Universe2.0/Generations Review Thread

[Tigermegatron]

I think the recent FOC Starscream toy is a bautifully sculpted & powerful looking toy in both mode--->This toy should have been Voyager sized & not deluxe size. While I think all the ugly/slim/streamlined/puny looking TFA/TFP Voyager sized starscream toys should have been deluxe sized.

[Tigermegatron]

I bought & Transformered Generations 30th voyagers Blitzwing & Springer Yesterday.

Springer is a awesome toy,it's clearly the winner out of both toys released in this wave. They did a amazing job on this toy. my only complaint is,it's kinda on the slender/skinny side,I would have preferred more bulk. But since the original 1986 springer toy/cartoon version was also skinny/slender it's not really as minus as this is a homage.

30th Blitzwing is a decent sculpted toy in all Three modes. It's way better than the TF Animated Voyager Blitzwing toy. The 30th Blitzwing toy SUFFERS FROM THE SAME EXACT THING BW II LIONCONVOY DOES----> AS BOTH toys shoulder slots peg in extremely loose into the chest plate piece,resulting in the pegs & slots on the shoulder/chest coming off extremely loose. Peaugh on his You-Page memtions a fix,I tried it,sadly the fix doesn't work for me. I HAD TO RESORT TO USING "CLEAR NAIL HARDNER" ON THE SLOTS/PEGS,hopefully this tightens things up---> This did wonders for the recent deluxe Thunderwing's loose hips joints.

[JediTricks]

Peaugh's method didn't work for mine on the right side, but it did work on the left side. The best method is what DvD did, adding spacers. Stiffening the joint won't help, the failure is due to the materials used and the length of the segment holding the hinge being too long to hold the shoulder in place, so the whole back-to-shoulder assembly will simply move out of the way too easily to allow the joints to hold it in place. A spacer bypasses the whole issue by pushing the shoulder into place from a different part.

[Tigermegatron]

Peaugh's method didn't work for mine on the right side, but it did work on the left side. The best method is what DvD did, adding spacers. Stiffening the joint won't help, the failure is due to the materials used and the length of the segment holding the hinge being too long to hold the shoulder in place, so the whole back-to-shoulder assembly will simply move out of the way too easily to allow the joints to hold it in place. A spacer bypasses the whole issue by pushing the shoulder into place from a different part.

I was successful at using clear nail hardner. it tooks a few seconds to apply to the slots & pegs. this gave the sculpted slots & pegs a few extra layers of more thickness. This fixed the problem as the slots & pegs peg together more snug/tighter.

[JediTricks]

Peaugh's method didn't work for mine on the right side, but it did work on the left side. The best method is what DvD did, adding spacers. Stiffening the joint won't help, the failure is due to the materials used and the length of the segment holding the hinge being too long to hold the shoulder in place, so the whole back-to-shoulder assembly will simply move out of the way too easily to allow the joints to hold it in place. A spacer bypasses the whole issue by pushing the shoulder into place from a different part.

I was successful at using clear nail hardner. it tooks a few seconds to apply to the slots & pegs. this gave the sculpted slots & pegs a few extra layers of more thickness. This fixed the problem as the slots & pegs peg together more snug/tighter.

It won't do the job for long, the leverage required is too great for the hinges in the shoulder or the PVC segment that first hinge spawns from.

[Tigermegatron]

I find it odd that Takara's recently released Generations Ratbat toy has the 1989 TF Victory "LIOKAISER'S/LEOZACK'S head sculpt. http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/ ... bat/27827/ HOPEFULLY at one point Hasbro or Takara release this as Leozack & the appropriate color scheme.

[JediTricks]

I find it odd that Takara's recently released Generations Ratbat toy has the 1989 TF Victory "LIOKAISER'S/LEOZACK'S head sculpt. http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/ ... bat/27827/ HOPEFULLY at one point Hasbro or Takara release this as Leozack & the appropriate color scheme.

It's not meant to be Leozack and only has passing similarity because both Leozack and Ratbat's IDW Senator mode:
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:Senator_ratbat.jpg
have animal heads for helmets. Note that Leozack's helmet has a totally different fringe shape, that of a lion's mane and ears; while Ratbat here has no lion's mane and the ears are folded back rectangles. Also, Ratbat's helmet has vents on the sides while Leozack's doesn't. Maybe you can market that "jump to conclusions" mat and make a million bucks though.

[JediTricks]

Thrilling 30 or whatever, the comic deluxes, wave 1.

Each comic uses the Retailer Incentive cover art from their respective comic only with a slightly closer crop on the character, and a different background - white faction logo with sloppy splatters. The books are not staple-bound but glue-bound with a stamped pre-crease to the covers front and back so as to remain as readable and cheap as possible. The character name and another faction logo are on top, company logos are on the upper left, bottom has the "Transformers Generations" brand name, and the back is black with company logos in the lower right. The issues are their complete story and have a preview blurb, and have no advertising except for the last 3 interior pages, all IDW, the first ad being a "read more about it in..." being the corresponding comic line each book came from (Autocracy, Police Action, Ongoing, and MTMTE), then an ad for the current ongoing Transformers comics but not by name although showing art for RID in each, and finally an ad for the IDW digital app and website. Inside there's no mention of the actual issue title, instead it's treated in the copyright as "The Transformers: Orion Pax" and a first printing despite "Hasbro exclusive cover" being on the front.

