Toy Review: Transformers Collaborative NFL KC-59

Review:  #949

Name:  KC-59

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Collaborative (NFL)

Year of Release:  2026

Size Class:  Deluxe

Mold Status:  new

PACKAGING:

Part of the Collaborative line, partnering up with NFL.  The packaging is a little bit simple and more cheaply made than some other Collaborative sets, but kind of suits the theme to be honest.

One of the cooler things is how KC-59 is posed, in a mid jump about to catch the ball.  We also rarely get bubble blisters now so that's also a throwback.

HELMET MODE:

KC-59 transforms into a NFL helmet, and is based on the Kansas City Chiefs team, which were founded in 1959, and that's basically how the name came.  A bit uninspired but okay.

This is a really good helmet mode by the way.  There are no major gaps, and the proportions are good, especially with the smooth curves.

The toy is approximately Deluxe size, although may not be obvious in helmet mode given how compact he is.

The team's logo are on on each side, and it looks legit.  There are some panel gaps as expected for something that transforms.

Part of the mask comes off though and it's also required for transformation.

To complete the look, there is a gap behind the mask, just not really big enough to fit a head through (tried with one of the Titan figures and it doesn't have enough space inside).

The ball accessory stores right behind the face mask.

An unusual but unique alternate mode, and is pretty cool even if you have no interest in the NFL.

TRANSFORMATION:

KC-59 is a bit of a minor partsformer in that part of the front mask comes off.  Otherwise, have a Transformer transform from a sphere into a blocky robot is always a bit hard but KC-59 does it well enough.  He is a shellformer to a degree, but done really well.  It's hard to describe since the robot just transforms into a ball, with all the limbs tucked inside the shell so you're basically just unfolding him with only a small part of the helmet forming his forearms.

ROBOT MODE:

KC-59's robot mode is great considering what he transforms into.  He doesn't look too awkward and has decent proportions.

He has a bunch of panels hanging off him but it could have been a lot worse.  They mostly don't get in the way too much, and the shoulder panels can be adjusted to your liking.

The head sculpt is pretty cool, given that he's wearing a helmet, basically, he's wearing himself, haha.  There's even a small logo painted on the side as well.

The front part of the mask can lift up to reveal his face.

However, the main part is that the whole helmet can be taken off, but the resulting head left inside looks really weird, since it proportionally off and looks way too small.  It's still a cool gimmick though.

In terms of size, he is much closer to a Deluxe now, and is a little bit taller than your typical Deluxe.

The pieces of the mask that you took off for transformation can reattach onto his back as additional kibble.  They don't do anything else, not even to double up as a weapon so it's a little bit disappointing.

Poseability is fine, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles, so your typical articulation.

He comes with only one accessory, a ball, and it's a fitting accessory.

The ball has a 5mm peg on it, so that KC-59 can hold it.

He can pull off some cool action poses as if he is playing a game.

Some of the panels can get in the way, the shoulder ones in particular can be annoying, but it's not restriction to the point of being annoying.

The color scheme of red and white also works out really well.

OVERALL:

Considering the toy by its own merits, and this is a good mold.  Don't let the NFL theming fool you, this is a nice design and a bit of effort has been put into the engineering.  Given that the whole NFL line is basically the same mold with different heads, just get the one that you like the color scheme of, or the team that you're a supporter of.  Either way, it is a mold worth getting.

  

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The Office (2024)

The Office is a reimagining of the original British (and by extension American) version of the TV show. It is set in Australia, taking on the form of a mockumentary (although it doesn’t point this out in the show itself). Reimagining such an iconic show is tough to pull off, and this version was cancelled after its first season of eight episodes, although it’s not surprising when you watch it, given that it has a heavy weight on its shoulders given the original shows were so beloved.

First things first, and that is the show has some characters that are gender flipped. Most notably, the manager is now female, Hannah. She is the managing director of the Sydney branch of a packaging company. While the company is not so far as to be failing, there are certain issues. The first episode spells it out and shows off how out of touch Hannah is. Everyone was happily working from home, and corporate is happy to give up the physical office to allow its employees to work from home full time, but Hannah refuses, and asks for more time to prove that they are more efficient by having everyone work in the office full time. Obviously, staff are not happy, but they quickly adjust to it, and this issue is not really touched up much for the rest of the season.

Hannah’s out of touchness and oddities come more to the forefront as the season goes on. Her character is deliberately cringeworthy but doesn’t go as far as what the American version did at times. We have other characters that play familiar roles such as Lizze, who is also odd in her own way, being a stickler for rules and trying to pull everyone into the office to do things her way. We have the warehouse manager Stevie who keeps the warehouse running well and must put off with the stupidity of the people upstairs, and we have Nick and Greta who get along very well, but Greta has a boyfriend.

