Tag Archives: Transformers

#0466: Soundwave

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

SOUNDWAVE

TRANSFORMERS HERO MASHERS

If there’s one glaring omission from the numerous figures I’ve covered on this site so far, it’s Transformers. Transformers was a huge hit in the 80s, and it’s one of those toys that kind of forged its own path. The thing about Transformers is, they’re kind of their own thing. While the name technically refers to a very specific set of figures, it also loosely defines an entire genre of figures. There are “transformers” of practically everything. And none of that seems to have hurt the main brand, which doesn’t seem to be in any danger of falling out of popularity. That’s pretty impressive.

Amazingly enough, actual, name-brand Transformers make up about 0.14% of my action figure collection. That’s FOUR figures. Out of 2800. And only one of those actually transforms. Transformers thoroughly missed me. That said, I do like some of the characters, specifically Soundwave, the one that used to turn into a cassette player. He amuses me (three of my four Transformers are Soundwave). Recently, Hasbro has been getting into the “mix and match figures” idea, under the heading Hero Mashers. The line started with the Marvel brand and then expanded to Transformers. Soundwave was amongst them, so I picked him up.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Soundwave is part of the second assortment of Transformers Hero Mashers. He’s part of the regular assortment of figures, rather than a deluxe or multipack. He’s based on Soundwave’s original design (referred to as his G1 design), though I’m certain there are a few design changes that a more die-hard fan than I could point out. The figure is about 6 ½ inches tall and he has 20 points of articulation. As far as I can tell, the sculpt is wholly original to this figure, but I don’t have any others to check. It’s a well sculpted figure, though he’s definitely been adapted so as to fit the style of this line. Most of the work is on the simpler side, with no really fine detailing, but that seems to be in line with the rest of the line, and it’s done well. The figure has a few ports here and there for various add-ons and accessories to be plugged in. While it’s fairly evident that they are there, they meld pretty well with the rest of the figure. I’d be interested to see if that carries to the non-robotic designs in the Marvel line. The paintwork is roughly on par with the sculpt. It’s rather straight forward, with no real fine detail work or anything. There’s also a little bit of bleed over in a few spots, though nothing atrocious. Soundwave is accessorized with his standard shoulder cannon, as well as a handheld missile launcher (because Hasbro), two gold rocket add-on thingies, a gun of some sort, and an alternate left hand (which, going by the Colossus pieces included with a few of the Marvel characters, I’m going to assume is from another character). In addition to the accessories, Soundwave also has the main point of the Hero Mashers going for him: interchangeability. He comes apart at the elbows, neck, hips, and knees (but not the shoulders, curiously). The pieces are a bit of a tight fit and some, such as the neck/head joint, are really hard to get back in place once they’ve been removed.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Soundwave was purchased from the Kmart nearest the place my family and I stayed over the holidays. In all honesty, he was something of an impulse buy. Well, the closest that I come to an impulse buy, anyway. I had seen him a few times before and passed him up, but I was at Kmart, and they had him and I hadn’t seen anything else I wanted and I sort of caved. As just an action figure, he’s fun, though not the greatest figure I’ve ever owned. As a figure built for swapability? Hasbro’s got a little ways to go before they’re on par with something like Minimates. It’s a neat idea, and the toys are good, but the joints are just a little too tight for frequent swapping.

Guest Review #0015: Manta Ray

Posted by Tim Marron in Guest Reviews and tagged with , ,

MANTA RAY

BEAST WARS (McDONALD’S)

MantaRay

I’m sure most people remember being a kid and asking their parents to go to McDonald’s, not for the food, but because that month there was a cool toy that came with a Happy Meal. When I was just a wee babby Tim, Beast Wars (an offshoot of the Transformers brand) was my jam, so you can imagine the incessant begging that went on when I found out it was that month’s theme. Today I’ll be looking at one of my favorite McDonald’s toys I ever had, Manta Ray. Let’s dive right in, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

