Toy Review: Transformers Generations Scourge

Review: #13
Name: Scourge
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Generations (Wave 6)
Year of Release: 2011
Size Class: Deluxe
Variations: None

JET MODE:



Scourge transforms into a stealth jet that is loosely based on the Boeing X-48. It's a short plane, but the wingspan is really impressive (especially in packaging, as it stretches from corner to corner). It is attractive and the blue used is so nice, a deep rich blue, probably one of my favourite shade of blue used on any Transformer yet.



He has three back thrusters, which looks really impressive, and two engine intakes with some red showing. There some additional sculpted windows on the side, but curiously it isn't painted. The wingtips are sloped down, which looks great, I really like this plane.



There's a middle section at the back that pokes up, which is part of his head, it looks a bit odd there, but I guess you can imagine it as an offensive laser. Seams are minimal and not that obvious, the main one would be where his wings connect to the body. Something's that's a bit odd is that the paint doesn't carry over seams, so some of the colours truncate in an 'unnatural' way.



Scourge is a really neat plane transformer, there is practically NO underside kibble, everything is integrated very nicely and pleasing to the eye. I do think he is one of the best plane transformers since ROTF Mindwipe (which is my favourite Decepticon toy). He features landing gear, but in an unorthodox pattern, two sets of three wheels in the front, and one at the back. Using the landing gear, the front of the plane tips a bit forward which is weird. He also features two C-clip joints near the back, but I tend to find that they're pretty useless in both modes.



Speaking of clip joints, there's one at that protruding bit I was talking about earlier (the head bit), you can clip one of Scourge's weapon there, and it actually looks pretty good since it sits close to the body, plus, he is now properly armed.



Amusing, and because I've seen it mentioned so many times, I'll mention it here as well, Scourge's head can be lifted up so you can reenact the times in the original G1 cartoon when Scourge's head was visible in alt mode. All in all, a well executed plane mode that looks great and also fun to play with.

TRANSFORMATION:

Scourge's transformation has potential, and contains a few surprises, but it can be annoying and frustrating at getting some parts together, especially when going back into alt mode. At one point it becomes a bit of a mess as there are a few panels that you need to manipulate. The arm transformation is unique and I don't think have been done before, but confusing on the first try.



Unexpectantly, the weapons storage on Scourge is ingenious, they are stored... in his wings!!! Granted, this causes his wings to be a bit thicker than I like, but it works really well here. One of the guns doesn't clip in as securely, causing it to rattle in it's socket when moving the toy around. I should also note that pulling out his feet was a challenge on my particular toy, as they were clipped in very well and was tight, so it might be something to look out for. Generally, a good transformation but a bit challenging getting between the two modes (and the Generations line usually had easier transformations, so Scourge is one of the harder ones).



As if the storage concept wasn't enough, there's also two options in how to use Scourge's guns. The first one is to have Scourge dual wielding the guns, which is nice, or you can...



...combine the two pieces into one, which is more impressive, and looks a bit like Fracas, Scourge's Targetmaster back in Season 4 of the cartoon. I personally prefer the combined gun, as one of the guns in it's separated configuration had a gap in the middle.

ROBOT MODE:



Scourge's robot mode looks great, if anything, it might be one that his legs look a bit weird and rounded, due to it being made up of the plane cockpit. The wing's configuration is totally up to the user's preference, as you can open the halves up to emulate the bat-like wings of the original, and angle it in any way you like. One minor complaint would be that his wings sit a bit too far out from his body (as a necessity of his transformation, so it's forgivable), making it both unpleasing to the eye, but more importantly, back heavy. You would have thought with the big feet, he'll have no problems standing, that is not the case, you need to be careful when posing him (or even just standing him) as he'll topple backwards very easily.



The thickness of the wings is a liability to Scourge here. Anyway, more of that beautiful blue shows up, and the colour scheme is SO good. He's also really accurate to the G1 character model, something I found really amazing. He does have wide shoulders though, which can look weird in some poses. One nice touch is that they bothered painting his fingertips red, in a metallic red paint too!



