Universe2.0/Generations Review Thread

[BWprowl]

Also. Is Sunstorm the yellow rainmaker? I keep thinking he is, but I might be wrong.

Nah, You're probably thinking of Meteor Storm.

Going by that, though...brown Seeker named Shitstorm? I dunno, someone was gonna say it.

Actually, that would be a good place for them to use the Duststorm name.

I'm clearly enjoying this way too much.

[CrossRook]

Clearly.

Well I want a Sunstorm. Religion is one of the few things TF has embraced yet also strayed far, far from. So I'd like to see Jesus-bot get his due.

[andersonh1]

I'd definately like Sunstorm, but one with the E-hobby color scheme. I imagine we'll get the primarily yellow with black trim that we've normally gotten in American releases of the character, but that would be my second choice.

[JediTricks]

Indeed. All I ask is that it's at least got somewhere to peg onto. Take EnerDownshift/Movie Big Daddy, for example. His launchers can attach to the sides of his vehicle mode--they look kinda stupid when they do, but they 'can' if you need to have them there.

They give the car fins, and I actually think that's kinda cool.

Better yet, they can stay there during transformation if you're careful. That's the mark of a truly well-integrated accessory. It can come off and be held in robot mode, but it doesn't 'have' to, and can stay on during transformation. If ClaPrime's hatgun didn't form such an important part of the vehicle mode, it'd be a good example of this.

And by "important", you mean "totally unnecessary and removable on many trucks, not to mention this particular truck looks fine with or without it"? The vane is totally fine removed, the holder panel covers the hole left by this even. It's the stacks gun that's really the problem, the whole thing is way too big.

They sorta-kinda did, you just have to turn the head face-down. It's not terribly intrusive, but it does prevent me from citing that as too prime an example.

Prime an example. Ho ho ho.

Oi.

I'm confused by this, I always turned the head face-down, it fits perfectly and is flush with the top. And I think it's supposed to fit face down as the area is shaped to accommodate Prime's face, while leaving him face up causes the brow ridge to sit above flush which keeps the vane from sitting flat.

I would rather have fewer accessories that integrate gracefully than extra accessories that I can lose. Give me something with a place in both modes that looks good. For example, BW Ramulus has that horn weapon. It is the ram'e horns and the robot's skirmish weapon. That is fine as it has someplace to be in both forms.

But this isn't the case on CD Scattorshot at all, he has integrated accessories too, the rifle is a bonus. If you're saying you'd rather NOT have the rifle than have it, that's ludicrous, you can throw it away if you prefer not to have it, or trade it, but calling the figure a negative for having a bonus 3rd gun is totally unfair.

The use of the hard-point on Dropshot annoys be because it is not a legitimate storage point. It works, yes. But, it feels very post-hoc.

How do you know it's not a legit storage point? The hole on that gun fits perfectly, moldmakers don't do something like that by accident.

That's a prime example of the other kind. I HATE that kind of accessory, because the toy is ruined if you lose it (In Ramulus' case, it demasculates him), making buying second-hand that much harder. It's also essentially legoforming, which is where my true issue with it lies.

Universe Sunstreaker's exahust pipe gun, that's a well-integrated non-essential accessory. Hell, even G1 Megatron's fusion cannon is a well-integrated accessory. But Ramulus' horn assembly, aside from being a stupid gimmick and a terribly 'gun', forms an essential part of his alternate mode, and that's inexcusably poor. While weapons with nowhere to go in a mode are bad, I'd sooner have the kind that tack on lamely with a peg (See: Cybertron Hot Shot) than the kind that 'have' to be there to transform the toy at all (See: Ransack). An exception comes when the removal of said component is entirely optional (See: Undermine). I like my accessories to be accessories, not chunks of the toy that should become part of the robot.

Some good points, though I don't mind having the legoformed weapons if they aren't too large in the alt mode. Ramulus' horns making for shitty weapons aside, he does hold onto them well in alt mode, and that to me is good enough, yet Cybertron Hot Shot's shitty gun is easily lost because it merely pegs to the top of the car, it looks bad up there and it comes out easily. If it's an accessory that gets easily lost, like Universe Prowl's gun, that's bullshit, but if it holds well like Animated Prowl's ninja stars, that's ok.

I just...I don't get it. What's lackluster about his execution? The guy nails 'everything' about Onslaught that could ever be nailed. He's awesome. In every way. Are there any toys you've gotten recently that you *haven't'* hated?

