Toy Review: Hot Wheels x Transformers Collaborative Bone Shaker (Deluxe)

Review:  #927

Name:  Bone Shaker

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Hot Wheels x Transformers Collaborative

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class: Deluxe

Mold Status:  new

PACKAGING:

In collaboration with Hot Wheels, Bone Shaker comes in a carded packaging, something we haven't seen for a while now.

It's nothing too fancy though, and the packaging is evocative of your typical Hot Wheels packaging.  It has a nice presentation and doesn't look too bad if you leave him sealed.

VEHICLE MODE:

Bone Shaker transforms into a Hot Wheels model of the same name, which is basically a vintage hot rod car.

It's actually a really nice vehicle, and one that isn't compromised at all.  There aren't any exposed robot parts, or unsightly gaps, it's really quick impressive.

Despite his higher price, Bone Shaker is only Deluxe sized, but he is a little bit more solid than your typical Deluxe.

The robot weapon can tab in between the wheels, although looks a bit ridiculous there, however, there is no other place to store it in vehicle mode.

The vehicle features an open top and sculpted seats inside the cage.

The sides have a flame deco, as well as silver exhausts.  The vehicle is surprisingly well painted too.

And perhaps the most striking feature is the skull face in place of the grill, it's quite an iconic look and works so well here.

There is even a small Hot Wheels logo stamped on the hood.

A really nice vehicle mode, and the bigger scale doesn't hurt it at all either.

TRANSFORMATION:

Bone Shaker has a solid transformation too.  The legs in particular, which are formed from the back, are quite interesting and fun thanks to the steps involved.  The upper body is a bit more conventional, and naturally, the skull face grill forms the torso.

ROBOT MODE:

Bone Shaker has a decent robot mode as well.  He may have a tiny proportion issue of being a bit lean, but that's easily overlooked and the shoulder pads help.

He doesn't have too much kibble, just the hood on his back, and the wheels on the sides of his legs.  His legs are hollow thanks to transformation but they don't feel cheap though.

The head sculpt is fine, again, it's well painted with the red visor and silver highlights.

He's around the height of your typical Deluxe, but feels a little bit more solid and higher quality.

The skull face as his chest works amazingly well, and very suitable given how much of a set piece it is in vehicle mode.

Articulation is great as well, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

He comes with one weapon, a mace, and the tip of it has a skull painted on it.

He can hold the weapon in either of his hand, although it looks a little bit ridiculous, and doesn't really suit him.

A shot with his wave mate Twin Mill, and Bone Shaker is hands down the better figure out of the two.

It's surprising how well painted he is, or rather, how well the designer used the paint budget.  Bone Shaker just feels very nice and looks very nice.

Unfortunately, there's no way to store the weapon in robot mode if you don't want him holding it, which is a bit of a miss.

A fantastic robot mode that looks and handles excellently.

OVERALL:

Bone Shaker is a great figure, even with the Hot Wheels collaboration.  It's just a bonus at this point, and he's a fun figure to play with and fiddle around with.

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How Not to Summon a Demon Lord Ω (2021)

How Not to Summon a Demon Lord Ω is the second season and is a short season at only 10 episodes long. The first season had completed the backstories of the main characters, so now it moves to a new story arc. As a bit of background, Diablo was a shut-in gamer who ended up being transported to this world, that’s based on the gaming he was playing. He assumed the form and power of his character, Diablo, and while he’s overpowered, stronger and stronger enemies are appearing.

A new party member joins (again), and tags along on their adventures. The season focuses on this character and the events stemming from them. To prevent the cast from being too big, some of the other characters are left behind in the city as they travel onward. To be honest, those characters weren’t the focus in previous season anyway, and his first two partners, Rem and Shera are still here so it doesn’t feel too much of a loss.

Diablo was initially introduced as a super strong character, and at an overwhelmingly higher level than everyone else. Yet as the anime went on, he kept encountering other characters that are higher and higher in level too, to the point where they start to match or surpass his level. The way around this is that Diablo managed to carry over some of the high leveled weapons from when he played this as a game, and thus Diablo still outclasses everyone else.

However, there are times where even Diablo will get into trouble and would have died if not for those cheat items. Plus, while he’s got the stats, his combat experience is not quite there. While he often finds himself in a pinch, he will always pull through, and it’s usually through some overly melodramatic way, that manages to avoid being cheesy and has its own charms.