Scourge's head sculpt is great, and his facial hair isn't cast in rubbery plastic, which is a great relief (unlike Wreck-Gar...). He has a 3mm clip at the top of his head which you can attach his laser gun to, but it looks odd there. There's blue lightpiping, and it looks great, taking a closer look, most of the top of his head is transparent blue plastic with blue painted over...



Posability is good, provided you didn't get one with loose joints. He features rotating wrists, which is somewhat rare and useful. The feet can be a bit limited with no side to side motion, but it can tilt up and down which is really good for some poses where you require the knees to be bent.



The knees are double jointed, and he has a rotating waist, although it's more for transformation than practical use due to the way it's jointed. Overall, a great robot mode, no major gimmick apart from the combining guns and weapon storage. A great display piece, and is not fragile enough to fear giving to kids (which is their intended audience) to play with. A clear winner!!

OVERALL:

Initially when I first heard the toy to when I first saw the toy on online sources, I wasn't terribly interested and thought "meh". Once it came out and people praised it (as well as scalping it... due to the nature of the cartoon making it a good army builder) I had to have it. This was further reinforced when I had a play with my friend's one. A bit of a hard toy to find, but just like Warpath, worth the hunt, he is a great toy with two solid modes.

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More photos (including the packaging), can be found here.

Credit: pictures and text is all mine, but I've linked a few pages to TFwiki.net and Wikipedia as reference for some terms

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Toy Review: Transformers DOTM Skyhammer

Review: #12
Name: Skyhammer
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Dark of the Moon
Year of Release: 2011
Size Class: Voyager (Wave 2)
Variations: None

ALTERNATE MODE:



Skyhammer transforms into a helicopter that is not based on a real vehicle (at least, not that I know of). One thing that you might find odd would be that he has no tail rotor, but he still looks really awesome. The main rotor spins freely, and he has three-point landing gear (sadly, only molded wheels).



The colours are drab, but suitable, and not too boring. Even without the MechTech weapon (which I will come back to later in it's own section) he is well armed, with a missile pod under each wing.



The missile pods are detachable and are able to be plugged into slots on the side, I do think it looks better under the wings, but whatever your preference I suppose, it's nice how the weapons are so versatile though.



From head on, the various air intakes makes Skyhammer look really good. However, the two air intakes on top of the cockpit just sit there and doesn't clip in, so it can be dislodged easily. Unfortunately, quality control on the the third movie toys seems a bit low, as half of the cockpit on my figure is is unpainted, nothing major, but it's a bit surprising (I'm just glad it wasn't a defect of the figure affecting transformation).



It's not all good news however, looking from the back, there's a bit of a gap in the fuselage, but everything is solid, and pegs together well (albeit too well, making it annoying to clip everything together perfectly when transforming). While he is clearly bigger than a Deluxe sized figure, he's also noticeably smaller than Voyagers of the past, I had expected it but it was still shocking.



Then there's the placement of the MechTech weapon, AKA the big-out-of-proportion-gun that-does-not-suit-the-figure, unlike Automorph and Mech Alive in the lines before, MechTech is something which I find very lame and impacted greatly upon the figure (mostly the obvious side reduction). Anyway, enough about those complaints, you can plug the MechTech weapon in three different configurations. The first one is plugging it into the side, which is my preferred way, and you'll see why later, it looks alright there, albeit the helicopter is now a bit unbalanced.



The second position is for it to be it right under the cockpit, it probably looks the best, but unless you have a stand, Skyhammer is going to lean back as the MechTech weapon causes the cockpit to be a lot higher than the rest of the helicopter, making the two rear landing gear redundant and causing a lean. The third way, which I didn't take a picture of, is putting it in under one of the wings. In total, there are seven MechTech slots here, which is quite a lot, making Skyhammer a fun toy to test out the possibilities.

