ROTF Review Thread

Money, violence, sex, computer graphics, scatalogical humor, racism, robots designed to be rednecks but given European accents, and maybe another sequel to the saga... what's not to love? TF m1, Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon and now Age of Extinction.
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JediTricks
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Re: ROTF Review Thread

Post by JediTricks »

Onslaught Six wrote:Yeah, but how much else is actually coming out in '09 that we currently know about?
That's most everything I've heard about from Botcon for '09, with '10 stuff being more aimed towards Spring of that year.
I paid $18 for Demmy in a load of other toys. I swapped his forearms around and that really 'does' make him a lot better, to me--he looks like a big crazy wheel gorilla. And he's really variable, you can do a lot of different things with his wheels and treads and the like. It's certainly not ROTF's best figure, but he's there, and I like him a fair bit. (Plus, I figure I'll just get all the Constructicons they release--I only need Long Haul and I have four.)
A crazy wheel gorilla with no body? He's a fucking head with arms on wheels, that's some goofy shit.
Rampage has grown on me--I did one of the upper arm mods (but not the elbow mod) which helps a little bit, but not a whole lot. He's definitely not as cruddy as I first though him to be, but he's still not wonderful. I'd tell someone to get Skids or Mudflap first.
What mods do you speak?
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Re: ROTF Review Thread

Post by Onslaught Six »

JediTricks wrote:A crazy wheel gorilla with no body? He's a fucking head with arms on wheels, that's some goofy shit.
Eh. I consider the big red parts on the sides part of his body, not his shoulders, but whatever. It's clearly one of those love-it-or-hate-it figures, and I love it.
What mods do you speak?
I'll throw up a link later, I'm on my way out and can't quickly find it.
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: ROTF Review Thread

Post by onslaught86 »

JT wrote:You're not the only one to suggest that. And I kinda see it, but then I mess with the figure again and remember what a miserable toy it really is. So many folks out there are willing to put up with crazy bullshit to find their own way in this toy, I guess.
Hmm.. I'll jump ahead to what you've said about so little of the line being solid and interesting, and this time around Hasbro have managed to make toys so awful that even I won't touch them (Devastator). Given I usually cave and buy damned near everything from a line just because the mechanics of them intrigue me, that's saying a LOT.

Rampage is interesting, lots of the line isn't. Plenty of upcoming product bores as well. After you guys mentioned how elaborate the things he tried were, I caved. And boy am I glad I got what we did instead of what he looked like in the movie itself. How does that sort of thing get approval, seriously?
I'm still tempted by Leader Prime and Voyager Screamer too, that's awesome, it's like you're living on the opposite side of the planet... oh wait, you are!
Yeah, but I actually own those toys, and have them here to actively ignore in favour of Rampage. ;)

Man, i'm still really burned by how crap Prime is, expected a lot from that figure, and he's just no fun at all. I'd really suggest waiting on some kind of subsequent version of Prime, possibly the upcoming Buster Prime with the combining gas tank gun, that looks pretty cool. Hopefully they'll fix that awful red and blue, and remove the damned swords. Really would like to hear your thoughts on him, especially after your excellent review of Movie1 Prime. But I can't be the one to recommend you buy him as-is.
And also in that he sucks and is small and has too few parts and has a lazy transformation and is a meaningless nothing of a bot mode.
The transformation's part of the charm for me, I do rather like it. To be honet, now I own him and have him on display, he's one that I find myself leaving on the shelf when I go to grab the fiddlier figures in the line. Probably doesn't have a ton of lasting appeal for me, still don't regret the purchase though.

Wish his body was wider, his wheels were balloony, and his arms were more..arm-y. Also wish he could turn his head, would give him a lot more character. I do like that headsculpt, that's another big factor for me, head's matter a lot (Doubly odd that I don't mind the twins, hm).
Oh fuck, you got them on discount and Breakaway still sucks that bad? Damn, I want his repaint but now... wow.
Breakaway really is a lazy, unappealing, and crap toy. Everything he does has been done better elsewhere. Hell, the original Aerialbots did a better job of arranging their kibble than this thing. I love chainguns, it not being a missile convinced me to buy the damned thing on sale, and not even a chaingun could save this one.

The more I look at it, the more I find that this line is just like the movie itself - NOT an improvement over the first. Two thirds are okay, the rest is shit. Wasted potential all round. Sigh.
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Re: ROTF Review Thread

Post by onslaught86 »

Oh yeah, posted this elsewhere, thought I'd crosspost. Capsules on all the figures from the line that I own, save Mega Megs. in no particular order:


- Sideways is excellent and everyone should own a variant of this mould. It had a lot of thought put into it for a blink-and-miss-him movie character, and aside from a few joint issues, is all-round fantastic. Complex transformation, well articulated, looks excellent as a vehicle also, even if unbranded. Might be worth waiting on the retool named Dead End as he fixes the joints, but I like Sideways' head more. Who am I kidding, I'll get both.

