Universe2.0/Generations Review Thread

[Shockwave]

The later G1 toys is kinda where the original line jumped the shark for me. In England, the comic's letters page was answered from a character's point of view, while I was there, it was titled "Soundwaves" and was answered by, well Soundwave. The master and pretender lines always remind me of a response to a letter in one issue. The reader asked "What does Devastator transform into?" To which Soundwave replied: "Nothing. The six Constructicons form Devastator. It would get confusing if we kept transforming." And that's essentially what happened with those later lines. They kept transforming. The weird part for me is that #3 on my list of most wanted Holy Grail items is Fortress Maximus, which is the one transformer that made it absolutely ridiculous for me. Mostly because he transforms, his head transforms, the head of the head transforms... yeah, that got to be a bit much for me.

[JediTricks]

That's what I mean, though. Double Targetmasters is literally the only gimmick actually stupider than Targetmasters. "Instead of arguing with my sentient gun partner all the time, it just argues with itself! Neat, huh?"

Whereas Pretenders and Headmasters and dudes like Soundeave have interesting and cool gimmicks, Targetmasters Except Two Of Them doesn't really have anything unique or interesting going for them. Imagine if there were, like, Double Pretenders. Pretenders but they have Pretender shells.

Alternately "Now I have two guns that can pretty much aim themselves and I can combine them into a bigger gun, besides. Ho Ho Ho." I mean, sure it's sort of dumb, but no dumber than Head or Power Masters. Story-wise it's silly, toy-wise it's pretty cool.

And here I was just going to say that Pretenders that had two Pretender shells sounded great, then Prowl went and reminded me they existed.

I think the planned Double Pretenders were the opposite, 2 robots in 1 shell.

Anyway, all I can say about Scoop and his gang is that I didn't buy them, everything in that package looked disappointing.

[Shockwave]

Minicon three pack. I forget their names, but for the price I think they're actually pretty cool. They each of fairly decent articulation, the exception being the tank, but that's mostly because of the way he transforms. The jet guy is the same size in robot mode as Skrapnel and the fact that they combine into the bigger robot really makes this set feel like getting four toys for the price of one. They're pretty fun to fiddle with individually and I find the peg system to be providing an endless amount combination possibilities with the weapons. And they're generic enough that buying multiples makes them good army builders (I probably won't do this, but it could be done). My only thing that doesn't set me ablaze is the colors. I think a brighter color pallette would have brought out the details more. Still, I would highly recommend this since, compared to a lot of other things currently on the shelves, this feels like a lot of value for the price.

[138 Scourge]

Man, Hasbro has just been on a Wreckers kick lately. The last few years brought us Springer and Kup and Perceptor but those are dudes that have major roles in the movie, or in the cartoon, or in other roles besides Wrecking and Ruling. Then lately we've had those Combaticon repaints and Whirl and now Roadbuster. Seriously, at the rate they're going, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see figures for Rack 'N' Ruin soon.

Anyway, I bought Roadbuster because he looked so damn cool and now I have mixed feelings.

PRO: Roadbuster looks great in both modes. The robot mode has a really good range of poseability. The transformation is really kind of amazingly simple, but it is effective. The vehicle of is kind of small compared to some other recent Voyagers, but it looks solid and armored and you can have the thing just bristling with weapons. And those weapons are good fun, there's a good sized pile of them, and almost all of them have both holes and pegs in them, so you can put them all over the figure or combine them intona crazy supergun. On top of all that there's a huge sheet of stickers (not a plus for everyone, but I like them). So we've got a cool looking robot with a satisfying transformation into a neat truck with tons of play options and customization potential. What could possibly be a downside?

CONS: Well, my figure has a really weak ratchet on the left arm. He can just about hold a pistol up, but I have to make sure the elbow joint is raised, and not the shoulder joint. I would just write this off as I got a bum figure, but I've heard from at least one other guy that said he's got some weak ratchets and some that are too tight. But then some people's figures have been fine. Some will likely be more bothered by this than others, I've chosen to assume my version of the character has suffered battle damage and/or a robot stroke. It detracts from the possibility some, but i don't think it's a fatal flaw. The weapons, as I said, are great, but the one spring-loaded missile seems to be on a real hair-trigger. It gor off frequently when loading the weapons onto the toy, but I've also had it fire when I've carefully set the gun down on a table. And the stickers...for as many of them as there are, they're not very cool. Most they're warnings to not grab a hand hold on different parts, or that there's a battery over there. Roadbuster comes off looking like a robot version of that guy from Memento, just covered in notes to himself. I dont mind some like that, but would rather have neat tech designs or something. Even a "Born To Kill" paired with a peace sign mixed in. I do like the option of standard Autobot symbol or Wreckers symbol, though.