MECHTECH WEAPON:



As much as I dislike the concept and execution, I figured the weapon deserved it's own section for being such a large part of the figure. In its normal configuration, it is a gun, with a really small and puny barrel, I do think it's one of the better MechTech weapons currently available, but still not that great in my opinion. It's also lacking in a lot of paint, making it boring. There are two slots on either side for you to plug in other MechTech weapons (or anything that has a 5mm post).



Pushing in the bronze button at the back and holding it in, you get a flip out knife, twisting it clockwise will lock the weapon (the first time I had to twist it REALLY hard and I heard a huge crack before I could lock it). Disappointingly, the spring on mine is too strong, so the weapon couldn't lock into it's knife configuration for more than a few seconds.

TRANSFORMATION:

Your standard affair, nothing ground breaking apart from the fact that the front rotor forms his chest and plugs in nicely, that was neat. Also, you can leave it up and it'll spin freely which is pretty awesome. It is a bit annoying tabbing everything together for helicopter mode, to the point where it is frustrating. The way his leg forms is ingeniously simple.

ROBOT MODE:



There was basically only one aspect of the robot mode that made me want this toy, and it is the way the rotor is handled. It forms his chest, and looks GREAT there, however, his legs look like they need more work as it looks incomplete and is a bit awkward.



Everything pegs in very nicely, and he has very limited kibble, they all fit perfectly and are catered for. In the photos above I have plugged the missile pods onto the outside of his arms and the MechTech in his hand, but you can interchange them, it depends on your preference. The missile pods can even be left attached onto the wings (which is now on his back).



Remember when I said that you can put two additional MechTech weapons onto the MechTech weapon? Well, you can substitute those for the missile pods and you get one mean looking gun, which suits Skyhammer very well...



He has huge hands, and the cockpit halves forming his shoulders make him look formidable, but he has a very narrow waist, which kinda ruins the look. The white also looks a bit forced, especially his head, really looks out of place there (with the random blue paint on it too).



Speaking of the head, the head sculpt is... unique... I can't discern whether that little slot is his mouth or if the blue paint signifies a face plate. Either way, it's not the best head sculpt ever, and his eyes aren't lightpiped. However, Skyhammer is probably one of the less "spindy alien" movie Transformers out there.



The weapon plugged onto his forearm looks good. Skyhammer actually has enough paint to bring out the details.



The knife configuration suits this mode a lot better, but man, I'm really tempted to pull out the spring as its annoying.



He has a C-joint clip on each foreman (which is also accessible in helicopter mode) which you can plug some weapons onto, not really something I'll do for him as he's got enough weapons already, but it's an option.



His pose-ability is the standard affair, but he does have waist rotation, which is surprisingly (as it's not needed for transformation). One thing to note is that his legs are jointed a bit weirdly, the rotation at the knees is not that great, as it doubles as a transformation joint. Thus, rotate it too much and it'll be a weird angle, and the bend in his knees is a bit higher than the norm (there's also another hinge there for transformation which you can accidentally use as well, causing a very awkward bend). While moving his forearms you might also accidentally start to transform them as they are not locked into place, but it is a very minor thing, he's generally very stable.

OVERALL:

Initially, I wanted him, so I got him (on sale), first time I played with him when I opened it, I was bitterly disappointed. I was probably hyped up too much (but then again, I also got him during exams so that might have affected my judgement), he was not as great as I was led to believe. He looked fairly ugly in robot mode and the helicopter mode is smaller (even though it did look good). However, he has started to grow on me, and is a very fun toy mostly due to the versatility of his weapons. The way his rotor forms his chest is very refreshing and I would dare say his posture makes him great for running poses, so he is still a worthy toy to get.

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More photos can be found in this site.