Ok, well, for anybody NOT named after the guy, the execution is lacking. Simplistic sculpt, gappy legs, underwhelming design, unsatisfying transformation, boring electronics, and it looks more like an upsized $10 figure. And nails everything? Should I start with him not being a combiner, or the lack of height?

Onslaught seems to have stickers on the turret. Those 2 gold pieces look like stickers. Am I wrong on this? If I am wrong, that is great.

Those gold reflectors under the LEDs? Those are vac-metallized plastic, not stickers.

The "seat" was not my only problem with CD Red Alert.

You do remember that we successfully pointed out to you that it's not meant to be a seat, it's a design touch from the real SCUD launching vehicle it's based on, right? Therefore, no reason to hate on accuracy.

My only complaint (aside from the cannons and lack of a bigger gun. Damn I need to dig out my Urban Mega-Octane's rifle...) is that his legs look really gappy. But that can be fixed a bit by closing up his knees, if you so wish.

Don't close up his knees, those parts are not designed to do that, once you fold the leg panels around the knee panels don't have clearance, you'll end up bending or stressing the parts.

Onslaught's robot mode is perfect for Onslaught's character, see. Go compare him to the G1 toy. You'll see that he's got all kinds of similar details--they really played up the rivets look, which was a big part of G1Slaught for me. The way his legs transform and end up is even similar to the G1 toy's foldy bit. Yeah, his arms are sorta-kinda plain...but they're supposed to be.

Maybe that's my problem... I've never seen G1 Onslaught or any of his repainted versions beyond the print on a catalogue.
Thanks for the info though. It's definitley enough to make me reconsider my distaste for him.

It's bunk IMO, Classics isn't supposed to replicate the original's failures like its simplistic design, it's supposed to accent its characteristics in a modern level of quality and detail, which this figure does not. And the claim of similarity on his leg transformation is downright BS, they're nothing alike.

Even the way ClaSlaught's angled chestplate is designed kinda evokes the snap-on chestplate of G1Slaught.

In FANTASYLAND, maybe!

Oh, Prowl, clearly you've not received the memo - Classics are the best thing Evar, and no dissention is allowed.

I'd like to point out that I reviewed Classics Starscream mixed-to-negatively, calling out his multiple points of suck.

[Onslaught Six]

It's bunk IMO, Classics isn't supposed to replicate the original's failures like its simplistic design, it's supposed to accent its characteristics in a modern level of quality and detail, which this figure does not. And the claim of similarity on his leg transformation is downright BS, they're nothing alike.

I don't see how Onslaught has a simplistic design. >.>

And the leg thing *is* true. G1slaught's legs have an extra wheel portion that folds up against his legs, so the back of each leg has two wheels. ClaSlaught's got an extra wheel that folds up into his legs, and the other two stick out the back of his legs in a similar manner.

Even the way ClaSlaught's angled chestplate is designed kinda evokes the snap-on chestplate of G1Slaught.

In FANTASYLAND, maybe!

No, really. G1slaught's chestplate has this distinctive trapezoid shape or somesuch. The top of ClaSlaught's chest--the part that angles downwards--is shaped similarly towards the front and sides.

I've studied Onslaught's design extensively over the years, I know what his stuff looks like--so I can see exactly where ClaSlaught nails it.

[Dominic]

I know about the detailing that O6 is talking about. But, I think it was a sticker on the original, and thus not visible on every copy of the toy.

I concede that I was wrong about CD Red Alert's "seat", but I still do not like that toy, largely on the basis of my general dislike of the the "Cybertron Defense" sub-line as a whole.

But this isn't the case on CD Scattorshot at all, he has integrated accessories too, the rifle is a bonus. If you're saying you'd rather NOT have the rifle than have it, that's ludicrous, you can throw it away if you prefer not to have it, or trade it, but calling the figure a negative for having a bonus 3rd gun is totally unfair.

Because if I dispose of the extra part, then the toy is not complete.

I am reposting some of the remnants of our pre-forum emails here.

> -- That's ludicrous. If a figure has an accessory and you feel he'd do
> better without it, that's insane, just put it away, then he's without

If the toy has an accessory included, then it is not complete without
that accessory. I do not like incomplete toys. And, I am only
marginally more tolerant of toys that are cumbersome when complete.
And, if that makes me insane, then sir, I am a loon.

