dlx Brawn, Ratchet, Lockdown

[JediTricks]

I picked up Deluxes on Target's $10 sale at La Cienega Target: Lockdown, Ratchet, Brawn. Same store also had a single scout Divebomb (red baron repaint of Ransack, I would have bought but low on cash), which meant I missed Skystalker.

Lockdown is very cool. Vehicle mode is a clever reinterpretation of the animated character. Ground clearance is close, and can be bottomed out by positioning the thighs, wheels, or even claw wrong. Transformation is interesting, and would be fun if not for the shoulders popping out of their joints too easily, and their kibble getting in the way. Bot mode is pretty good, but the small number of kibble pieces are a little frustrating on such a skinny figure. The right hand being a permanent hook (a rubbery one) is a weird choice, but it fits I guess. He's tall and fairly well articulated, especially the head and lower body, though his arms are simple ball shoulders and hinge elbows, and he has no waist. Lots of sculpted detailing. The head has great light-piping in bright red-orange, it's intense; the head is meant to be raised up high on its joint and then have its chin pulled away from the neck, the middle of the neck being bent forward a little too, this makes him look more like the character and keeps the neck from looking too flat, which it can too easily. Attaching dlx movie Ratchet's EMP missile launcher gun (a bland, standard-gun type of design) keeps his left arm permanently bent. His blower is smaller and has no gimmick, it can't even attach to this Ratchet figure which IMO is a huge blunder. Overall, pretty good, lots of great detail in both modes, huge, but a little frustrating due to small kibble issues and easily-popped shoulders and hips.


Ratchet is crap in alt mode. Small and mountains of bot kibble sticking out the bottom and even noticeable in the back of the "truck bed", plus there's a nasty gap above the front wheels. Transformation is annoying and very panel oriented, there are a small number of good ideas in a few spots but they are dreadfully lost in execution. Bot mode is pretty weak sauce. It's the movie 1 character, but he's been sick lately and lost weight, then slapped on a few big kibble pieces on his hips and shoulders to make up for it. The chest is way hollow from the side, and somewhat from the front too, and it's awful for it. They concentrated more on the moving fog lights, then gave them no shape and made them dark blue so they get totally lost. The legs have basically no detail, they're blobby, and don't even have paint to help pick up the pieces. The big kibble hip panels have so little detail it's insulting. The arms are in the same boat, but less articulation and the right arm has ugly gears and springs for the gun gimmick. The head is like Ratchet if he were a robot bird, and light-piped in such a dark color that more light shines through the plastic around the eyes than the eyes themselves. Articulation is fair, but a lot of it is limited. The gun is ok, and I like the gimmick concept - mount it to the forearm and the forearm clamps around the side and back, adding another element - but the gears don't lock down, and the springs are so strong they often shoot the gun back off the forearm. I think the most annoying thing about this figure, and there's a lot to be annoyed by, is that it fails little by little everywhere, and any fan could have seen ways to avoid its myriad problems. I'm half tempted to take this figure back for sucking, but then I would have returned both the deluxe and the voyager class Ratchets for that.


Brawn is pretty cool in alt mode, but the focus on the round rail bars would probably be cooler if I owned the new Ironhide with the clip-on weapons system. As it is, Brawn is an armored truck with a satellite antenna and long rifle permanently mounted to the roof, a bunch of thick armored railing around the back, and almost entirely cast in dark olive which combined with the simple deco makes it a bit more drab than it deserves. The rifle can pivot up 45 degrees, but can't turn. No kibble to speak of, provided you don't pick it up and see the bot head and chest sitting right in the middle of the undercarriage. Transformation isn't too bad for something with this much panel action, but the hips pop off way too easily, and the instructions overthink and confuse issues too. Robot mode is an odd, kibbly thing, but not entirely bad. The entirety of the truck ends up as shell parts on the back, shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees, to the point of being shameful. The bot himself is dark silver, dark green, a greenish metallic color, and a few red accents. The head is an odd armored look with black, beady eyes lost in black paint - they're lightpiped but such a dark color and an odd angle that it doesn't come through at all. The figure transforms with twin pistols in hand, they'd be pretty cool if they weren't half-translucent and half the same color as his fists, that was a boneheaded deco choice. The pistols can store inside the back kibble, there's a small tab which corresponds to a slot in the pistols' grips, it's not obvious and not in the instructions but that's the ONLY reason these tabs would be there. The rifle is permanently attached to the back, hinged in several spots to end up over either shoulder. Sculpting is fair, not outstanding but detail everywhere you look, and not all matching. Articulation is decent. I think I like this figure a little, but it is an odd duck and kibbly as all get-out.

[andersonh1]

I saw these the other day. I like the look of Lockdown, and will probably obtain him at some point. I agree completely about Ratchet... there's way too much kibble visible underneath the vehicle. Not impressed at all.

[Onslaught Six]

Was really excited for Ratchet when we heard he existed. Then pics happened, and I've slowly been losing enthusiasm ever since. Even his proposed interaction with Lockdown apparently sucks, meaning I've got even less incentive. Passing. Just Lockdown now. And Brawn, of course, because I love Brawn. He's a Brawn update! With a head that looks like the toy!

[Dominic]

As an added insult, Ratchet does not even look like the movie, kibble or not.