- Sideswipe fares slightly less well, as he's very hard to keep standing thanks to some poor design choices. Very nifty robot and vehicle design, they used a rather cheap-looking silver paint though. The grey plastic hides the sculpted details, shame. I dig the flippy swords, he looks swish, one of the better ones as a robot, balance issues kill him.

- Rampage is very interesting, with the four legs and treadwhips. Suffers from some poor design choices, mind, and is definitely not for everyone. Well worth a look if you're curious, as I was. Rather like him myself. Don't expect him to be very polished and he should come off alright. He's kinda cute, to be honest.

- Demolishor is another who's not for everyone. If you don't like spinny deathwheel robots with scoops for hands and no legs, you'll hate him. He's a little simplistic, and I'm glad he was a sale purchase, yet he's definitely fun and I'm pleased to own him. Vehicle mode's nicely detailed and the colours are great, transformation's more involved than it looks.

- Prime was a let-down. Ugly, cheap colour choices, hardly any paint apps, he doesn't look very nice, and he doesn't play well either. Shoulders pop out, leg panels are poorly clipped on, stupid swords ruin the arm articulation. Transformation is a pain and a chore, vehicle mode's not as nice as the first. Robot mode really looks the part, and they did well getting that robot design right, yet I'd honestly recommend waiting for a different version.

- Megatron is crappy, I'm glad he was a 40% off purchase. Big and clunky and grey and not much else, poor articulation, poor transformation and gimmick, underdetailed, silly mech alive, suffers from being designed before the movie design was complete. Avoid, unless you really like big bricky grey Megatrons. About the same as the last one.

- The Fallen is good, great colours, well articulated and a nifty sculpt. Has annoying springy feet and the vehicle mode's just a sorta-spaceship, nothing special. The head doesn't quite look right, the crest should raise up. Cool flippy red panels help, and he's a nicely menacing alien robot figure, I'm pleased with him and do recommend if you like the design.

- Ransack also gets a high recommendation from me, it's almost perfect. Elderly Decepticon war vet, transforms from biplane to skeletal pilot robot. With jodphurs! Neat arm-mounted weapons, satisfying transformation, nice articulation, well painted, can't go wrong with this one, the best Basic thus far.

- Depthcharge is very good too. A bit bland, though the boat mode looks the part. Cool elevating missile racks give all his modes extra play and display value. Simple transformation results in a well-articulated and good-looking robot. Like Ransack, gets points for being something we don't get often.

- Scalpel is a touch fragile and a challenge to transform, especially since he's heavily mistransformed in package and the instructions assume he's not, stock images don't really help either. Microscope mode is dinky and fun to fiddle with, robot mode's a great spider robot, very cute and expressive with his opening mouth and tiny arms. If you like the design, go for it, but expect to spend some time working him out.

- Dune Runner is another excellent Basic, we're doing well here. Elevating guns make both modes good, very different from Movie1's Landmine, despite how he looks. Transformation's a bit more involved than you'd think, robot is well articulated and has a nice headsculpt, paint apps are good too. Nothing wrong with him, he's a good little figure, doesn't quite pop like Ransack does, though.

- Dead End (The Basic, not the retool of Sideways) is a bit of a failure. Vehicle is cool but very panelly, hard to align parts. Too complex for the size, feels very brittle, some joints are far too tight and others far too loose. Looks nifty and is fairly expressive, but the plastics used ruin him for me.

- Breakaway sucks, ugly-ass colours and lazy design, articulation is okay with limited range in the legs, have to hack apart his torso to free his head up (There are guides around), still doesn't help him though. Just boring and bland, there are better toys out there, avoid, at least wait for the Thrust retool.

- Reverb is okay, got him over Knockdown because Knockdown has severe joint problems. Nifty little bike mode, needed a less obviously toy shade of red to work, has a minor misassembly that covers some sculpted brake discs. Transformation's okay, robot's well articulated and has a cool gunhand, leg panels do fall off, can make okay wings on the robot's back, I preferred to screw them on.

- Starscream is about the only toy with a good Mech Alive gimmick, nice spinny gears in the robot chest. Transformation is interesting, jet looks nice sculpt-wise, yet this figure's wrecked by several things. The tattoos look awful and ruin the vehicle, the robot's legs are terrible and look bad from all angles, somewhat unstable too. The arms had severe budget cuts and removed extending gun gimmicks, and the ability for the hands to fold up. So robot gets gimp arms, and jet gets hands sticking out the back. First toy was better, avoid this one for the larger one or just get the first.

