War for Cybertron: Siege toyline

[Dominic]

I forgot about the jet when I posted my above comment. That is an easy one to skip. Hasbro needs to get past facade chests and cockpits for the plane characters. Both Hasbro and Takara mastered that 10+ years ago. I was able to forgive this problem with last year's Starscream figure because it was a combiner torso. But, a standard figure should not have this problem.


Toys are typically smaller now. But, that is not the only thing that determines the quality of the figures. "Siege" Shockwave is actually smaller than the Walgreens Shockwave. But, even without the armor, it has more articulation and better molding. Guess which one is less likely to make it through a purge, and not just for the sake of shelf/storage space?

The same principle applies with "Cybertron" Prime. it also seems to have the benefit of more articulation (or at least more stability when posed). Not sure how anyone can tell if that figure is "hollow" based on the pictures. (And, the 2006 figure is not exactly rock solid.)

I actually skipped the 2014 Springer because it did not look like the character. (It was a damn good toy. But, it was not Springer.) But, if I get Impactor, I will likely get Springer.

[Shockwave]

I still have the Classics Seekers and HasTak is going to have to make something better if I'm going to swap them out, and the Siege figures ain't it. We know Cybertron Prime will be fairly hollow due to the fact that he's a slight retool of Ultra Magnus. I MIGHT get that one, but it's going to depend on availability and funding. Springer? sure. Impactor? Definitely.

[Dominic]

I have only seen Magnus, in package, once. And, I have only skimmed a few reviews. (Aside, I refuse to read reviews from Willis or anyone else who insists on calling the line "Stege". It was barely funny for a week when the line was first announced. Now, it has gone beyond obnoxious.)

The new Seekers are terrible. And, I just realized that they are Voyagers rather than (smaller) Deluxes. It has been over a decade. Hasbro needs to update the Seekers with something at least as good as the molds from the last decade.


Of course, based on some of the preview art from the comics, I might end up backing off of this line. (Is IDW really going to have a Tumblr-style pairing of Optimus and Megatron in this series?)

[Sparky Prime]

Few more Micromaster figures and a G1 version of Barricade (remold of Prowl) will be coming to Siege. Really liking this take on Barricade actually. I'm guessing it will be used for Bluestreak at some point given the look of the new head design.

[Dominic]

I have seen Wave 2 Voyagers, (some) Deluxes and Target Masters.


Starscream: This figure takes everything wrong with the last 5 years worth of Starscream figures, and puts an accent on it. We could have an entire thread on ways to have improved on this figure's design. Avoid.

Soundwave: A competent update of a perniciously dated character model.

Chromia: Retool of Novastar/Moonracer from "Power of the Primes". Putting aside the comics, this figure bothers me. Had it been released a year ago (along with the solicited Greenlight figure), there would have been enough limbs to make a female Autobot combination team using Elita-1, Moonracer and Novastar. Not a bad toy. But, Hasbro missed an opportunity to make a good combiner.

Six Gun: Similar to Cog. This figure is an after-thought to a previous line, sold as an accessory pack for the current line. Despite that, Six Gun is a better than average figure unto itself, and excellent if one considers what this figure was designed to be. (For wholly idiosyncratic reasons, the fact that I do not have Metroplex makes this figure less appealing in ways that do not trouble me with Cog.)

Aimless: Double-barrelled retool of (*snicker*) the wave 1 Blowpipe figure. The mode looks a little better. The bot mode looks about the same. (Blowpipe has better package art.)

Pteraxadon: A new-mold pteranodon/axe. Best displayed as a weapon. (Very nice package art.)

[Shockwave]

Starscream: This figure takes everything wrong with the last 5 years worth of Starscream figures, and puts an accent on it. We could have an entire thread on ways to have improved on this figure's design. Avoid.