First off, let me apologize for that pun, I’ve been informed that it was, in fact, terrible. Moving on, Manta Ray was released as part of McDonald’s 1996 Beast Wars promotion. She is based on, well, nothing really since she was effectively created to be a McDonald’s toy primarily. Despite her name, in Beast Mode, she is actually a mobula ray, those damn imposters. She stands about 3 inches tall fully transformed as a robot, although you can make her a little taller by leaving the beast head up. She has 6 points of articulation which is a little low for a Transformer, but it’s a McDonald’s toy, the bar can only be set so high. The sculpt is, again, what you’d expect from this kind of toy and nothing more. The legs look like legs, the arms look like arms. The head and torso are basically just blocks with some detailing, which is fine except that this is supposed to be a female character and the body does nothing to even suggest that maybe perhaps Manta Ray is not a dude. Although this may have something to do with how, in Japan, she is actually a he. Her face also looks like the front of a truck, but I guess she’s a robot so I’ll overlook that. The paint is sparse but acceptable with just a bit of bleed over on the gloves. Manta Ray comes with no accessories. It’s not a great figure by any stretch of the imagination, but you have to remember where it came from, and as a McDonald’s toy, it’s not bad at all.

 THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As you’ve probably guessed, I got Manta Ray at a McDonald’s right alongside my chicken nuggets. I do recall being a little disappointed that I didn’t get the Rhinox toy, but retrospectively, I’m kind of glad I didn’t. Manta rays are clearly way cooler that rhinos. Besides, for a Beast Wars junkie kid, this figure easily met its fun quota which is all that really matters anyway.

#0301: Marvel’s Death’s Head

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

MARVEL’S DEATH’S HEAD

AVENGERS INFINITE

DeathsHead1

Would you believe me if I told you that I had definitive proof that Transformers and Doctor Who share the same universe with just about every Marvel Comics super hero? Because they do, thanks to a set of appearances by one character: Death’s Head. As you clearly see in the title, he’s Marvel’s Death’s Head (which has two possessives. If I want to talk about the clasp on his cape, I’m talking about Marvel’s Death’s Head’s cape’s clasp. Think about that for a while…). Death’s Head was created for a Transformers comic while Marvel held the license. Not wanting to potentially lose a unique character to Hasbro, they quickly created a short strip featuring the character that was published in several of the comics in their UK line. Marvel also happened to be publishing a Doctor Who comic at the time, which also saw an appearance from Death’s Head before he finally made his way to the main Marvel universe. Now, 27 years after his original appearance, he’s finally gotten his very own action figure made by…. Hasbro. How about that?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

DeathsHeadWilsonDeath’s Head was part of the second series of Hasbro’s Avengers Infinite, the line which serves as a replacement for Marvel Universe. He was long rumored to be an upcoming figure in the MU line, so following that line’s cancellation, the figure’s fate was uncertain. Fortunately, he found a home in AI, so everybody still has a chance to have a toy of their favorite tri-dimensional bounty hunter. He stands just over 4 inches in height and features 27 points of articulation. Death’s Head makes use of the MU Colossus body as a starting point, reusing the arms, upper and lower torso, and legs from the boot up. Given that both characters are larger in stature and both feature a similar banded metal patter, the choice of re-use is inspired. In addition to these pieces, the figure also has brand new pieces for his head, hands, shins, and feet, as well as add-ons for the cape/shoulder-pads and the belt/loincloth/waist armor. The new pieces are really great sculpts. The head sculpt looks to have been lifted directly from the character’s comic appearances, and the armor pieces have some really wonderful denting and weathering. My only complaint is how loose the cape add-on is, as it causes it to sit incorrectly if you aren’t careful. The paintwork on Death’s Head is nice and clean for the most part. There’s a bit of bleed over here and there, but nothing too distracting. The metallic blues in particular make the figure really pop. Death’s Head is armed with an axe, a mace, and a shield, all of which are new pieces that look pretty great and fit the figure’s hands well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Deathlok and Valkyrie, Death’s Head was picked up from my local comicbook store, Cosmic Comix. Like Valkyrie, Death’s Head is a figure that I’ve wanted since the initial rumors of his release started cropping up. I’m not entirely sure why I’m so interested in the figure. I’ve read maybe two or three of Death’s Head’s comic appearances. I guess something about the character’s design just resonates with me. Unsurprisingly for a character designed for a toyline-tie-in, Death’s Head translates really well to the action figure format and makes for a pretty neat toy.

DeathsHead2