Voyager Long Haul mini-view

[BWprowl]

In true form, I saw the shuttle weapon at tfwiki only a little while after asking about it. Looks okay, but I don't think the figure'll suffer too much for losing it. He's a transporter, not a fighter anyway.

[JediTricks]

Hey, what's wrong with Wheelie? I fiddled with my friend's on several occasions.

Hee hee, that is the funniest quote of the month.

Incidentally, one reason I got Dune Runner was so he could hang out with my Landmine and Hardtop. Does so quite well (and Hardtop's lack of faction symbol makes it easy to ignore that he's a Decepticon in this situation).

Dune Runner is an excellent opponent for Long Haul, the scale isn't quite right but seeing that scout-class figure go up against a big voyager-class brawler is kick ass. It's just not the same with Landmine.

I'm with O6, JT, what's so bad about Wheelie? I'm incredibly fond of him, he's nicely expressive with a lot of personality. And his transformation is a feat of engineering. Probably the most impressive display of Movie Toy Size-Changing Syndrome.

I don't know, I didn't bother buying him. The reviews I've seen seem like he's a big tangle of parts that are vaguely crammed together to make an alt mode with a ton of robot parts sticking out when you examine it. It's a fugly bot mode too with weird gaps and proportionality issues.

Also on the good list should be Dirt Boss. I know I said I didn't collect ones that weren't in the movie but obviously I got passed that. And I'm glad too cause Dirt Boss is small, cheap and fun. Another thing I like about Wheelie is that he has two ways his feet can transform. Makes for added play value.

I picked up Dirt Boss recently, he's not on my good list, he's on the "alright, considering" list with Dune Runner. I just don't like the colors or the floppy back kibble, and the odd mobility choices for the head and arm-weapons, so it holds it back from my good list.

I don't expect everything to be weird or unique, but averagely good isn't going to encourage me to pick it up off the shelf amidst a sea of other equally good toys.

I don't believe there is a sea of "equally good toys" in this line. This specific line is fairly devoid of solid quality figures, and the past 10 years haven't delivered much at the $20 class I would exalt. There are a lot of figures over that time period that have charm, or a fun gimmick, but many don't deliver across the board.

I read an interview with Bay comparing his take to Lucas's, who apparently makes a tidy 15% from Star Wars merch. Yikes.

I don't believe Lucas' take is that high, but Bay is full of shit claiming he is on that level anyway, he didn't create the characters, he didn't create the designs, he's bullshitting. I would bet he gets a quarter of a percent at most. Lucas gets a lot because he's the creator AND merchandising rights-holder of the entire brand. Bay didn't do any of that.

[onslaught86]

I got Long Haul out of boredom, there was nothing new out that I wanted. Dump truck mode is fun, but looks too chibi thanks to the size and proportions at this scale. The dump bed tipping is great, though, really well done and makes up for the various dump trucks we've had that don't tip.

Transformation is a pain, lots of bits get in each other's way, and the back does nothing pleasant. I hate his kibble, it felt like I was going to break the toy the first time.

Robot mode doesn't do it for me, though it looks nice enough, and I say this as a lover of big brawler Decepticons. Kibble gets in the way of the articulation despite how nice and ratcheted the arms and legs are. Those wrap-around front sections like to fall off and get in the way of the backpack, which doesn't lock. Weapons are inappropriate and look lame translucent, wheels on the shoulders are ugly and do nothing. Unsurprisingly, the sideways hands piss me off. Little beaky face is not to my tastes either, would've much preferred a faceplate. Mech alive may as well not be there, Mega Megs' is better, as is Jolt's. I'd like it quite a lot more if the waist and backpack locked solidly. Pistons are very very cool, though, just wish he had them in his legs too, we need more of these.

So yeah, good vehicle mode, transformation is innovative despite not being a lot of fun, lots of parts do nothing. Robot mode is nice to look at and crap to play with. Says a lot about a line when this is a stand-out toy.

Funnily enough I think I should've gone with my gut and not bought this one, he'll be shelved very quickly, as he's not much fun to fiddle with on display, and his weapons suck. Sigh.

EDIT: I come across too harsh here, as he's not 'really awful', he just doesn't do anything for me that my thousand other toys don't, and I feel slightly resentful for paying full retail price for him when he's not very inspiring. Of course, none of the Constructicons are.

[Onslaught Six]

I'll probably like him, IF I CAN EVER FIND HIM.

[onslaught86]

Found an alternate configuration of his kibble that looks tons better. In the default config, the dump bed is on his back and curls around the cab chunk. His thigh kibble then hits and dislodges it whenever you move his legs, which bugged me. Also was not a fan of the big wheels pointing backwards. If you flip the wheels around so they're diagonally pointing down against his shoulders, you can then fold the dump bed up, and it hangs there more securely than it does when it's pegged on. Redeems the basic robot mode in my eyes. Just need to fix the weapons, replace at least one of his big translucent spoons with a gun, and he'll be pretty snazzy.

He doesn't have suck joints, that's pretty redeeming. Really enjoy the big chunky dump truck vehicle mode now I've messed with it more, he's the first Constructicon to actually capture the chunky fun of construction vehicle toys I had as a kid.