Credit: pictures and text is all mine, but I've linked a few pages to TFwiki.net as reference for some terms

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Toy Review: Transformers Generations Warpath

Review: #11
Name: Warpath
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Generations (Wave 8)
Year of Release: 2011
Size Class: Deluxe
Variations: None

VEHICLE MODE:



Warpath transforms into a maroon "H-Tank" (in reference to the "H" shape of the tank) that is not based on any real vehicle. The shade of maroon used is nice, and fits the character well. It's a good tank, although not entirely realistic and not everyone's cup of tea.



While looking good from the front, some work needs to be done at the back as there are some gaps, which is part of his waist in robot mode. One minor complaint would be that his missile is just too long, protruding very far from the back, and looks a bit ridiculous.



Side profile is also good, and he has "K4-9OW" and "Z0W-333" on either side in reference to his speech patterns in the original G1 cartoon ("Kapow" and "Zowee" respectively). His cannon is proportionally smaller than a normal tank, but he has a missile launcher and a gatling cannon on either side of the turret to boost up his firepower.



He doesn't have too much paint in this mode, but it is sufficient. He also has four clip on points for C-joint weapons, one on each tread. I really like how they had painted the treads silver as it brings out the detail beautifully.



Warpath's turret can rotate 360 degrees, and in addition to that, the cannon can tilt up, which is a rare feature seen on tank figures. Couple with the missile launcher, this makes him quite fun in this mode. He also has four little plastic wheels on the bottom of each tread to allow rolling, although he tends to slide.



Perhaps the biggest flaw and most annoying thing would be his size, in his alternate mode, Warpath is the length of a scout sized figure. Granted, he's a bit wider and taller, but short nonetheless. In the picture above, you see that he is the same length as PCC Heavytread and Generations Wheeljack seems way bigger despite being in the same size class.

TRANSFORMATION:
You would expect a really simple transformation for this type of tank (with each of the 'arms' becoming an arm or a leg) but Warpath's transformation is surprisingly satisfying. When I first transformed it, he was a lot more involving than I had expected, and was really fun to do. It wasn't terribly complex, but he has some really ingenious designs such as how his arms form. The speed and ease of going between the two modes completely sold Warpath to me, and is a great toy to play with.

ROBOT MODE:



Robot mode is where Warpath truly shines, and what makes him worth every cent spent on him. It is AMAZING, hands down one of the best robot modes I had seen, his stature and proportions is just so perfect, and what's more, he's really accurate to the cartoon model.



Warpath keeps the iconic turret, complete with the cannon, as his chest, and treads for feet. The turret is locked as part of the transformation, and although a really bland shade of grey appears, the other darker granite plastic offsets this.



As bad as the length of the missile was in tank mode, it's even worse here, just shooting off his back by a ridiculous amount. Warpath is pretty much kibble-less, something which I love, only a part of the turret extends out of his back, everything else is integrated very nicely.



The head sculpt is PERFECT, capturing the character well. A missed opportunity would be his eyes, they could have been lightpiped as you can see the solid black plastic used for the eyes also appearing as the back of his head. He lacks a handheld weapon but he has two weapons on either side of his head as well as the cannon chest (which can extend back to it's original length if you so desire), making him a formidable opponent.



Pose-ability is decent, mainly swivels and hinges for his shoulders, elbows and knees. His big feet anchors him in a lot of poses, making him very stable. Two aesthetics gripes with his robot mode, the first is the gap above his hands, which is unsightly, but required for his transformation. The second would be the panel which is behind his head, it's a bit awkward there with no real place to go.



Despite being such a small tank, it's amazing that after conversion, Warpath is normal deluxe height!! The selected silver paint highlights brings out the details nicely and the clip joints are now situated on his arms and legs, although the ones on his legs aren't really that useful.

