that it is resting
horizontally above the front section. Slide turret back. Swing arms downwards
and pull up the robot’s head.

To change him back simply reverse those directions.

Conclusion: So there you have it. A solid toy with an excellent vehicle mode, but
not so great robot mode. Of course I’ll forgive that because it was made in the
80’s.

Anything I forgot to mention?
User avatar
andersonh1
Moderator
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:22 pm
Location: South Carolina

Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by andersonh1 »

Yeah, I like G1 Warpath. Sure, he's a "brickformer", but so many G1 figures are that it's hardly worth mentioning. They're still fun. I sure enjoyed 'em as a kid.
User avatar
andersonh1
Moderator
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:22 pm
Location: South Carolina

Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by andersonh1 »

A few observations about the 2018 Starscream reissue, which I have not yet opened (and may not, it's not like I don't have a few version of this same mold):

- The packaging is what I wanted from the last round of reissues that turned out to be the Commemmorative series: replicas of the original boxes, not boxes inspired by them.
- That being said, while the box is a nice replica, it's not 100% the same. The cardboard is a little flimsier, not as glossy, and the flap does not have rounded corners.
- The box is bilingual, with English and French in places, including the tech spec.
- there are even "robot points" of a sort in the form of the "authentic Transformers" logo. The box has the old Hasbro logo from the 80s.
- The reissue has the elongated and thickened guns that conform with modern safety standards (and presumably the missiles as well, though I can't see them from the window).
- This is likely the same mold used for the Japanese reissue, because it comes with the small version of G1 Megatron in pistol mode that the Japanese figure did. The original Starscream did not have that accessory.
- There is a heat sensitive seal in the proper place, and presumably a sticker sheet. I do wonder if the instruction booklet uses photographs like the original 1984 line did, so if I open it up I'll pass that along.
= The photography of the figure on the box is new, because Starscream has the reissue guns rather than the original.

None of this is a gripe, by any means. I just enjoy comparing and contrasting the versions. This is exactly the type of reissue I have wanted for a long time, and I hope they sell well enough that we get a good variety of G1 characters. I'd like Devastator if I can afford it, but I will definitely buy Hot Rod at some point.
User avatar
Shockwave
Supreme-Class
Posts: 6205
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 4:10 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by Shockwave »

andersonh1 wrote:A few observations about the 2018 Starscream reissue, which I have not yet opened (and may not, it's not like I don't have a few version of this same mold):

- The packaging is what I wanted from the last round of reissues that turned out to be the Commemmorative series: replicas of the original boxes, not boxes inspired by them.
- That being said, while the box is a nice replica, it's not 100% the same. The cardboard is a little flimsier, not as glossy, and the flap does not have rounded corners.
- The box is bilingual, with English and French in places, including the tech spec.
- there are even "robot points" of a sort in the form of the "authentic Transformers" logo. The box has the old Hasbro logo from the 80s.
- The reissue has the elongated and thickened guns that conform with modern safety standards (and presumably the missiles as well, though I can't see them from the window).
- This is likely the same mold used for the Japanese reissue, because it comes with the small version of G1 Megatron in pistol mode that the Japanese figure did. The original Starscream did not have that accessory.
- There is a heat sensitive seal in the proper place, and presumably a sticker sheet. I do wonder if the instruction booklet uses photographs like the original 1984 line did, so if I open it up I'll pass that along.
= The photography of the figure on the box is new, because Starscream has the reissue guns rather than the original.

None of this is a gripe, by any means. I just enjoy comparing and contrasting the versions. This is exactly the type of reissue I have wanted for a long time, and I hope they sell well enough that we get a good variety of G1 characters. I'd like Devastator if I can afford it, but I will definitely buy Hot Rod at some point.
I have opened one and here's some things that I can answer as well as some other observations: There is a sticker sheet, it's more or less the same as the original except for no eye stickers because those are now painted. The instruction sheet looks nothing like the original. It's in black and white and is only one sheet folded over once. The missiles are indeed the long ones from the reissue. The box also has squared corners on the flap rather than the rounded ones on the original. This is because the flap is made by folding the cardboard over to make the flap rather than it being it's own piece like on the original. Also, Starscream's tail stickers are red with chrome rather than red with white.
User avatar
andersonh1
Moderator
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:22 pm
Location: South Carolina

Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by andersonh1 »

Shockwave wrote:I have opened one and here's some things that I can answer as well as some other observations: There is a sticker sheet, it's more or less the same as the original except for no eye stickers because those are now painted. The instruction sheet looks nothing like the original. It's in black and white and is only one sheet folded over once. The missiles are indeed the long ones from the reissue. The box also has squared corners on the flap rather than the rounded ones on the original. This is because the flap is made by folding the cardboard over to make the flap rather than it being it's own piece like on the original. Also, Starscream's tail stickers are red with chrome rather than red with white.
One other difference is that the text and arrows on the top of the box don't say "Start-change-finish" but are instead a series of numbers.

I don't have an original US Starscream box (though I do have a Japanese box I bought on Ebay years ago), but I do have a box for Hot Rod, so when I get that figure I'll post some side by side photos.
User avatar
andersonh1
Moderator
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:22 pm
Location: South Carolina

Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by andersonh1 »

Some comparison 2018 reissue Hot Rod pictures with past versions. They've done a nice job recreating the old boxes, though there are slight variations in size and placement of the various elements and the figure photography.

Original 1980s Hot Rod and box with 2018 reissue and Commemorative series reissue:
Image

2018 reissue beside original:
Front. The yellow plastic used for the spoiler is darker on the newest reissue.
Image

Back
Image

The main change on the top is the use of 1, 2, 3, 4 in the white outline arrows instead of start, change, change, finish. I don't quite understand this change, but it's a minor thing.
Image
User avatar
andersonh1
Moderator
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:22 pm
Location: South Carolina

Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by andersonh1 »

I saw and ended up passing on the G1 Optimus Prime reissue at Wal Mart, simply because it was $50. I guess the greater amount of die-cast accounts for the higher cost than Hot Rod and Starscream. I don't know for sure. But I do have an observation or two:

- The chromed smokestacks appear to be the original length, not the "shortened for safety" ones.
- The box is the exact size as reissue Hot Rod's. This reissue is of course the cab only, minus the trailer

Maybe these will show up at discount at some point, because I'd enjoy having a brand new G1 Optimus, even sans trailer. The price was just a bit steep for me at the moment.

I did see three or four Hot Rods on the discount aisle for $15, so I must admit I bought another one. I might even open this one. :D
User avatar
Dominic
Supreme-Class
Posts: 9331
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:55 pm
Location: Boston
Contact:

Re: The G1 figure review thread

Post by Dominic »

The 1986 battlescape is lovely.
Post Reply