Scout-class Breacher and Insecticon

[JediTricks]

I found HftD Scout wave 2 yesterday at TRU, I bought Breacher and Insecticon, left Oil Pan (a repaint of Brakedown).

Insecticon is supposed to be the tiny fly guys from the 2nd movie yet is not only much bigger, but notably different in design and coloring, so it's really its own thing. Bot mode is short even for a Scout-class, and has no hands proper, but a pair of separate pincer on each rotating shoulder that end in points. The head is a fairly classic take on an insect-bot-man, mandibles sculpted to cover the mouth, beady red eyes. The figure has a solid aesthetic, numerous little nozzles and a few tight croppings of tech detailing, and the deco carries a specific alien robot insect message as well - olive drab with milky gray and blue wings is a dull color scheme though. Articulation is decent, though the ball jointed shoulders on the larger rotating shoulder can be too much at times. The bot holds together well except for each shoulder panel which rotates a little on its transformation arm since it doesn't lock down.

Transformation is made to look complex in the instructions, but is really just rotating the back down, then the chest and head up, and locking the shoulders into the thorax (oh, and there's a notch to rotate the last segment of the gaster, a small but nice add). Naturally the instructions still manage to get it wrong.

Insect mode is fairly standard for a modern insect-bot, and has 6 legs on points articulated at ball-jointed shoulders and hinged knees (the front set have hinged feet-points as well). The size becomes standard Scout-class here. Not a lot of personality, it's a red camera eye between 2 sets of mandibles and a little tech detailing on a small hinged head. The figure holds together well thanks to the shoulders locking into the thorax. The colors and sculpting are unchanged here, though the small black Decepticon logos on the wing roots is an interesting touch. The wings are translucent and unfortunately sport large-ish, sculpted copyright texts on the underside leading edge of each. The detailing does change orientations, the top taken over by the wings and large round gaster at the back, the underside is about the legs and a number of sculpted thrust nozzles (compensating for the stubby wings). The gaster sports a silver disc full of techy detail on either side.

Overall, I'd give this an unenthusiastic "B" grade. It's not inspired, but neither is it insipid, it's just a tad unexciting. For movieverse, it does what its needs to adequately.


Breacher is nothing short of incredible. Vehicle mode is a 6-wheeled armored SWAT-type vehicle with a significant turret gun on top. Detailing is terrific, and the scale suggests a pretty big vehicle, no notable gaps or hollow spots that ugly it up. Colors are nearly all police blue plastic, some silver accents, red lights at the back, and a few white numbers and Autobot symbols. It even rolls well. The turret rotates and the gun elevates (technically it can actually lift up and rotate on a ball joint, but that's for bot mode). The vehicle only fits on Seaspray's hovercraft mode if you lift the rear ramp all the way up and open the drive fans, which isn't stable in the least.

Transformation would be exciting for a Deluxe, so for a Scout it's downright amazing. It's complex, with panel folding and parts rotation, and generally feels clever the whole way through. Going back to alt mode requires a little panel massaging and some thought.

Bot mode is a solid, well-executed Scout with a light-armor theme. There isn't much kibble, and what's there is turned into armor plates. Sculpted detail is good, making use where it can of the alt mode, and adding tech detailing to new bits. The look is anti-movieverse, it's a modern classic TF style all the way around. If I had an issue with the overall look, it'd be that the back is fairly open and small compared to the rest, but it's pretty minor a thing. Colors add white and black to the blue, plus more red elements, and green eyes. Articulation is top notch, pretty much only lacking rotation at the thighs, there's a lot of ball joints but it doesn't look it except at the elbows, and the waist can rotate from transformation (though it's offset back a little so the more it's used, the odder it looks). The gun detaches from the turret, it's on a ball-jointed 3mm clip which can be stowed on the back or put on the hand over a 3mm punch-extender on either fist, there's also 3mm roundbar on either side of the buttplate and the top of each forearm shield kibble - the shields themselves can be detached from the forearms and "held" on the fists or stowed on the back as they're also on 3mm clips! The instructions don't mention the shield thing, it feels like an undocumented feature, but they also don't mention that the gun can be used this way which is downright strange.

Overall, Breacher gets an A+, I can't imagine this not being the gold standard and benchmark of Scout-class figures to come.

[138 Scourge]

Wow, Breacher's that good, huh? I hadn't heard anything either way about this guy, now I'm intrigued.

I just wish Scouts weren't so damn expensive these days. It wasn't but a couple years ago that deluxes were this price.*


*At Wal-Mart. For a few months. But still.

[JediTricks]

Wow, Breacher's that good, huh? I hadn't heard anything either way about this guy, now I'm intrigued.

I just wish Scouts weren't so damn expensive these days. It wasn't but a couple years ago that deluxes were this price.*


*At Wal-Mart. For a few months. But still.

$8 for a scout seems to be the price TRU, Target, and WM have set around here. It does feel a buck too heavy, but "the economy"... Deluxes are supposed to be $12, too, but these days everybody's discounting to $10 because they sell better at that price. I'm less impressed with PCCs at $10, that is unacceptable, they are mediocre sets.


Anyway, I didn't want to oversell Breacher, but I couldn't contain it, he's a tiny ball of awesome. There isn't one place on him where I could look at it and say "if only they had done this, or hadn't done that, he's be better". He'd be outstanding as a deluxe and as a scout he's unfathomable really, it's like "how did they do that much in such a small package?!?" and afterwards, the thinking becomes "how do they NOT do others as good as this?!?" And then there's a quiet honesty about both modes, no flashy gimmicks, no movieverse oddities, no proportional issues, just a solid, nice-looking toy that is fun.