Heavytread and Groundspike

Ancillary, non-main-line stuff. Star Wars TF, Speed Stars, Titanium Series, Robot Heroes, that sort of thing. They're kinda neat, but we all know they're not really that important. Admit it, you know it's true.
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Dominic
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Heavytread and Groundspike

Post by Dominic »

Heavytread and Groundspike: robot/tank and robot/thingamuhwutzis

Dvandom had an extra Heavytread/Groundspike set after the Groundspike figure broke right after coming out of the package. He sold me the damaged set, after having repaired the Minicon.

This might be a question of my expectations being raised to unreasonable levels, but Heavytread just does not live up to the hype. It is not a bad toy. But, it is not great. Truth be told, I put it at about the same level as Skyhammer, (which most people rated less favourably compared to Heavytread). The tank mode has an "h-tank" style gap in the back, despite being an otherwise realistic form. The robot mode is more than a bit evocative of G1 Brawl or RiD Armorhide. The transformation is intuitive enough that I was able to change it from robot to tank without the instructions. I have not figured out the more generalized torso mode yet. (Dave may have forgotten to put them in the box. Or, I may have thrown them out. Either way, I can just check Dave's page to figure out the torso mode.)

Groundspike is a bit of a let-down. I was not expecting this figure to be as good as Airlift or Pinpointer. But, I was at least expecting Caliburn level of fun. Even allowing for the fact that Dave's repairs were not perfect, (which may or may not account for the left leg tending to pop off easily), this figure is lackiong. The unpainted face makes the robot mode look undefined. Similar to the drill from wave 2 being purpose made for a specific Commander, Groundspide is purpose made for this set. But, Groundspike lacks the creativity and fiddle value of that particular Minicon.

Grade: B/C Not a bad set. If you liked PCC, you would proably like these figures. But, do not go too crazy trying to find them or lose too much sleep if you do not have them.


Dom
-may have a not terribly expensive lead on an intact set.
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Dominic
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Re: Heavytread and Groundspike

Post by Dominic »

And....Groundspike's hip rebroke.

This is less a question of Dvandom's repair work being sub-standard and more a question of the base materials. This toy uses the wrong sorg of plastic for a high stress point that is, by necessity, moulding thin. it is a huge point of failure just waiting to happen.

I am not much attached to this mould beyond using it in a custom (thus far unstarted). So, I am not terribly upset by this. But, the design is inexcusably bad.

Pinning might be an option. But, it would be difficult at the scale of this figure.

On a semi-related note, I figured out the tank. The back looks more full than I initially thought it did. And, the torso mode is pretty solid.


Dom
-at least the tank is still intact.
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