OVERALL:
A passable tank mode and a great robot mode makes Warpath a great toy, and pretty much a must-have, as I cannot completely convey his awesomeness in words. The stature of the robot is great, Warpath seems like a robot that no one wants to mess with! The colour, head sculpt and details are spot on. Sadly, he is a bit hard to find due to being released at the tail end of Generations (right before Dark of the Moon), but if you can find one, he is worth the hunt.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

After getting the DVD about six months ago I finally found the three spare hours I needed to watch the extended version of this movie, it's been on my watching list for ages, but I just hadn't found the chance to watch it. I had thought the book was ok, and the movie is okay too, albeit a bit boring and like the book, it feels a bit lacking as a standalone, the whole trilogy really feels like one big story that should be unabridged. Admitedly there are a LOT of good scenes, and Legalus still remains as my favourite character, but the three hours was a bit hard to stomach in one shot. I do think it might have been a bit long, yes, I agree if it was cut shorter I would have complained about it cutting out the good bits and not being faithful to the book. Although only ten years old (gee, was it really that long?), I see how CGI has progressed so much in these years, coz the computer graphics in this movie just seems to fake and outdated compared to even movies five years after, but it was still good nevertheless. I would only recommend this movie if you are a fan of the book as I don't really see the appeal of the movie otherwise (it was kinda hard to follow if you didn't already know what was going to happen).

Book Review: Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex

Review: #75
Title: Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex
Series: Artemis Fowl - 7th book
Author: Eoin Colfer
Read Before: no
My Comments: A story that started off very very differently and to a different tune than previous books in the series, to the point where I thought it was very weird. It seemed like a completely different series, I thought it would get back into vein as the story progressed but that was not the case. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but this book seemed to be structured very differently than the past six books, to the point where you feel it’s not really a sequel. This change of direction isn’t a good thing either, as the whole book feels lacking, you might think that it’s building up to a good plot as typical to the series, but even when you get to the climax of the book (which is around fifty pages from the end), it’s still not as interesting and doesn't grip you. There are some events that are shocking, similar to Opal Deception, but not as heart wrenching. I felt that the plot was very weak, and the titular disease, the Atlantis Complex, on the main character Artemis Fowl is the killer for me. You don't get to see any of his trademarked well thought out plans being put into action, winning over an evil mastermind, there aren’t any cunning plans here, just one boring event after another. Even after two thirds of the book, you feel that the story hasn't started yet, and you’re still waiting for the clincher… that is not going to come. Granted, there is numerous great dialogue and humorous moments that lift the atmosphere and almost make the book worth the dragging plot, but it can't mask the fact that it’s a very disappointing book. The weak plot is atypical of the author, and it seems that this sequel is here for the sake of a sequel, definitely the weakest of the Artemis Fowl series and a poor addition to the line-up. You just don't get that warm fuzzy feeling for seeing Artemis triumph, coz he doesn't triumph… he practically does nothing.
Rating: 6.5/10
Rereadability Factor: 4/10 (disappointing really, not really worth rereading)

Book Review: Rowan and the Keeper of the Crystal

Review: #74
Title: Rowan and the Keeper of the Crystal
Series: Rowan of Rin - 3rd book
Author: Emily Rodda
Read Before: yes
My Comments: Another great book in the series, although it doesn't quite live up to the second book, it’s a good as the first one. The story/plot of this book is once again greatly thought out with a lot of unexpected twists and turns, with the revelation at the end the major highlight of the book, as all at once, everything becomes clear. The rhyming riddle is ingenious, hard to work out on it’s own but when one by one the answers comes, you understand. I was really addicted to the story, even though I had read it a couple of times before already, and it had gotten me wanting to get the last two books so I can continue on the adventure. The whole book is just really well written and planned, although the new characters introduced are not very likeable, but they do become bearable in the end, and you warm up to them for a bit. The thing that this book really stands out is that it gives you seemingly trivial pieces of information for fun but later on, it becomes vitally important. There are a couple of places where I guess you would call it critical thinking on the titular character’s part, and that’s what makes him so likeable. The ending is great, with the final mystery revealed, with a couple of other unexpected things to boot. Definitely a book I recommend for fans of fantasy and adventure to read.
Rating: 8/10
Rereadability Factor: 8/10