- Orion Pax, I hate this cover art on the included comic, it doesn't look like the toy, it doesn't look like the character in the book, it looks like a haggard old man.

The vehicle is too simple, hollow, and incomplete in the back, but not awful and has some nice touches. Transformation is very interesting, something new in how things flip around, but also can lead to variance that requires massaging to get vehicle right. Axe just plugs onto the side of the vehicle, nothing clever at all, and the gun can do the same or plug into a 5mm gap in the axe head. Paint on mine has the Autobot logo off-center. Truck hints at the vehicle in the book, but the cab is smaller, less integrated to the vanes in the back by being set forward, and the midsection is heavily indented, so the toy is definitely more a pickup truck than that of the comic.

Robot mode is almost a cross between Orion and Optimus in how much bulk is carried to the legs and chest, it has more of that heroic proportion, but the face saves it with a very youthful look. The head is small and has light-piped eyes ending in blue paint, that's weird. The chest is a big windshield with an interior techno-chest and an Autobot logo, The shoulders don't lock onto the torso as much as I'd like, but are ok. Transformation is fun once you get the order of the chest and backpack-wheels down, but relies heavily on dumping the whole front end and sides onto the boots. Orion feels pretty small and light, but has good articulation to be expressive. His gun is a fat version of the classic Optimus blaster and looks very nice, almost too much for a youthful character like this. The axe looks good with a translucent orange head and black-painted handle that has a 5mm grip in the middle and a peg on the side of the axe head.

Overall, Orion Pax is not a bad figure, but proportional issues and a bit too much reliance on shell hold it back from all it could be. At $13, grade B.


- Bumblebee, art is tolerable although the left hand is creepy robotic, and the face is too mature.

Vehicle mode is very good, I quite like this, very solid too. Looks clearly inspired by the art in the book's vehicle mode, but more aggressive. Rolls well despite facade robot chest being under the engine bay. Transformation to this is interesting, although I am pretty sure they left out a step about sliding the rear fenders out and there's some alignment that requires everything to be in the right place at the right time. Stinger weapons peg into the rear fenders, they don't look particularly well-integrated though.

Robot mode is a touch simple and bulked out for my tastes, but has an ok amount of detail overall. The upper torso telescopes down but isn't clear where it stops, if it pushes all the way then it locks out the waist articulation and causes the back to bend away, but if it stops at the first stop then the chest gets in the way of the chin and it's a bit floppy. My biggest frustration is the woefully loose knees, kneepads, and ankles, this is just a head-scratcher. Runner up would be the greenish yellow paint applied to the forearms and the stinger weapons, it doesn't come close to matching, they shouldn't have deco'ed those parts black underneath if they wanted yellow matching. Articulation is good, shoulders are a little confusing perhaps, and head is only a swivel. Stingers can plug into the undersides of the forearms, or snap together to make a nice blaster; leaving out the cane was a mistake though. Transformation is an odd one to get started, but mostly follows the basics of an Autobot car.

Overall, Bumblebee has good points but also some areas where he doesn't bring the heat. Grade at $13 is a C and maybe a bit higher if you're in a good mood.


- Trailbreaker, Trailcutter, whatever. This cover art doesn't remind me much of the figure because of how convoluted the shoulders and torso are, I prefer the simplicity of the art inside the book and the simplicity of the figure to this.

The vehicle is an SUV with louvers on the side windows and a bulky profile. The sensor-thingy is permanently above the truck, hinged to look up or down, let's just call it lights. Or not since there's cannons right below that above the cabin roof. Because the truck is taller than most deluxes, they shrunk its overall footprint. The truck is black with translucent blue windows and the red and yellow pattern from the G1 design. The overall sculpt is a touch simple, especially at the unpainted rear end, but barely holds the line. Wheels turn, miraculously on the front end since only the outer half of the wheels are really wheels, the inner half are dummies. The truck design is earth-based rather than the Cybertronian design in the comic, but that's ok. Mine annoyingly came with 2 left doors instead of a left and right, so at the moment he's got a gap on the right side. There are some alignment issues, a lot of massaging to get things lining up in the midpoint, and it's far too easy to cave the hood in which requires de-transforming the arms, kind of a pain in the butt, yet it's solid overall. A good amount of 5mm pegs here, 1 on the sensor, 2 on the roof, 2 under each door. Transformation is alright, mostly straightforward stuff, the instructions make it seem like more than it is.