- Soundwave makes a decent satellite, can't stand up or hang on anything mind. Sculpt is good, needed a few more paint apps to really look the part, would've preferred red eyes to blue, and yellow in robot mode. The spaceship mode's a joke, just the satellite with different panel arrangement. Nothing pegs down in any mode, annoyingly. Robot mode's alright, lots of joints, some of them not so useful. This one grew on me after initial dislike, he's worth getting if you like the character or satellite design.

- Mudflap is better than he looks. Cute car mode, surprisingly involved and satisfying transformation once you get it right, more intuitive with multiple transforms, instructs are a bit off on the kibble placement. Hideous robot head and odd giant hand, otherwise good, I like the moving arm panels for the gun. Some parts interfere with the arms in robot mode, and I wish the back clipped up better, yet he's worth the buy if you're interested and can get past the head.
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Re: ROTF Review Thread

Post by JediTricks »

onslaught86 wrote:Rampage is interesting, lots of the line isn't. Plenty of upcoming product bores as well. After you guys mentioned how elaborate the things he tried were, I caved. And boy am I glad I got what we did instead of what he looked like in the movie itself. How does that sort of thing get approval, seriously?
That's what I've been wondering. I think that question got asked by one of the sites I report for, AF or us. But it didn't deliver on the "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE THINKING OK'ing THAT SHIT?!?" that I would want to ask.
Man, i'm still really burned by how crap Prime is, expected a lot from that figure, and he's just no fun at all. I'd really suggest waiting on some kind of subsequent version of Prime, possibly the upcoming Buster Prime with the combining gas tank gun, that looks pretty cool. Hopefully they'll fix that awful red and blue, and remove the damned swords. Really would like to hear your thoughts on him, especially after your excellent review of Movie1 Prime. But I can't be the one to recommend you buy him as-is.
I've noticed you seem to be the singular hater on this figure, and have consistently been since you got him. I remember a lot of your complaints were regarding lost features and paintjobs, and the swords getting in the way, and how he's kinda too complex for his own good. So I've not plunked down any coin yet, and I have been thinking about getting the Buster version even though I hate to import.
The transformation's part of the charm for me, I do rather like it. To be honet, now I own him and have him on display, he's one that I find myself leaving on the shelf when I go to grab the fiddlier figures in the line. Probably doesn't have a ton of lasting appeal for me, still don't regret the purchase though.
I messed with this figure at botcon and didn't remember anything particularly mindblowing about the transformation. I didn't like the ugly gap and armatures left at the rear of the vehicle mode for that either. What about the transformation did you like? Seemed fairly basic, "turn vehicle halfway inside-out" isn't exciting to me when that is the end result.
Wish his body was wider, his wheels were balloony, and his arms were more..arm-y. Also wish he could turn his head, would give him a lot more character. I do like that headsculpt, that's another big factor for me, head's matter a lot (Doubly odd that I don't mind the twins, hm).
Damn, not much you DO like about this figure without reserve really.
Breakaway really is a lazy, unappealing, and crap toy. Everything he does has been done better elsewhere. Hell, the original Aerialbots did a better job of arranging their kibble than this thing. I love chainguns, it not being a missile convinced me to buy the damned thing on sale, and not even a chaingun could save this one.
I remember your chaingun thing.

That's pretty much what I felt about Breakaway when I messed with him at botcon, but the masses claimed he's got some charm hidden under all that ugly coloring and the hunchback shape, so it keeps making me second-guess my lack of interest in him, and Thrust doesn't have a bad paintjob so it's easy to forget how lousy this turkey was.
The more I look at it, the more I find that this line is just like the movie itself - NOT an improvement over the first. Two thirds are okay, the rest is shit. Wasted potential all round. Sigh.
Definitely seems to be the case, not that I've seen the film.

- Demolishor is another who's not for everyone. If you don't like spinny deathwheel robots with scoops for hands and no legs, you'll hate him.
Almost no torso either, I think that's ultimately where it fails me hardest, it's like a combiner segment without any robot mode, like the top portion of JRX but uglier and with less articulation and no robot mode and doesn't turn into a cool train. Ok, so it's not like JRX that much.
- Reverb is okay, got him over Knockdown because Knockdown has severe joint problems.
"Knock Out", not down.
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Re: ROTF Review Thread

Post by Shockwave »

All right well here's my rundown of what I've managed to snag so far:

Bumblebee: Got him and Soundwave at Botcon. Not much different than the previous one except that he has slightly more detail on the car mode and his gun is now hard molded into his arm. Good buy if you don't have the first one or are a huge fan of the character, otherwise you might want to reconsider.

