Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Hatchet (Deluxe)

Review:  #864

Name:  Hatchet

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Decepticon

Line:  Generations - Studio Series

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 27)

Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

Finally, for the first time, we get a Hatchet toy in a full sized Deluxe offering.  He transforms into a Chevrolet Suburban car.

This is a pretty decent vehicle.  It's high riding, although the only let down is this thing underneath sticking out the back, which is the robot mode's tail.

He is an okay size.  He feels smaller than he should, given that he is supposed to be a large SUV, so he ends up being tall but narrow.

While there are some panel lines, thanks to the black, they're not that noticeable.

This is a great vehicle mode, and if you think about it, a lot of paint went into painting all the windows... so despite being a black vehicle, he isn't drab at all (plus all the lights are also painted).

TRANSFORMATION:

This is the biggest downside of the figure.  Hatchet has a horrendous transformation, further ruined by panels that are only loosely attached via friction, so they constantly fall off.  It's best to leave them detached when they inevitably fall off, and peg then back on in the end (it's more annoying getting into vehicle mode as a result).  He's a big shellformer, as most of the vehicle shell ends up folding on top of each other, with the rear legs unfolding from the back, and the front legs from the front.  Unfortunately, his tail is a separate piece that you need to attach yourself.

ROBOT MODE:

Hatchet has always had an interesting robot mode, being a quad-legged beast-like robot.  At first glance, he's pretty good here.

He has a lot of kibble, but that's actually good as it helps bulk up his figure.  His torso is actually quite skinny and insubstantial.

The head sculpt is one of the best things about this figure, it looks fantastic.

He's bigger than vehicle mode now that he's unfolded, but is still a relatively small Deluxe.

Another disappointing engineering aspect of the figure is his tail is a separate piece that you peg on, and it doesn't even peg on solidly.  It likes to fall off if you accidentally touch it.

Hatchet is one of the last in the line to come with a cardboard stand, depicting the highway scene.

Articulation is okay... with joints for his head, and each leg has a hip, elbow and ankle joint.

However, given the inherent limitations of a quad-legged figure, Hatchet can't really do that many poses where he doesn't look lopsided or falls over.

The dreads on either side of his head are also not locked into place, so if you're moving his front legs or the head, they tend to fold back towards the center.

A good looking robot mode at first glance, but is filled with flaws.

OVERALL:

Hatchet as a design has a lot of potential.  However the engineering effort that went into this toy is disappointing.  We haven't had such a flawed figure in a long time.  The pieces that are prone to constantly fall off, the poor transformation, and the lazy design elements, make Hatchet a hard one to recommend, unless you really want the only representation of the character we've had in all these years.

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Chronicles of the Going Home Club (2013)

Chronicles of the Going Home Club is a 12 episode anime based upon the manga series. It’s a slice of life, following Natsuki who has just entered high school and needs to join a club. She originally intends to join the “going home club”, which basically means not joining a club and go straight off. To her shock, there is an actual Going Home Club, and she is kind of peer pressured into joining along with Karin, another freshman.

The Going Home Club eagerly accepts them and upon meeting the original trio of the club, you’ll get an idea of the tone of the anime. The president is Sakura, an ordinary person for all means. She’s joined by Claire, someone of rich background, to the point of being unrealistic in her views of the world giving just how much money her family has. And finally, Botan, a girl of extraordinary strength.

The common thing that unites all the characters? Their sheer craziness. The goal of the club is just to have fun, doing whatever they like, as they live out their youth, given that they’ll only experience this once. The difference is, the things they do is completely random. They are fully serious about the most stupid of things, and there is a lot of slapstick humor, as well as breaking the fourth wall. The result is an anime that’s loud, full-on, and full of sheer madness, in a good way.

There’s no complex plot or even a plot. Yes, we learn about the background of the characters, but only just enough to pin a stereotype to each of them. Their personalities get along well with each other, and every episode (and every segment within that episode) is full of randomness. You cannot guess what they are going to do next, and they can make even the most mundane of topics into something that can be discussed for five minutes, while keeping it entertaining.

You’ll soon realize that the driving force of the group is Sakura. She is the one that comes up with all the random ideas and activities, and the one that has exaggerated reactions while taking things seriously. The others are along for the ride. Although it’s not a home run every time, there are times where the activities are just that bit too mundane, so even with all the bantering, it doesn’t quite become engaging enough.

There are many smaller segments in each episode, and they each have a different gag. These gags vary in quality. Sometimes they are great, sometimes they’re a bit underwhelming. They are consistent in that Sakura is usually the weird one, and Natsuki is the sane one yelling at whatever craziness is currently going on. It does reuse gags often, adding onto it, but can still be tiring.

Overall, Chronicles of the Going Home Club is an easygoing slice of life gag anime. It’s not over the top hilarious, although it has over the top reactions. There are some gems within its writing, while other times there is a lot of boredom or what they’re attempting to achieve doesn’t quite work. The characters frequently break the fourth wall which is one of its charms.

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Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Optimus Prime (Leader)

Review:  #863

Name:  Optimus Prime

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Generations - Studio Series

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class:  Leader (Wave 18)

Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

With this figure based on the version from The Last Knight movie, Optimus transforms into a Western Star 5700EX truck.

It's a good vehicle mode, both from the front and back.  There are limited gappy parts, and the back even has properly molded lights rather than just the robot feet sticking out.

Despite being part of the Leader size class, he is compact and not too much bigger than a Voyager, although he's definitely heftier.

The various robot weapons peg onto the hitch at the back.

The only play value here is rolling him on a flat surface.

A great looking vehicle mode.  He loses the chrome of the original toy, but feels more substantial and less gaudy.

TRANSFORMATION:

This is where the figure justifies the Leader class pricing, as it is involved, but also there are some neat tricks.  While the basics are the same, such as the back forming the legs, the arms coming from the sides, and a lot of the cab ending up as a backpack, there are some clever aspects to fold the kibble away.  In particular, his legs are much more involved than expected to get the sides of the vehicle and the rear section all folded up like that.

ROBOT MODE:

The biggest let down of robot mode is the unpainted grey plastic used, it just looks cheap and nasty, making the figure seem much more bland than it should.

He carries a lot of kibble, which is expected considering the design barely has any recognizable vehicle elements (a flaw of the movie designs which got worse with each subsequent movie).  Optimus manages to compact it as much as possible.

The head sculpt is good, but again the unpainted grey plastic ruins it and makes it look extremely cheap.  It's not helped by the nicer blue highlights around the face.

In robot mode, he's around the height of a Voyager, but again, he's heftier, and he feels sturdier and higher quality too as a result.

For articulation, he has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

There are a lot of great sculpted detailing, particularly around his chest and legs.

He comes with a few accessories, his sword, shield, and a shorter sword.

The shorter sword can be held in his hand, but cannot be plugged into his forearm like the ones in the Revenge of the Fallen movie.

Similarly, the longer sword can be held in either hand, and the shield can peg onto the outside of his forearm.

There is a little additional square-shaped piece, that pegs onto his back so that you can store the shield and sword onto it.

Although not shown in the photos, the forearm shield can also split to reveal a three-barrelled blaster.

One thing to note is that the blue plastic used has a nice metallic sheen to it, which makes the grey plastic look even worse.

He is a tad bit too short though to look even more impressive on your shelf, but this is still a nice robot mode.

OVERALL:

Optimus Prime is a solid update to the original Leader class figure.  He is much more accurate in detail, with better proportions, better articulation and better weapons.  Sadly, the choice of grey plastic used it disappointing and makes the figure feel cheap and tacky.  It's still a good figure, just one that could have benefited from better plastic color choices.

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