> it. Look at Cybertron CD Scattorshot's rifle, that figure would be
> totally complete without it, plenty of weaponry, but they tossed in an
> extra - maybe he picked it up from the armory, maybe he took it off a
> dead Decepticon - and he's better for it without it being integral. The

Maybe Hasbro could have gone the extra mile, nay acre, and made the
damned thing integrate rather than clipping on as an after-thought.

> only way accessories must have to fit with a toy is in their hands. You

And, some lines, such as JLU, do not even manage this.

> are creating such a narrow, limited view of the concept that you're
> actually knocking a figure for coming with extra bits that you yourself
> admit the figure would be fine without. What if Ratchet doesn't bring
> his tools with him on the battlefield? What if he leaves them at the

If he forgets his tools, he is either a bad medic, or a medic with a
badly designed alt-mode that cannot carry the stupid things.


> base and they included them for that reason? Integration wouldn't even
> make sense. This is toy-hackery at its worst, "just because Beast Wars
> did it, everything else has to do it, and if they don't they get
> punished despite the figure being fine even without the accessory at
> all," can't you see how that's an overly-narrow interpretation?

How is this toy-hackery? "Toy-hack" stands for the phonetic spelling of
the abbreviation for "The One I Had As A Kid", TOIHAAK. Toy-hacks have
an unnatural attachment to the toys the loved as children. In my case,
it is only toy-hackery if it derives from the phrase "The One I HATED As
A Kid".

I do not like integrated parts because Beast Wars made it standard. I
like them because I recall all those G1 parts I lost as a kid. There
were many G1 toys that had to be kept in robot mode to keep all of the
parts in place. And, in some cases you could not even do that. Ever
see one of those original F15 molds? There was no way to display them
completely intact. At the very least, you had to leave out a set
missiles. Would it have killed Hasbro/Takara to at least have molded
compartments on the legs to hold the extra missiles, or maybe even the
robot fists (which had to come off to transform the robot into a jet)?

If nothing else, when playing with the toys, it really disrupted the
flow of the game to have to go looking for missing parts, or to have to
find safe places to store parts so they would not go missing. The
Beast era poved that integrated parts could be done, and done well. AEC
mostly continued this trend. But, now, we are getting toys that do not
integrate. It is s step back to the toys I hated as a kid.

>
> > Down with glory hole boxes. Those things skeez the hell out of me. All
> > they do is add another step to me opening the toy, as I have to
> > carefully wipe my Leader class toys down before I transform them.
> -- Hi, nice to meet a crazy person.

Well, if you want to meet the pervert who spooged your brand-new toys, I
will not judge you. Me, I want nothing to do with them or the filth
they smeared on those toys.

Dom
-thinks toys should have integrated parts in sealed packaging.

[Onslaught Six]

That's a big point, though, Dom, that if a toy comes with Something and then you lose it, the toy is now incomplete. But then you have to wonder where the line gets drawn.

I bought the Rhinox reissue from a few years ago and have no idea where the Transmutate bit is. Is he incomplete? I guess, technically, by your definition, yes he is. But he displays just fine and looks cool, so, er, what's the point?

It's that old Hasbro mandated thing. Hasbro included This with the toy, so you somehow feel obligated to associate it with that toy. Hasbro also named him Shockblast, but we all know he's supposed to be Shockwave, so why get angry about it?

It's a similar case with Joes, actually. Walky moved a few months ago, and after he did, he made a blog post complaining about how difficult it was to remember which gun went with which guy. While it's good to know these kind of things, I go with the ideology of "Give them whatever gun looks coolest." My Steeler is currently holding two pistols, because...well, his boxart had two pistols, and I know one's supposed to be in his chest holster, but it's not removable, and I thought it looked cool, so I gave him an extra pistol. Snake Eyes is currently wielding a silver uzi and a silver sword that came with my ToyFare Snake Eyes from several years ago, because I like the contrast of his black body and the silver weapons. It looks cool. Major Bludd is wearing the red scarf from my DTC Bludd from a while back. And what it all comes down to is they look cool and that's good enough for me, yeah?

[andersonh1]

Legends class Jazz and G2 Megatron.

Now let me say that these things are beginning to get too expensive. $4.44 apiece at Wal-Mart for a figure that's about half the size of a basic/scout class. They aren't that much larger than the old mini-bots, though a bit more complicated. I guess the price of petroleum is not only affecting the gas prices needed to transport products like this, but also the plastic used to make them. Just as I won't pay $7.99 for a basic, I think I've reached the limit of what I'll pay for a Legends class figure.

Onwards and upwards with the reviews...