Soundwave: I found myself dissappointed with this figure. As '86 said nothing pegs down in any mode and the instructions and packaging are nearly useless in helping you figure out if you've got it "right". In fact determining what "right" even is is something of a challenge as everything just seems to vaguely go where ever it feels like. Fail.

The Fallen: Paint scheme sucks, transformation sucks, articulation sucks, design of the character sucks, the character himself sucks, the increased price point sucks, it's just 150% pure suck. EPIC FAIL!!

Almost forgot, altmode sucks thus raising him to at least to a solid 175% pure suck.

Sideswipe: I actually liked this figure. It was a little tough to figure the transformation at first, but honestly that's part of the appeal to me with the whole concept of TF so I was ok with that. The feet are on wheels, but can stand in bot mode. Interesting transformation and I like the swords on his arms. I do wish he'd been red if for no other reason that to add some color to an otherwise mostly grey-botted movie.

Sideways: I don't generally buy movie toys unless they were actually in the movie and when I found out he was in, I decided to get him. Glad I did, cause I like it. Like Sidewsipe, he's got an interesting transform and I like the design. It was a little frustrating at first to figure out how to lock everything in place in vehicle mode, but at least everything DOES actually lock into place. And my computer is doing something wierd in this postso this will be continued in a second.
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Re: ROTF Review Thread

Post by Shockwave »

All right, well that was annoying. Anyway as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by my computer (it kept shaking the line I was typing down one line below where I could see it, only scrolling up while I was typing thus causing a shaking effect where I couldn't see anything. It's nothing short of amazing that the last two sentences of that are anywhere near readable). Clearly that's what happens when a fan post is directed by Michael Bay :lol:

Anyway, Sideways, recommended. Moving on.

Skids and Mudflap: The twins. I'm reviewing them together as they're so similar and I feel the same about both of them and it just seems quicker this way. Transfomations FROM vehicle mode are fine, but good luck getting it back. I still haven't succeeded with Mudflap and I bought him a week ago. I got Skids back to altmode, and I kind of got Mudflap, but his crotch was rubbing against the ground and I can't really think that the design of the toy really intended that and I didn't seem to recall it doing that when I originally took it out of the package. If it weren't for that, I'd recommend them, but because of that I call fail.

Barricade: Skip this unless you absolutely have no other options for owning Barricade. The vehicle mode arms are literally the only things different on this toy from the last one and they don't even fold into the grill like Frenzy did. Fail.

Ravage: Doesn't REEEEEALLY have any altmode to speak of, but that's Michael Bay's fault, not Hasbro's. Accurate likeness of the movie model and therefore recommended.

Wal-Mart Skywarp and Ramjet: Repaints of Thundercracker and Starscream respectively. I like this mold, but didn't see anything new between this one and movie 1 Starscream. You may want to consider whether or not you already have one of the bajillion Starscream repaints already out there or if you really are super attatched to these characters before you purchase.

Leader size Megatron: I have yet to successfully transform this toy. I'm sure it can be done, but I've only really tried once and failed (course I was in a hurry to pack it up at the time). His electronics sound at the drop of a hat, parts fall off and I really just don't like the arms. One is his cannon and the other looks like the wilted branch of a tree. You may want to skip this in favor of the Voyager version unless you have Leader Prime and really want him to have someone to fight. It's not necessarily a bad figure, it just looks odd.
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Re: ROTF Review Thread

Post by Onslaught Six »

Reconsider the movie-character-only rule. Some of the best toys from the first movie line were ones that weren't in it, like Longarm and Arcee.

Hey, Arcee was perfectly acceptable, I can't think of a thing wrong with her. Definitely better than the ROTF toys.
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: ROTF Review Thread

Post by Shockwave »

Onslaught Six wrote:Reconsider the movie-character-only rule. Some of the best toys from the first movie line were ones that weren't in it, like Longarm and Arcee.

Hey, Arcee was perfectly acceptable, I can't think of a thing wrong with her. Definitely better than the ROTF toys.
Funny you should mention that I had actually considered getting her at the time, but I thought it was just a repaint of Enercee. Is she really that different?
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Re: ROTF Review Thread

Post by BWprowl »

The Basic Arcee is a repaint of EnerCee. There's a (pink) Deluxe version who is a totally new mold. And much better than she appears at first glance. Seriously, I was all set to pass on her after the first pics we saw, then I realized that those pics had the limbs positioned *horribly*, and that she was actually pretty cool. I'm a bit biased though, since I have a weird thing for motorcycle TFs. Though that bias might be balanced out by my immense dislike of fembots. So yeah, she cool.
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