Trailbreaker's robot mode is simple and direct, which is what you want from Trailbreaker. Headsculpt's good, light-piped blue eye wrap-around - cartoon based, I guess. He's got good bulk and feels right for the character, proportions end up where you'd want. Transformation is mostly straightforward, but the chest takes an interesting twist and folds the cabin and hood together in a neat way, although this leaves the shoulders able to peel away from the body slightly; the lower biceps sometimes slip out of the uppers during transformation. Detailing is chunky almost to the point of being overly simplistic, but has enough little touches to keep it alive, yet this is almost too far a throwback figure - more color could have brought out the little sculpted things. Articulation is alright, not all it could be due to simplistic stuff, but adequate. Weapon is a shield/twin-cannon affair right from the Clayton Crain cover art, it's got a red fold-out handle that fits overhand on the right hand and works fine flipped underhand on the left, although why a guy who projects forcefields needs a physical shield is beyond me; the front half of the shield can be folded back in and the affair pegged onto the sensor or into a shallow one directly under it, there's also MORE pegholes exposed in bot mode, one more on each shoulder, and one on the upper back which is too far behind kibble to let the shield use it, so that's probably for Hoist.

All in all, this is a likeable figure but is too simplistic for its own good, and the massaging to get a decent alignment in vehicle mode can be a chore, so I'm giving the grade a C+ and not in a bad way.


- Megatron's cover is this figure, period, the end. Clayton Crain obviously had this toy in his hand or something, he even avoided the purple "M" detail on the helmet this design enjoys in EVERY other instance except this cover and this figure.

Vehicle mode transformation is like 90% WTF and then the last 10% when you attach the accessories as the outer wings becomes FUCKING BRILLIANT. It's just "shitty wedge, shitty wedge, solid shitty wedge, beautiful B2 bomber", if you lose those wings, the toy is nothing, the vehicle might pass for a bricky submarine or a streamlined cyber-rat, but it'll never be in any way threatening. The vehicle is very dark gray with purpley-dark silver accents and red windows, the underside adds translucent and opaque purple bits and the plastic equivalent of purpley-dark silver. There's a fold-down front landing wheel (non-rotating) to correspond to wheel-nubs sculpted to the underside midway points. The lower half of the plane is a bit kibbly and you can see Megatron's face staring down at the ground, but isn't too much of a thickplane offender.

Robot mode transformation, you must remove the outer wings for transformation, it seems like you could leave them on but there's a rotation clearance that must be adhered-to and the wing pieces are translucent plastic AND a system of levers, it's a really poor idea to try. Sometimes the shoulders will pop off their ball joints, wipe the joint clean of mold oil and it should lessen the odds of that happening. The instructions feel like this thing is going to take forever but there's an elegance to it once you've done it, there are ideas that I can't remember ever seeing executed this way before, it's most impressive. I can't stop transforming it, even if I didn't like anything else about this figure, I wouldn't be able to help but transform him over and over.

Robot mode is what you see on the cover, it's dark and it's menacing and it's got a wide chest and long legs, it's imposing... right up until you put it next to FOC Starscream, where they stand about the same size and Megatron's head is smaller. Still, it's an impressive Megatron look, the vents on the shoulders and forearms makes a strong statement, the cockpit broken up by the Decepticon logo is powerful, the look is very commanding. It looks like it'd be fragile, but it's actually quite solid, except for the outer boots which are hinged to fold out for some reason, these hinge open and closed easily but you barely would notice. Tons of sculpted details, very little is left plain. The forearms are somewhat bulky though. Deco is everything good from the upper side with the purple and purpley-silver added to the mix to bring it to life, forgoing the neon purple panel line accents seen in the comic - although I prefer it that way. The eyes are pitch black most of the time, they used translucent purple plastic but until you get a flashlight blaring into it, it's pretty lifeless.

The weapon deserves its own conversation, the wing tip halves plug together (not all that efficiently) to make a twin-pronged fork thing that doesn't look like much. It has a 5mm peg so it fits in either hand, but is meant for the pegholes on either forearm. When you pull the "sights" at the top backwards though, the forks slide forward together and expose translucent purple plastic with tech detailing, and now you've got something. Is it a fusion cannon? Package says yes, so who am I to argue? Does it look like the twin-bladed forearm weapon in the comic? Sure. Whatever, it's cool and it transforms a little. That said, this thing is likely a point of failure down the road - moving parts, translucent plastic, sandwiches together from 2 halves, what do you think is likely to happen? The first time I tried it, I pulled one of the forks clean off its runner and out of its lever, didn't realize the whole thing is transformed from the back instead of the front, but it held up.

Overall, Megatron here gets an A- from me, I really like this figure, it's got tons of personality and clever ideas in the transformation. Its grade slipped from the small stature and kreoforming the vehicle mode to completeness, but this figure gets a big smile and recommend from me overall.


Despite the grades, my ranking would be Megatron > Trailbreaker > Orion Pax > Bumblebee.

[Almighty Unicron]

I've been looking forward to the megatron. Some pictures I've seen make the wings in the vehicle mode look a bit too short giving it an almost superdeformed look- would you say this is accurate?

[JediTricks]

I've been looking forward to the megatron. Some pictures I've seen make the wings in the vehicle mode look a bit too short giving it an almost superdeformed look- would you say this is accurate?

Definitely not how I'd categorize it, the whole thing is a flying wing and the wing pieces on the outer half double the width of the vehicle. No, it looks right, it doesn't look super-deformed at all in vehicle mode.