In conclusion I really do enjoy this figure and I would pretty much recommend it. The stickers aren't that important, and you can chuck the missile if those bother you. The issue with the ratchets is the only serious problem the toy has, and the fact that there's no way of knowing if you'll get a bad one or not. So if you feel like gambling, odds are good you'll get a really good toy here.

Man, now I want to get Whirl. And I almost want an Impact and another Perceptor.

[Shockwave]

Whirl's arms are on ball joints and if you put too many weapons on them they will have trouble staying up. Not a bad figure, but something you might wanna know.

[BWprowl]

Man, I feel like I lucked out now, my Whirl and Load Bastard have no problems with their joints or keeping their arms up. The out-to-the-side ratchets in Bean Bandit's shoulders feel a little iffy (they only 'ratchet' out, and just compress rather loosely) but it's not a real problem; he holds a pose just fine.

Have heard horror stories about Whirl's upper knee joints though, they're a terrifying combination of small and stiff that means you can either be hyper-careful moving his knees up into digitigrade position for Robot Mode, or just write it off and bend 'em backwards a bit at the one non-dangerous knee joint. As Thew said, how many knees do you really kneed?

I've got Springer, Sandstorm, Whirl, and Roadbuster set up together on an upper level of my shelf, and they look magnificent together. Thinking about getting the Onslaught-remold Impactor, might just wait on Topspin and Twintwist getting their own new toys. If Roadbuster got one, it's got to happen for them, right? Broadside too.

[JediTricks]

Quick reviews...

Skids - problematic but fun figure, maybe not for everyone. Recommend.

Windblade - overly ambitious design begets flimsy and ugly problems. Mildly recommend or less.

Roadbuster - lazy design but fun, cheapness hurts a lot. Mildly recommend.

[138 Scourge]

Dang, it's a shame to hear about Skids and Windblade's problems. I was looking forward to those two. Sounds like your Roadbuster's issues were worse than mine, I had trouble with the one shoulder but the rest of his joints worked well. I liked the transformation pretty well, too. It's simpler than you usually get in a Voyager, hell, simpler than some deluxes, but both modes look good and it's fun flip back and forth.

So I'm really torn on the next toy to get. What do you guys think, Whirl or Blaster?

[Shockwave]

Dang, it's a shame to hear about Skids and Windblade's problems. I was looking forward to those two. Sounds like your Roadbuster's issues were worse than mine, I had trouble with the one shoulder but the rest of his joints worked well. I liked the transformation pretty well, too. It's simpler than you usually get in a Voyager, hell, simpler than some deluxes, but both modes look good and it's fun flip back and forth.

So I'm really torn on the next toy to get. What do you guys think, Whirl or Blaster?

I don't have Blaster so I can't really comment on that one, but Whirl is generally pretty good with some interesting features. Endlessly interchangeable weapons, the cockpit opens... my only real complaint is that the arms are on ball joints that can get pretty loose pretty quickly. Mine is already so loose that his arms won't stay up on his own.

[JediTricks]

Dang, it's a shame to hear about Skids and Windblade's problems. I was looking forward to those two. Sounds like your Roadbuster's issues were worse than mine, I had trouble with the one shoulder but the rest of his joints worked well. I liked the transformation pretty well, too. It's simpler than you usually get in a Voyager, hell, simpler than some deluxes, but both modes look good and it's fun flip back and forth.

So I'm really torn on the next toy to get. What do you guys think, Whirl or Blaster?

Skids may still be worth getting on its own merits depending on what you're expecting from it. Windblade, as Peaugh said, is only worth buying if you're heavily invested in the character, because as a figure it falls woefully short.

My Roadbuster is really a bummer because of his flaws, I didn't even mention that one foot is a different shade of green from the other so when they transform together they look even worse as what's supposed to be a single unit. But the figure itself still seems bland to me, like there wasn't quite enough interest in developing a noteworthy figure but they had specific metrics to meet.

Whirl is really top shelf in my mind. I love so much of what this figure is and does, and that's before the comics tie-in. It's very fun.

Blaster is ok, but if you have either Soundwave or Soundblaster there's simply not enough here to act as a draw, and Steeljaw is downright shitty.

I don't have Blaster so I can't really comment on that one, but Whirl is generally pretty good with some interesting features. Endlessly interchangeable weapons, the cockpit opens... my only real complaint is that the arms are on ball joints that can get pretty loose pretty quickly. Mine is already so loose that his arms won't stay up on his own.

Are you telescoping the ball joints to the inner position in bot mode? That solved the drooping shoulders issue on mine.