TF Views

Target had a number of new Robot Heroes today, but I passed on them for the time being. $6.99 for the standard 2-pack was a bit more than I wanted to pay, even though I really want that Ironhide/Kickback set. But think about it... if I'd bought all four new sets, it would have cost me $28 plus tax. For eight tiny figures that don't even transform.

Are these Robot Hero figures worth $3.50 each? I'm not so sure. I may well go ahead and buy a few of them, but it's doubtful I'll be a completist at current prices.

See, I'd actually probably buy a few at $3.50 a pop, but they come in lame two-packs and there's always some dude I don't want in them.

I'm just finding more and more that price is becoming the deciding factor on whether or not I really want a figure. And with prices going up across the board, I'm finding it easier to say no to quite a few figures I might otherwise be tempted by. On the other hand, the Wal-Mart sale on deluxe figures has convinced me to pick up several figures I might not otherwise have wanted.

As for Robot Heroes, $2-$3 apiece is fine if they don't skimp on the paint aps. $3.50 each is going to make me be more selective.

And I was selective enough to only feel compelled by one of the sets I saw today. Picked up Beast Machines Cheetor and Tankor. I note that both these characters originally came out at the same time and at the same $15 price point when the line was first in stores, and here they are again. Coincidence? You decide.



Cheetor - somewhat spindly, though not as much as the show model or various transforming versions. This is a decent cut-down Cheetor, who most closely resembles either the show model or Supreme Cheetor, rather than Night Slash or Titanium Cheetor. He has a huge grin and bright green eyes, and only one sword, which is metallic silver when it should be the same yellow that he is. Posing is hampered by the angle of the sword, which amusingly can be used to cover his face. Maximal symbol is on one knee.

Tankor - far more deformed than Cheetor, and based off the show model/tank drone rather than the original toy. While the basic toy looks pretty good, the colors are really off. The portions that should be dark blue are light metallic blue. The shoulder cannon is an amusing tiny little thing, and the head has been flattened front to back. Articulation is the usual neck and shoulders, but is better than Cheetor's since the head and hands don't really get caught on anything.

A fun little set, and it's great to see Beast Machines getting some attention. Now where's my Megabolt Robot Hero?

Robot Heroes Snarl and Sharkticon (Slag and Gnaw)

Slag - I own the original figure, and for years it was the only Dinobot I had. Like all the original Dinobots it looks great, but doesn't have the best articulation. The Robot Heroes figure is modeled more after the toy than the animation model, including perhaps the the limited articulation.

Shoulders rotate up and down, and can go farther if the head is turned. One hand is a closed fist, the other holds Slag's sword, which is silver, whereas my original had a red sword. The pose is a slight forward crouch which looks better than a fair number of RH figures. Slag is smiling, which instantly seems out of character for him. Paint details are reasonably good, apart from the back of the robot head (the triceratops face) which looks to be the silvery grey base plastic of the figure. The eyes and crest at least need some paint, and the horns could stand to be red as well. But apart from this, it's a very good version of Slag, my favorite Dinobot. Makes me wonder what they'll name Snarl if the actual Snarl ever gets his own Robot Hero.

Gnaw - If these things weren't $6.96 per set, I'd troop build with this guy. I never owned the original figure, so my familiarity with Gnaw comes from the original animated film, and this figure captures the look pretty well, though I suspect it's based on the toy due to the bright green eyes, beast forelimbs and shell bits on his back. For an eggshell with arms and legs, Gnaw looks pretty decent, and I like the bright teal and purple color scheme, not to mention the neon green eyeballs. Gnaw has one open hand as if he's reaching out to grab something, and the other holds a the same type of tail-mace that Kup ripped off to bash these guys with in the movie.

Both figures are stable and stand well, and while Slag has gotten an update in Animated, this is the first version of Gnaw since the original line. The set is recommended for G1 fans.