The ecchi content starts to come stronger and become more frequent this season. Diablo himself often comments on it and has those thoughts in his head. It’s doesn’t become too distracting, but it is getting there. Diablo is shown to be that inexperienced geeky guy, which isn’t a great portrayal. He’s also so socially awkward that he has to hide behind his “Demon Lord” persona all the time just to handle the situation. It probably would have been better to portray him as just someone who wanted to roleplay, rather than this socially awkward guy that’s at times, acts pathetically.

There is like a plot break in the middle of the season, before it continues, still dealing with the new character, Lunamachina. Naturally, all the characters seem to fall for Diablo, who’s still trying to pretend he’s something he’s not. He’s self-aware though and is happy about his current situation. The final episodes of the season feel like a repeat of the previous plot arcs, in which a villain comes up, is super strong, but Diablo manages to overcome the level difference and defeat them.

Overall, How Not to Summon a Demon Lord Ω is more of the same. If you liked the first season, then you’ll like this season. It’s still quite shallow in terms of its content, and it is starting to lean heavier into its ecchi content and appeal. At least Diablo’s character isn’t one that you’ll fully roll your eyes at, despite being overpowered and having a harem.

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Toy Review: Transformers Age of the Primes Quintus Prime (Deluxe)

Review:  #926

Name:  Quintus Prime

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Age of the Primes

Year of Release:  2026

Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 1)

Mold Status:  new

ALTERNATE MODE:

Straight away you can tell that the focus was on Quintus Prime's robot mode and not his alternate mode, because this is basically the robot mode lying down and it looks pretty bad.

It's supposed to be a Cybertronian spaceship but only barely.  It looks like a squid actually, and probably would have been better to go the whole way and have him transform into a Cybertronian squid.

In vehicle mode, he is pretty good size for a Deluxe, although that's mainly because of the tentacle thingies at the end that flair out and give him a bigger silhouette.

He does have a cockpit though, and it can open up to reveal... his Emberstone, which is a small piece of transparent plasic.

The smaller tentacle arm on either side of the ship has two configurations.  One is facing the front, while the other faces the back.  They're not that much different but it is mentioned in the instructions.

The spaceship can actually rest in an upright position too and that's when he really looks like a squid.

This is a ridiculous alternate mode and you wouldn't have bought the figure for this mode at all.  It's weak and not great at all.

TRANSFORMATION:

For something that just looked like the robot lying down, the transformation scheme is a little bit more complicated, but not by much.  The legs have a few twists and turns, as in alternate mode, they allow all the other tentacles to peg onto it.  The front splits in half to form the arms.

ROBOT MODE:

Robot mode is a lot better, but Quintus Prime has an unorthodox robot mode.

The lower body is basically a mass of transparent tentacles, and it does look messy, but the design may slowly grow on you.

The head sculpt is quite nice in that it has an alien look to it, plus the lightpiping in his four eyes works really well.

Quintus Prime is around your typical Deluxe height in robot mode.

Despite depicted with tentacle legs, he does have a pair of real legs underneath that "dress", which helps him keep stabilized, and give him poseability options.

Articulation as a result is not hampered at all by the unorthodox lower body, he has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

The two tentacles from his waist are also jointed, but only at the base.  They're permanently curled and it looks a bit awkward.

There is a minor gimmick here.  Where the cockpit is, which is now on his back, it can open up to reveal the Emberstone, which is detachable.

It's a very small piece, but it can be held in his hand, and on it, is a tiny insignia.

If you take the Emberstone out, it does leave a gap in his chest though.

The tentacles in his lower body are made of soft transparent plastic, and they're four pieces, each hinged at the waist, so you can lift them out of the way.

Despite the weird lower body, Quintus Prime doesn't pose any different to your typical figure.  He is surprisingly not compromised at all in this aspect.

While not an amazing robot mode that wows you, it is a respectable one.

OVERALL:

Quintus Prime will be a polarizing figure.  The alternate mode is weak, while the robot mode isn't strong enough to make up for it.  However, he is an extremely unique design, and one he manages to pull off without too many compromises.  Adding the pair of legs was a good idea, so that at least he can still be posed and played around with like normal, even if it makes him look like he's wearing a dress.

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