Lockdown does not look bad though.

Dom
-rather likes Voyager Ratchet.

[JediTricks]

I saw these the other day. I like the look of Lockdown, and will probably obtain him at some point. I agree completely about Ratchet... there's way too much kibble visible underneath the vehicle. Not impressed at all.

Ratchet is an absolute faceplant, and some of the underneath kibble is totally unnecessary since they hinged the heelspurs on the inside and could have done that for the outside! Wouldn't have saved it, but at least would have gotten some out of the way.

Was really excited for Ratchet when we heard he existed. Then pics happened, and I've slowly been losing enthusiasm ever since. Even his proposed interaction with Lockdown apparently sucks, meaning I've got even less incentive. Passing. Just Lockdown now. And Brawn, of course, because I love Brawn. He's a Brawn update! With a head that looks like the toy!

Yeah, the interaction with Lockdown is such a letdown, that's the ONLY reason I bought Ratchet, even on the $10 sale I knew it was the only reason, and it still comes up way short.

[onslaught86]

So they all have lots of little iffy bits, but started out with a bunch of good ideas? Gee, couldn't possibly tell which line they come from.

I hate popping joints, so that'll hurt these ones for me, yet I'm oddly compelled to pick all three up. There's something about Ratchet's design that gets me, I think it's just that he's super-slim in comparison to the stack of boxes that make up the endlessly repainted Mega Ratchet. Or maybe it's just that this is the first new Ratchet toy. Either way, vehicle does blow, it's the look of the robot I like. Lockdown's a definite buy since I dig the character and design. Brawn seems the best of the bunch aesthetically tho', glad to hear he has pistol storage.

[JediTricks]

So they all have lots of little iffy bits, but started out with a bunch of good ideas? Gee, couldn't possibly tell which line they come from.

Ouch, but yeah, pretty much.

I hate popping joints, so that'll hurt these ones for me, yet I'm oddly compelled to pick all three up. There's something about Ratchet's design that gets me, I think it's just that he's super-slim in comparison to the stack of boxes that make up the endlessly repainted Mega Ratchet. Or maybe it's just that this is the first new Ratchet toy. Either way, vehicle does blow, it's the look of the robot I like.

Ben gave Ratchet a top rating in part for your "slim" reasoning, but mentioned NOTHING about the hollow chest, the fugly kibble on the hips and shoulders, the lack of painted detail, the odd face, the gun popping out of the forearm, or the alt mode kibble. That's a LOT to overlook, that's a mountain.

Brawn seems the best of the bunch aesthetically tho', glad to hear he has pistol storage.

Agreed, that was one thing that if they hadn't made accommodations for, I think I would have lost my cool with this figure. It has a lot stacked against it, so that one needed to hold it from falling over the edge.

[andersonh1]

Lockdown

Lockdown is an interesting figure. Originally created and designed for the Animated line, Lockdown has been adapted for the Revenge of the Fallen movie line. While recognizable, he's different in a number of ways. I'm not a big fan of Animated, but I liked the character of Lockdown in the tv series, enough to buy a version of him that isn't entirely in the Animated aesthetic.

I borrowed some pics from Chaos Muffin of TFW2005 for this review. The compare Animated Lockdown (on the left) with ROTF Lockdown, on the right.

Vehicle mode:



The car resembles no real-world model that I'm aware of. It's certainly an imposing vehicle, with spikes all over it and a raised engine block. It's mostly a dark brown with light and dark green highlights, and gold and silver trim. The taillights are red, while the headlights and vehicle windows are dark orange. And for once, the Decepticon insignia, found on the roof, is purple instead of silver. I vastly prefer the original red and purple insignias to the silver ones.

Transformation: The car pretty much splits apart in the middle, with the hood section pulling away, the doors and arms pulling out, and the roof going up. The engine section pulls in half and then the entire bottom of the car folds down, leaving the front bumper as feet. The arms twist and unfold with the right one inclined to pop off the ball joint. The roof folds over the now visible head to make the chest, and the shoulders take a little massaging to get into place.

Robot mode:



This guy is very tall for a deluxe, and almost 'skeletal' in appearance. He's meant to be a mix of stolen parts, at least in Animated, and the ROTF figure pulls off that appearance very well. The engine block unplugs and fits into his arm, probably a reference to Ratchet's EMP blaster from the Animated storyline. Both hands (one of which is a hook) are made from a very soft rubbery plastic, reminding me of Titaniums. There are plenty of sculpted details, and an asymmetrical appearance which befits his mishmash concept.

Posability is good, and the figure is very stable.

Overall: a unique figure, in that the character is a remake of last year's line rather than a remake of an older G1 or Beast Wars figure. It's a nice idea, well executed.

[Onslaught Six]

Just got Lockdown. He's cool! Might do a full review on him.

[onslaught86]

I got Brawn, Terri beat me to Lockdown. I'll be in for any Lockdown redecos, tho'.

Brawn I dig more, he's got this neat Gundam-style aesthetic, combined with a sort of armoured dwarf look. I wish he had more vehicle mode deco and had black guns, but the robot mode's colour balance is pretty cool. If the guns could stay stored during transformation I'd be happier. Still, this one I do recommend.

Shall be picking up Ratchet soon, there be sales on.