Autobot Jazz
G1 Jazz, packaged in robot mode. First impressions are good. This guy could perhaps use a little more paint here or there, but otherwise makes for a decent representation of Jazz in a much smaller size. The vehicle mode is 'not quite a Porsche', but still resembles the 938 that the original toy is based on. The card has stats but no bio, and the stats match up exactly with the G1 numbers.

Transformation is similar, but not exactly the same as the original. The arms are formed from the doors and side of the car, leaving the wheels on the wrists instead of the shoulders. The feet are formed from the back of the car, but with the spoilers at the knees and the back of the passenger section as toes. The hood is the chest. The window section of the doors still form wings, but they stick straight back rather than out to the sides as wings.

Overall, within the limitations of size and budget, this is a very good cut down version of Jazz.

G2 Megatron
I never owned the original version of this figure, but I always got the impression that it was way too simple for the size. The Legends figure solves that problem, and also darkens the color scheme. It's still green with purple camo, but not the neon green and purple of the original. It reminds me of G1 Brawl at this size and color. I haven't actually opened it yet, so I can't speak to articulation, but I can tell the head turns, the arms move at the elbows, and the knees bend. Not sure about the waist.

Overall, an excellent cut down version of the original from what I can tell, and the simple transformation scheme translates well to this size.

Both of these figures seem to be better than the movie Legends class, in that the likeness of the original is captured more succesfully. Simpler designs translating better to smaller size perhaps? Both are worth having.

[onslaught86]

And by "important", you mean "totally unnecessary and removable on many trucks, not to mention this particular truck looks fine with or without it"? The vane is totally fine removed, the holder panel covers the hole left by this even. It's the stacks gun that's really the problem, the whole thing is way too big.

Ehh, the blue head panel puts me off. If that was covered, it'd be fine. As-is, it's not what I'd consider totally fine. "If G1 Prime does it better.."

I'm confused by this, I always turned the head face-down, it fits perfectly and is flush with the top. And I think it's supposed to fit face down as the area is shaped to accommodate Prime's face, while leaving him face up causes the brow ridge to sit above flush which keeps the vane from sitting flat.

I think I usually turn it face-down too, just accounting for the chance people might not. But I've not transformed the mould in some time (Despite owning three flavours), so.

Some good points, though I don't mind having the legoformed weapons if they aren't too large in the alt mode.

I don't get this, why too large? Blackout's big rotor grinder deal? Big Convoy's Big Cannon? As far as I'm concerned, if it has to come off as part of the transformation and you can't transform them to alt. mode without it, it's cheating.

Ramulus' horns making for shitty weapons aside, he does hold onto them well in alt mode, and that to me is good enough, yet Cybertron Hot Shot's shitty gun is easily lost because it merely pegs to the top of the car, it looks bad up there and it comes out easily. If it's an accessory that gets easily lost, like Universe Prowl's gun, that's bullshit, but if it holds well like Animated Prowl's ninja stars, that's ok.

What if it's added on but holds on well, like Movie Jazz's speargun?

Ok, well, for anybody NOT named after the guy, the execution is lacking. Simplistic sculpt, gappy legs, underwhelming design, unsatisfying transformation, boring electronics, and it looks more like an upsized $10 figure. And nails everything? Should I start with him not being a combiner, or the lack of height?

I'll come back to shake my fist once the fucking toy actually makes it to my island.

It's bunk IMO, Classics isn't supposed to replicate the original's failures like its simplistic design, it's supposed to accent its characteristics in a modern level of quality and detail, which this figure does not. And the claim of similarity on his leg transformation is downright BS, they're nothing alike.

Quality is a pretty hard to define attribute. A lot of the Classics and Universe stuff is pretty unstable. There's something to be said for minimalism. Ideally, I prefer the simplistic designs to retain their pop and purity of form, with lots of smaller details, the chinks in the armour. Not to the extent of Animated, but think Armada Megatron with his oodles of greebles. I'd certainly say ClaSlaught achieves this and then some, although I don't own him yet.

I'd like to point out that I reviewed Classics Starscream mixed-to-negatively, calling out his multiple points of suck.

You still as fond of Mirage as you were back then? I still reckon he's pretty blah, despite owning the BotCon flavour too and wanting Crasher.

[Dominic]

Extra pack-in bits, like a build-up piece, are different from parts that are supposed to be connected to the toy.

Joe weapons tend to be fungible. (Many of them are shared molding anyway.) But, TF weapons tend to be unique to mold or character. That is where I draw the line.

Dom