Thrust - is definately thrusting. Either he's shooting a plume of blue and grey smoke out of his rear, or else he's sitting on a really thin blue and grey tree stump. That humorous smoke placement aside, this is a great little mold. It's generally a dark burgundy with a lot of shiny black painted details. A tiny silver Decepticon insignia is on the middle of the back between the wings. There are some yellow and silver details as well. Thrust is standing on one foot with the other folded double as if he's either running or landing on one foot. The pose is actually similar to Starscream/Thundercracker/Skywarp from earlier Robot Hero waves. Also, it looks as if the wings may be a seperate piece so they can be swapped out for Ramjet and Dirge, but it's difficult to tell. The winner of this set.

Blaster - unlike many of the others in this line, Blaster looks absolutely natural with a big grin on his face. Blaster's pose looks as though he's bending down to pick something up off the ground, or he can wave while he's about to topple over (which he's prone to do). Seriously, it's one of those poses where the figure is really 'primed for action!!!!' while crouching forward. Looks good though, and looks like he's having fun, which again suits the character. I always found the original figure to be greatly oversized and not as much fun as I'd have liked, but the character was enjoyable in the comics, and to some degree on the cartoon. It's good to see him revisited in Robot Heroes.

And to round out my Robot Hero reviews of the last few days, I finally found these two. Thought I'd just comment on Scourge's comments.

138 Scourge wrote:Arcee: Man, did I ever want this toy to be cooler. Ah, well. Not a bad sculpt, although she looks tiny, but her expression is kinda...either high or just plain dumb, I dunno. I like the smirk,(though, I can't decide if the lack of "lipstick" helps or hurts here) but the shape of her eyes just is odd. Other than that, decent detailing for such a figure, and a fairly dynamic pose. See, she's running, and jumping over...either smoke, or some kinda crystals...or maybe an explosion. Okay, I'll admit it. Arcee's a fairly half-assed figure. Okay, there. But, she's got a kinda nifty lil' pistol, and three points of articulation, meaning you actually can get a few poses out of her permanent running thing. But, she's worth it anyway because she comes with...

I'm the opposite of Scourge. Out of the two figures in the set, I like Arcee better. She does look tiny, but as a girl she's just not as bulked up as the majority of Robot Heroes. I'm not sure I like the permanent running pose, but it does make the figure look dynamic. I like the metallic base with the blue smoke/crystal stuff.

RUMBLE!: I kinda like this toy. Rumble's kinda hunched over, squatted down, and he's got his pounders at the ready, just about to shake everything on down..and he could not be happier. The expression of fierce glee on his face is hilarious. Anyway, all the detail you'd want outta this character is there. Cassette-chest symbols? Check. Guns on his back? Check. Um. Whatever else you want outta Rumble? Check. I dunno, the face, combined with my liking for the character, really sells this for me. Oh, yeah, the colors. Black, mostly, with a kinda nice maroon sorta shade. A lot nicer, actually, than if they'd gone with a bright screaming kinda red. Now, I'm gonna go find my Alt. Rumble, and see if this guy can take a ride in there....

Agree with most of this, except I wish they had gone with the bright red of the original Rumble. But detailing is excellent, and the crazy expression fits the character. Looks like Rumble got a little extra plastic for his piledrivers since Arcee was so small.

This set composed of two non-leading characters, but since I appreciate the supporting cast, I don't mind. Rumble's crazy and Arcee's dainty. My daughter is sure to tell me she's "cute".

I completed the first 25th anniversary wave today with the purchase of Perceptor and Hardshell (Bombshell).

Bombshell - for some reason, the black plastic Bombshell is cast from is a matte black rather than something more shiny. The purple is a bit dark as well, possibly as a result of being painted on top of black. The overall result is a figure that's slightly darker than Shrapnel, but until I get Kickback I can't make a comparison. Silver upper legs, face, wrist guns and cerebro-shell launcher. The chest is gold with some silver details and a tiny purple 'Con insignia. Bombshell is posed in the usual legs apart, forward crouch, though it's less extreme than some other RH. Apart from the matte plastic and darker than expected colors, it's the winner of the two figures in the set.

