Review: #41
Name: Steamhammer w/ Constructicons
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: PowerCore Combiners
Year of Release: 2010
Size Class: Commander with Drones (Wave 4)
Variations: none as of this date
VEHICLE MODE:
Steamhammer transforms into a bulldozer in the classic Constructicon green, the blade is disproportionally huge though, and takes up most of the mass. I love the silver 'grit' applications on the blade. The cockpit is a small affair, made worse by that only the front window is painted black, all other sides are unpainted green plastic (even though windows are molded in).
There are the characteristic PowerCore Combiner blue ports sticking out the back, the other two are right behind the blade, so they aren't too obvious there. There are some blades/hooks at the back and he features a Minicon port on top of the cockpit.
While a good looking bulldozer at first glance, due to most of the mass being shifted into the blade, the rest of the vehicle suffers. There are gaps everywhere, and looking from the top, you can see the arm joints, head and all sorts of other kibble. It's not a disaster, but far from the best alternate mode out there.
DRONE VEHICLES:
Being a 5-pack, instead of a Minicon, for the extra cost, you get four auto-transforming drones (too bad they don't have robot modes though). The first one I'm covering is a steamroller. I actually like this one, although it feels a bit cheap and hollow, the two wheels and roller spin. Again, there are silver paint wash on the roll which adds great visual appeal. The only bad thing is that it doesn't have a clearly defined driver's compartment.
The second is a front end loader. The scoop can adjust, but the degree of spread is very limited. This one is a bit bland but the details are adequately painted. There is a conveyor belt thing running through the middle and I love the look of that. I forgot to add that since these are the "Constructicons", they are all construction vehicles.
Next up is a plow drone, I think the most boring one of the set. There's a black paint wash on the plow, which is a nice touch, fairly plain overall. All drone vehicles have a Minicon port, but honestly, they're such a small size (about Legends) that plugging in a Minicon kinda looks ridiculous.
The last is a drill drone, my favourite of the set, primarily because of such a unique alt mode. This makes me want more than ever that they could have engineered a robot mode into these. The drill can tilt up and down, again, it is limited.
They look great together as a set, the construction theme works really well, and although they don't share any common colours, they still mash together okay.
TRANSFORMATION:
A simple transformation, really simple in fact, but it works well. Unfortunately, this causes some kibble issues in the modes but I'll get into that later. The one thing that causes worry would be the hip tabs, it tabs really tightly for combined and vehicle mode, so when it comes to pull them off, since the tabs are thin, you're bending them and causing a lot of stress. I think, over time, they will snap off very easily. I like the transformation into torso mode, and how well everything clicks and pegs together, so it forms a very solid figure. Apart from the tabs, I think this is a nice transformation.
ROBOT MODE:
I like this robot mode, many people probably found faults in him, but for all his flaws, I really like it. I love his blade weapons on the underside of his hand, I like the kibble treads hanging out onto the sides (kinda look like jetpacks actually) and I like the chest design. The only thing I don't like about him is how small he is!
All that mass in the robot is situated on his back, in the form of the vehicle blade. It's such a shame as it's a huge chunk and ruins the look. At least you use the combiner plugs as solid heel spurs, he won't fall over any time soon.
The head is an interesting design, very tubular in shape, but he's got a nice grimace. It's only on a swivel joint, and he doesn't feature a lightpipe.
As I said, Steamhammer is really short, shorter than what a Scout should be. I know that the 5-pack commanders are usually smaller but this is ridiculous, he feels fragile because of this smallness.
Steamhammer has some great joints but the killer is that everything gets in the way of each other. The legs are relatively free, but the cockpit protrudes out of his elbows which hits the blade kibble on his back. The result is that he cannot put his arms in a normal resting position. I still love this robot mode, and for some reason, he reminds me of ROTF Dirt Boss.
COMBINED MODE:
Steamhammer's combined mode is the BEST out of the whole PowerCore Combiners line, I am not exaggerating, he is the only one in which I liked the instant I saw the first photos of him. He is well proportioned, he's also the only 5-pack originated molds to feature a Minicon port in his chest.
The drones he comes packed with are really stable and some of the best ones produced, and what's more, they're the only ones with dedicated thumbs!! Yes, as weird as the reason, this was why I was sold on this set, thumbs, it just makes him look so much better. I also like how in torso mode, Steamhammer doesn't have the feel of being too thin. One little complaint would also be that his chest unclips just a bit too easily.
He's a bit shorter than Bombshock but just looks so much better, the drones do a good job of acting as feet and arms, I think it's the blocky look that makes them so much better. Another reason would be that there isn't a weird 'spacer' gap between the 'knee' and the attached drone that is prevalent on other PowerCore Combiners. Steamhammer's legs pretty much look integrated instead of something tacked on.
Head is a bit unusual, but I've warmed to it. It looks menacing somehow, sad thing is that is it really limited in how much the head can turn. A few degrees and that's it, as his 'collar' gets into the way. I do like how he has antennas on either side of his head. Steamhammer manages to avoid looking like a Devastator rip off even though he is tributing that figure.
This is where having a few toys from the line can be fun, I've attached the three Minicons I had so far (during the time I took the photo) and Steamhammer looks quite cool with these 'power ups'. The possibility of this guy is decent, but the lack of elbows hurts, a lot, the way they are bent out the sides makes all these PowerCore Combiners look awesome, but that's the price you pay for automatic transformations.
Took forever for this guy to get to my place, and I wished he was released in the early waves rather than at such a late time where a lot of people's already viewing this line as something they don't like. Steamhammer is an excellent figure for the line, and shows how great PowerCore Combiners could have been, alas, it was not to be and even this guy was fairly difficult to find...
OVERALL:
While I like Steamhammer, he is not my favourite PowerCore Combiner (Smolder and Undertow are better) BUT, he is the best 5-pack out there, with a good solid Commander toy and four well designed drones, it is the best value you're going to get with the options out there. If you're even a tiny bit interested in the concept, there's no better toy to start than this one right here, Steamhammer with Constructicons.
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Credits: linked a few TFwiki.net pages in this review if you wanted more info on the respective links
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