BotCon 2010 box set reviewed

[Dominic]

This review is going to be much shorter and lighter than I planned for it to be.

The theme for BotCon 2010 was "Generations 2: Redux". In theory, the idea was supposed to be a call-back to the old "Generation 2" series from the mid-90s. In practice, this is one of the more half-assed efforts. (Considering some of the sets from previous years, that is saying something.) For those wondering, my two favorite box sets were 2007 (Games of Deception) and 2005 (Benson Yee's Descent in to Evil). Mind you, I do not own any of the toys from either set.

The set itself consists of 5 toys, a comic book and (in the case of boxed sets) a certificate of authenticity. As with previous BotCon sets, the toys are largely recolors of existing toys from the past few years. 3 of the toys have newly moulded heads. And, as is the pattern with convention sets in recent years, there is not a single new character in the set, with every toy being intended to represent an old character.

Despite the set being called "Generation 2: Redux", the boxed set, (to say nothing of the at-show toys), have little enough to do with US "Generation 2". The two largest figures in the box are based on UK-only figures that were obscure to begin with. On top of that, Clench and Spark are arguably not G2 characters. Streetstar and Breakdown are based on toys that were planned for US release, though cancelled at the last minued. (Breakdown was released as an exclusive at BotCon 1994 and another convention. But, that was an extremely limited release.) Finally, Skybite is based on a mass released character that appeared in the "Robots in Disguise" cartoon and toy line.....having nothing to do with "Generation 2". The comic is just terrible.

The pin: Because BotCon 2010 was held at Disney World in Florida, the collector pin (included with the box set) has a Disney logo on it. It is a Botcon pin...iwth a Disney logo. Somewhere, there is a completist who wants this thing. It is not a bad pin. But, it is just a pin. Uh, yeah. (I am tossing this thing into a box with Skybite and shipping it to NZ in about a week.) The only real reason I am mentioning the pin is because it is packaged with the set.


The comic: Oi. The convention and fan club, (more or less the same organization), have a special talent for making bad comics, and this is not an exception. Sloppy, McGuffin heavy plot? Check. Obscure references and call-outs? Check. Self-indulgent whimsy masquerading as being clever? Check. This comic reads like it was written for and by people who never got over the fact that the "Generation 2" comic published back in the 90s did not do enough to show their favorite toys. The result is a comic that is not only bad, but that actually kind of ruins toys I picked up 15+ years ago, and reads worse than the lowest points of the original Marvel run of "Transformers". It is not as bad as 2008's "Shattered Glass", but it reads more like a fanfic than even 2006's "Beast Wars" themed comic. If anybody is really curious, or just feeling masochistic, and wants to read this, it will probably be released through Diamond at some point in the Fall or Spring. Though why anyone would want to read it is beyond me.
Grade: C/D

Of course, the main reason anyone buys a BotCon set is to get the toys. Objectively, none of the toys are completely terrible. (I actually went so far as to buy the set, intending to split it up, for the sake of getting one of the toys.) Bear in mind while reading this review that the set itself cost just over $300 USD. If you assume slightly more than triple retail for every figure, you will be pretty close in estimating the cost of each figure, (assuming one could buy them separately of course). I am listing the toys by name and a rough guess of the price. These reviews are not factoring in the price of the toys, or the context of the characters. If I were to factor those things in, the grades would be about half what they are listed as being below.

-name: Clench (Colossus)
-alternate mode: truck
-price: $90
Clench is largely cast from the same mould asTFU (2008) Onslaught, though with a new robot mode head and no light/sound feature. The box describes Clench as turning into a truck. I would actually describe Clench as turning into an urban pacification vehicle. Aside from the removed electronics and newly moulded head, this is much the same toy as Onslaught, though with gaudier colors. (G2 toys, especially from Europe were generally characterized by having hideous color schemes. Certain elements of the fandom are given to obnoxious whimsy and characterize this as "awesome".) The original Clench toy was also released in the UK as Colossus, Clench's character profile, included in the box, describes him as having McGuffin spawned gravity powers. (As with most toys released through the convention or fanclub, the more one knows about the characters and context, the harder it becomes to like the figure.)
Grade: B The excessive use of pink hurts this figure. But, it is still a damned good mould.


-name: Spark (Pyro)
-altnernate mode: turck
-price: $75
Spark is a straight recolor of the TFU Inferno figure from 2008. TFU Inferno was an under-appreciated figure owing to the fact that the packaging did not flatter the toy. Anyone buying a BotCon set is likely to know that TFU Inferno was a much better toy than first impressions might lead one to believe. While the black and yellow, (added largely to the fire truck mode), are not inherently bad, the base plastic makes this toy look and feel like a knock-off. The joints are much looser than they should be while the color and shading of the plastic are more appropriate for the sort of toy produced by a thrid tier manufacturer for sale at Rite-Aid than for something that would be sold as part of a major line. As a convention exclusive, this plastic does not just make the toy feel cheap, it almost insults the collector who owns the figure. The purple on the robot mode does not help things much. Spark was also sold in the UK as Pyro. The comic acknowledges both names. According to Spark's character profile, he is a low-level precog. (Apparently, the characters being transforming alien robots from another planet is not enough for the more insular elements of the fandom. They need whacky-ass powers as well.)
Grade: C/D The plastic quality would be a strike against this toy at mass retail. It is unforgivable in an exclusive, regardless of how good the base mould is.