Perceptor - looks like he's going down on one knee and pointing at something on the ground that he's about to pick up. The face is based off the animation model with a mouth, rather than the toy which has a faceplate. Some toy details are present, including some of the microscope components that make up the waist. The dials on Perceptor's wrists are painted silver, along with the face and chestplate, but the dial on top of the scope-cannon is unpainted. And I know these guys are deformed proportionally, but Perceptor has some massive hands for a figure his size.

Overall, the set's worth it for Bombshell. Perceptor's not terribly compelling in RH form, though if you like the character you'll probably like this figure.

Now if I can just find the Ironhide/Kickback set, I'll have all three Insecticons. I'm hoping to see more Dinobots as well.

Time to review last week's Robot Hero sets. There are some good ones in this set, and then there's Silverbolt...

Waspinator and Rhinox


I'm a completist when it comes to the G1 Robot Heroes, but I pretty much skipped the movie RH figures. I was planning on skipping the Beast Wars figures as well, but I liked this set enough to add it to the collection. I may go back and get some of the others as well.

Rhinox: one of my favorite Beast Wars characters, and this is a great little figure, which is based off the Mainframe animation models more than the toy. That's a good thing, given that the toy is very much a shellformer, and not a good one either. The RH version of Rhinox has a doofy smile and overly large arms, but the size and strength of the character are well conveyed with the sculpting. The figure is very stable, unlike some of the other RHs, some of which are difficult to balance.

Waspinator: another of my favorites. Again, the figure is well-sculpted and full of detail, though from the front it looks very plain. The base green plastic should be darker, and though it looks fine as is, the gold and blue don't make for a strong contrast. From the rear, the yellow and black wasp thorax and gold wrist bands stand out more, and so do the light silver wings. The whole thing is very stable on the blue base, but I'm not quite sure what it's supposed to be. Maybe Waspinator's flying up out of the water or something, or maybe he's sitting on one of those unstable energon crystals from the first season.

Overall, this is a great set, and well worth having. Both figures are really strong.

Ironhide and Kickback


Ironhide: is very clearly sculpted from the animation model, with no toy details visible at all. As a result, the figure is very plain. It looks good enough, but is basically a middle of the road figure for the Robot Heroes line. It's not bad, but fails to impress with a good translation into the aesthetic or with lots of sculpted or painted details. For example, Hot Rod avoids this by having painted details on his shins and shoulders that resemble the stickers on the original toy. Ironhide's just a little plain.

Kickback: makes up for Ironhide's sparse details by being chock full of 'em. Kickback alone is worth buying the set for, particularly if you already have the other RH Insecticons. The figure is full of details from the original toy, including the grasshopper legs folded up on the back of the robot legs, the vestigal Diaclone cockpit on the robot chest, and details on the knees and feet that resemble the stickers from the original figure.

Overall: Ironhide's ok, but Kickback is really good.

Megatron and Silverbolt


Megatron: in contrast to Rhinox, who is one of my favorite BW characters, Transmetal Megatron is one of my favorite BW toys, and this RH does the figure justice. In addition, the toy is sculpted with the golden disk, which featured in the plot of multiple BW episodes. The blue toes are a little odd though... they should be purple, like the other transmetal bits. Despite the fact that the figure has the same shoulder/neck articulation points as most RH, there's very little shoulder movement possible, because the turbine backpack keeps the arms from moving far at all. This makes Megatron one of the most 'statue-like' Robot Heroes.

Silverbolt: is deformed, even by Robot Hero standards. There's no other word for it. Proportions are off and colors aren't quite right. The wingtip feather missiles which looked like spoons on the original toy look like shafts of wheat on the Robot Hero. The neck rotation looks really twisted and painful if it's turned too far in either direction. Silverbolt isn't so bad that he's good, but that's almost the case.

Overall: Megatron's worth buying the set for, in my view. Silverbolt has major issues, but they amuse me, so I'm still enjoying the figure.


And a bonus picture: the G1 Insecticons, Robot Hero style.

Oooh, those Insecticons look well nifty. Almost nifty enough for me to track down those three sets.. But I've managed to resist thus far, and ONLY Robot Heroes Gigatron, Super Fire Convoy, Star Saber, and Deathsaurus will sway me. This I vow!