Unfortunately, the success of the original TV series casts a huge shadow on this version, because you can’t help but feel that the characters are too familiar, yet too different at the same time. The ultimate feeling is that it feels off. The characters lack the genuineness, charm and chemistry that made the American version work so well (but even that show took around two seasons before they could figure it out). Every time Hannah does something, or Nick flirts with Greta, you can’t help but compare it to the originals and it comes off as a pale imitation.

Given the setting, there is a distinct Australian theme and flavor to its content, which helps make it stand apart. There are references as well as unique events such as Melbourne Cup Day, which while novel, can also be confusing if you are not familiar with what they are. The show plays it too safe, never really going far enough with its antics to really surprise you. Yet at the same time, the amount of swearing and other reliance on cheap humor makes it lazy in its writing.

The overarching plot of the office transitioning to fully remote hangs over Hannah’s head, although she is the only one that really wants to keep it. The rest of the employees are surprisingly placid, and despite their “protestations”, they’re not really that worked up. This is especially given what they have to go through with Hannah, since she is not the most appropriate boss. She’s not as bad as Michael Scott or David Brent (and it would have been super awesome if either of them gave a cameo), her actions and personalities are toned down a lot more. She’s still somewhat unlikable in certain scenes, but doesn’t quite have the same loveable charm, her character can fall flat.

Luckily, each episode’s subplot isn’t too repetitive. They’re familiar in the sense that it is slightly similar to what you would expect an episode of The Office to contain. Yet they are not the same and don’t fully reuse the same plot points, which helps. It doesn’t stray far enough unfortunately. The season finale kind of comes without much fanfare, and the resolution isn’t a huge surprise. It’s not really a spoiler, since you’d know that they cannot go fully remote as there would be no show, and the way it was resolved felt in the spirit of the show.

Overall, the Australian version of The Office is fine. It’s not great, but it’s not horrible either, it just… is. The show falls flat, and doubly so as it is the first season, so the actors are still trying to find their characters, so they lack chemistry. It’s a shame that the show was cancelled after the first season since it does have its own uniqueness and has potential. Perhaps making several of the characters so like such beloved shows is not a great idea, as viewers can’t help but compare, and when you compare, the new ones will always be inferior.

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Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Bumblebee (Devastation) (Deluxe)

Review:  #948

Name:  Bumblebee

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Generations - Studio Series

Year of Release:  2026

Size Class:  Deluxe

Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

Perhaps a surprise, but perhaps not given the popularity of the figure, but Devastation Bumblebee is a brand new mold, based on the game.

Bumblebee transforms into a tiny yellow hatchback, with a painted window reminiscent of the cel-shading from the game, but that's about the only thing that invokes that look.

And when the word "tiny" is mentioned, it really is tiny.  He's around half the length of a typical Deluxe, and not much taller, so it's quite disappointing.

The robot weapons can peg onto the sides and the roof.

The wheels roll on a flat surface.  While the vehicle mode looks fine from mode angles, there are some big hinge joints towards the back, and the proportions definitely lean towards being more cartoony / deformed than realistic.

It's still a decent vehicle mode overall.

TRANSFORMATION:

A fairly typical transformation for the character.  The front splits to form the legs, the back for the arms, and the roof folds down as the torso.

ROBOT MODE:

Bumblebee's robot mode is pretty good, and that's clearly where the focus was when designing the figure.

He has the rear quarter of the car on as a backpack but it doesn't get in the way and helps "bulk" up the figure.

Again, he is small in robot mode, which is quite disappointing (even if scale is being used as an excuse).  He's around the same height as Animated Bumblebee, so you know that he is small.

At least he's still very poseable.  He has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

He comes with three guns, two smaller blasters of the same design, and a bigger one.

He can hold the weapons in either hand, but of course, can't really hold all three at once given he only has three hands...

The weapons can store on his back, the bigger gun on his backpack, while the smaller ones behind his foot, which is somewhat awkward but still, it works okay.

Despite his smaller size, at least he doesn't feel too compromised or restricted when posing him, as can often be the case due to the naturally smaller pieces.

He has a surprisingly good amount of balance, being able to keep upright in a kicking pose.

This is a good robot mode, but whether it's worth the trade-offs in size and in vehicle mode is another story.

OVERALL:

The design of the figure is fine, it's just the smaller size that gets you.  While yes, size classes aren't based on physical sizes these days, Bumblebee still feels too small for what you get, as his engineering isn't that complicated.  The limited paint applications doesn't help that feeling either.

  

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