-name: Skybite
-altnernate mode: boat
-price: $45
Skybite largely shares a mould with "Energon" Sharkticon. The BotCon Skybite figure has a different head to make it look more like the original toy from "Robots in Disguise". Skybite is a very unevenly mixed bag. On the one hand, the base mould is fantastic. What the box lists as being a boat is more of a sci-fi submarine form. Besides looking good in both forms, Skybite is well engineered, balancing simplicity with complexity. The problem is that Skybite had nothing to do with "Generation 2" before this set came out. And, the only reason Skybite was included is that somebody just liked the character and decided he should be in the set. (Skybite has a sizeable fan-following, despite only showing up in one forgettable cartoon series the better part of a decade ago.) The character is listed as having the ability to shoot jets of water. (Apparently, there is nothing more awesome than a Transformer with the sort of superpowers one would expect to find in a videogame.) Skybite has the distinction of being the only toy in this set that references an earlier toy that was released at retail in the US.
Grade: C Great mould, terrible concept.


-name: Streetstar (Streetwise)
-altnernate mode: car
-price: $45
Streetstar is cast from exactly the same mould as TFU Prowl, having all the virtues and detriments of that mould. The robot and police car modes are both excellent, but shifting between them is cumbersome enough that I think twice before bothering. (The name Streetstar is being used as a proxy because Hasbro apparently lost the copyright to "Streetwise".) The two largest problems that are unique to Streetstar are loose joints, (similar to, but not as bad as, the problems with Spark) and excessive use of black. Black recolors are a peeve of mine, if only because they are so over-done in Japan. Objectively, black is a legitimate color for a police car. And, the robot mode has enough red to break up the black a bit. But, my visceral reaction to "black recolor" tend to be "oi, another one". This toy has grown on me more than any other in the set though.
Grade: B/C I would probably be more charitable if this was a mass released toy. Passable design, okay execution.


-name: Breakdown
-altnernate mode: car
-price: $45
Anyone who has talked about Transformers with me for more than a few minutes knows how much I love the the Sunstreaker/Sideswipe mould from the TFU line. Anyone who has glanced over my custom figures, (many of which can be seen in this blog's photo gallery), knows that my obsession with this mould borders on being unhealthy. In case nobody has figured it out, Breakdown largely shares moulding with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. When I made the decision to order this set, it was to get Breakdown. If nothing else, at that point, getting Breakdown would mean that I had every US pressing of the mould. (This was before the extremely limited custom class Sideswipe was revealed. I am never getting one of those, owing to scarcity.) As it stands now, the only mould modification I do not own is the new "Generations" Red Alert figure. (And, that will change.) This mould is glorious. It is wonderful. The fact that Breakdown has a uniquely moulded head is just icing on the cake. The fact that the colours are a hideous mix of pink and green that make Clench look tasteful is a minor annoyance. The only thing that matters is that I have an excuse to buy yet another pressing of an amazing mould.
Grade: A I might be a touch biased here.


Grade for the whole shebang: C



Dom
-been a long week...

[Onslaught Six]

To be fair...some of us 'grew up' when the whole Neon Toy thing was going on. Like me! All I know is insane neon wacky colour schemes. And some of you have seen my album art and stuff--things in inherently wrong colours is kind of my thing. I made Tidal Wave aqua, for Chrissake.

[Shockwave]

I'll post a review later. When I'm not at work. Suffice to say that apparently I'm way happier with my set than Dom was.

[Dominic]

The plastic on Spark/Pyro is just terrible. And, my problems with Streetstar are the same as the problems I have with Prowl.

Clench's head would be worth bootlegging for customizers. (I am seriously thinking of customizing a Space Marine tank into a TF. Of course, it is unlikely that the Imperium of Mankind would take kindly to Transformers in their midst.....)

[Onslaught Six]

Eh. I'll be the judge of that. >.>

[JediTricks]

I really don't see the point of this set, even beyond the "Botcon has to have SOMETHING".

What grade would you give this set if you were factoring in the "true value" rather than the "con-exclusive value"?

I cannot imagine paying anything for this set for personal use.

[Dominic]

The grade I gave the set is wht I would give it. If somebody thinks the grade for a given toy is enough to justify the purchase, that is their call. I listed the prices for perspective.

I would likely skip Skybite. At mass retail, the mould might be enough to sell me on Pyro.

I would buy at least 2 of Breakdown at mass retail.

[Onslaught Six]

I really don't see the point of this set, even beyond the "Botcon has to have SOMETHING".

Clench, motherfucker! And he's a remould of Onslaught! It's like a toy specifically designed to fellate me and my ego.

[138 Scourge]

I really don't see the point of this set, even beyond the "Botcon has to have SOMETHING".

What grade would you give this set if you were factoring in the "true value" rather than the "con-exclusive value"?

I cannot imagine paying anything for this set for personal use.

You know, I've said before that I'd be down with a G2-repaint set. But this wasn't what I had in mind. Clench and Pyro look pretty good as far as that goes, and Breakdown's heart is definitely in the right place, but then, like...the hell, Sky-Byte? And with Streetstar, why go with the blandest of the G2 Protectobots if that's what you're trying to do.

[Shockwave]

Who else would you go with? I could see Pyro getting replaced with Hot Spot, but I dunno that he's really all that "interesting". Would you want Ironhide repainted into First Aid? Surely not, as that mold sucks donkey. Blades or Groove I could see, but what molds would they use for them? I dunno, generally I'm pretty happy with this set, but I'm not over the moon with it. Spark's joints are unforgiveably loose and everyone's right, Skybyte really doesn't belong in this set. I like him, love the deco, and the head works great for the character, but.... he's not G2. Streetstar... I would have preferred Rapido had been included with this. After reading the comic I made it my mission to acquire one. Got one at cost thanks to the club store. And totally worth it. His tech card is completely in Spanish. It's awesome! I bought this set with the intention of molding Breakdown's head in a G1 color. Once my house is done.