I dunno that we need a whole thread on it, but I definitely have some thoughts. So I went ahead and took the bullet for us and got Starscream. This figure exemplifies several problems I have with G1 esque figures released after the cartoon. The cartoon adapted their models from the original toys. Recent G1 toys have been adapted from those character models. So what you wind up with is a toy adapted from a cartoon adapted from another toy. I get the idea on wanting to improve on an original design once technology advances to a point where you can make something better than it was because of technical limitations. And this is where this figure succeeds to some degree. The Robot mode is great. I love the look, the articulation is there and the head sculpt is better than it has been on previous versions. We get waist and wrist articulation, something that usually gets left out of the Seekers and even ankle articulation. The colors are fine, I do wish the blue was a little darker, but it's fine. The alt mode is where this figure fails spectacularly. One of the biggest problems right out the gate for the G1 cartoon was showing Cybertronian alt modes but not adapting robot modes based on them. And the Tetrajets exemplify this to the nth degree. What we wound up with was a Cybertronian jet that transforms into a robot mode that has F-15 parts on it. And it doesn't work. Starscream basically winds up being a shell former folding up under the jet mode. Which is fine if that winds up mostly hidden but this doesn't. His knees are just right there from any angle that you look at it and his F-15 jet faux cockpit is right there on the back of the jet. And, even the bot mode has a problem in that it has the CW Jetfire problem of the molded pegs and whatnot under the wings which are visible in bot mode. It doesn't bug me that much, but I'm way happier with my Classics/Henkei seekers. Like Dom said, avoid.

[JediTricks]

Sixgun - Middling alt mode, Decent bot mode, Decent weapon modes, Middling official combined weapons modes. Sixgun is a legoformer, no ifs, ands, or buts, and his nifty jet mode has a box to leave the excess torso and leg parts under it, which just isn't good enough when you can do ANYTHING in the design phase. Bot mode looks alright, reminds me of the original character, pretty poseable, feels very whole. He turns into some decent parts, although his lower torso part has a piece of articulation that doesn't seem to do anything - the waist is on a fold-out chunk, but some tabs block the hips from going all the way up, so it's just kinda 45-degrees and random. There's also enough here that you can make flight gear out of it, if you don't mind random forearms on the wings. Not perfect, but decent.

Ironhide - Decent all around, alt mode could have been a little better, transformation clever but simple. Ironhide stands a bit taller than other Siege deluxes, but they hollowed out his back, fists, and forearms to do so. In robot mode, he looks like Ironhide should look, has decent articulation, is beefy, and the weathering paint isn't obnoxious. Alt mode is ok, a long van type thing, but feels a bit cheap with obvious robot feet that, if turned around, would integrated nicely with the back end. The transformation involves folding up panels on the sides of the legs, these often pop off because the lower legs are shot in a slightly rubbery material that shrunk a fraction too much to hold the panels on nicely (the feet are also this way but do stay on and enjoy enough friction), it's an easy fix to just use a small screwdriver at an angle to bore the leg's tab holes out ever so slightly and then the panels fit. The weapon is kinda cool, goes from rocket launcher to hammer, I don't get the hook at the end, though. Decent overall.

Megatron - Good bot mode if detailed a bit softly and with a flaw in the right ankle, alt mode is ok, transformation is a bit off the beaten path. Megs' bot mode looks like his G1 self, the detailing isn't as sharp as other Siege figures, though. His weathering paint is excessive and not that welcome, but not disastrous. His right ankle side-tilt articulation is very loose and has a tab too thick to lock into place easily, while his foot slides off the joint when you try, so best to leave that ankle locked. Otherwise, poseability is good, pretty much the same as every Siege figure since the line gimmick requires that. Transformation isn't terribly complex, but doesn't remind me of the way other Transformers would do it, and there are confusions with folding up the backpack into alt mode that can be easy to get tangled up on, as well as the thigh transformation being finicky. It's not terrible but not great, either. Alt mode is kinda useless without the weapon, which is a big no-no. It's an H-tank with a rotating turret, Megs' fusion cannon is the center of the turret rather than the tank cannon, the cannon is his sword that clumsily turns into a rifle with two huge pieces of sword dangling off. Decent as a Megatron figure, ok as a toy.

[Dominic]

Sixgun - Middling alt mode, Decent bot mode, Decent weapon modes, Middling official combined weapons modes....

I like Sixgun best as a robot. Cog is better for the other modes, particularly weapons. (Sixgun makes a good upgrade kit for Cog though.)

Ironhide - Decent all around, alt mode could

This is not the worst toy I have ever seen. But, it is the worst "Siege" figure that I have bought. The hollow quality of the figure and the panels falling off bothers me. Unless Ironhide turns out to be critical in the comics, I am skipping this one.

Megatron - Good bot mode if detailed a bit softly a...

I mostly agree with this review. But, my copy does not seem to have the ankle problem you describe.

The weapon being needed in both modes does not bother me as the weapon has a place in both modes.

[Shockwave]

Sixgun is exactly what I expected him to be. A decent deluxe robot that turns into a pile of parts. I imagine it's a good add on for Metroplex, I'll try that when I get home.

As for Ironhide: I actually am pretty happy with this figure. Sure, one panel popped off while I was transforming him, but I honestly thing that was my fault as I bent it at an angle that I knew would cause that. Not intentionally, but I saw it coming and am pretty sure I can avoid it doing so in the future. Having said that, comparing this toy to his predecessors is no comparison at all. it is the best version of Ironhide that we've had. The Henkei Classics version was terrible, not only having things that popped off, but still not being easily transformable after that. He also looked like a squatty mess. Botcon offerings weren't much better and would be prohibitive in both terms of cost and availability anyway. CW Ironhide was ok, but didn't really "look" like Ironhide. This one though? Ticks all the boxes. G1esque bot mode? Check. Blocky, G1esque alt mode? Check. Not a mess to transform? Check. Good stability and articulation? Check and check. Yeah, I'm gonna say that if you don't already have an Ironhide in your collection, get this one. And if you do already have a previous version, sell it and buy this one. I did and I regret nothing.

Ravage and Laserbeak: Good updates to the original figures (which is saying a lot when it comes to Ravage!) Fun transformation and they both fit in Soundwave's chest. They are different scale to the original tapes though, so while these would fit in original and MP Soundwave's chest, the other tapes will not fit in Siege Soundwave's chest. Ravage doesn't quite lock together correctly to fit although that could just be my copy. Still, the best update yet, if you don't have one in your collection, I'd say get these. And again, even if you do, these are better versions.

[Dominic]

https://news.tfw2005.com/2019/04/23/new ... ore-387339


Images of upcoming "Siege" figures posted at TFW.

Greenlight w/Dazzlestrike: The least interesting of the posted figures, but nothing terrible. If I had Elita-1 and Novastar, I would probably buy this, and customize a Chromia to work as a limb.

The other two sets are much less inspiring, but there is more to say about them. (I would guess that the price for each will be $40~$50.)

Sideswipe and Slamdance, w/ Target Master:
The Sideswipe is mostly cast in black plastic (evoking Sideswipe's G2 colors). But, the side of the vehicle mode has two bright red spots on the side. (Given that Sideswipe has at least two obvious recolors, I would have expected Hasbro to plan the molding trays better.) It does not look terrible. But, it does not look good enough to make me want a second copy of this mold.

Slamdance is not a bad recolor of Skytread. But, it is not good enough to make me buy in for a $40+ dollar set. The Target Master is one of the double-barrel guns, with the handle peg molded on to the chest.


Skywarp w/Target Masters:
This is a recolor of the awful Starscream mold described in an earlier post, but cast in black plastic. The Target Masters are the other double barrel and the single barrel guns, along with a recolor of the pteranodon ax. This will be the easiest thing to skip since last year's Predaking combiner.