Review: #221
Name: Landfill
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Robots in Disguise
Year of Release: 2001
Size Class: N/A
Variations: repainted into Universe Devastator and Universe Landfill (in yellow)
BUILD TEAM:
Landfill is the combined form of the Build Team, comprising of Wedge, Heavy Load, Hightower and Grimlock. They all transform into construction vehicles with some bright colors.
In robot mode, they all share similar aesthetics, especially Heavy Load and Hightower, unfortunately Wedge is the odd one out with his extreme shortness.
They look nice as a set and you can tell that they are part of the same team.
TRANSFORMATION (HURRICANE MODE):
Uniquely, Landfill has three configurations. While Wedge can only form the torso, the other members can either form both arms or a leg, this provides heaps of play value. What's more, since they combine by having their attachments in the center, you don't even need to take the whole figure apart when going between the modes. Landfill has an ingenious transformation design.
LANDFILL (HURRICANE MODE):
Once you've combined the Build Team into Landfill, you're treated to a very blocky and large combined figure that looks fantastic.
There are some sacrifices made though, such as the shoulders/arms not attaching to anything and relying on friction to keep it in place. Plus, the super thick legs which are comprised of the whole vehicle throws out the proportions.
The head sculpt is wonderful and contains a lightpipe. The head can swivel from side to side.
Looking from the side, you can see the super chunky legs as well as Grimlock, who form the arms, sticking a fair way out the back.
In Hurricane Mode, Grimlock forms the arms, Heavy Load the right leg and Hightower the left leg.
He's not quite the size of a Leader classed figure (well, maybe he's as tall as a contemporary Leader classed figure what with all the shrinkage over the years) but he's still pretty big and doesn't disappoint.
With his fellow combiner Rail Racer, Landfill carries a lot more bulk on him.
Despite what he looks like, Landfill is surprisingly poseable. He has hips and knee joints (which are ratchets), and although they are situated a bit high and usually obscured from view, they can still be used to great effect.
The arms, being formed by Grimlock's legs, are super poseable with many joints. The hands are claws which isn't too horrible and suits the character in a way.
Wedge's gun form the torso piece and Grimlock's shove attaches behind Landfill's head. However, Landfill can also wield Heavy Load's tray and Hightower's gun as weapons. They attach to various peg holes in the arms.
Heavy Load's tray weapon scales much better with Landfill. The huge feet allows Landfill to be stable in pretty much all poses. You can angle the shoulders pads up to allow a more dynamic look.
The Autobot symbol is prominent on Landfill's chest and looks great there.
There is a reason why Hurricane Mode is the default configuration in the cartoon and stock photos, this is simply because Landfill looks the best in this mode.
TRANSFORMATION (TYPHOON MODE):
Now, to form Typhoon Mode, you just need to rotate anti-clockwise. Anyway, transforming Heavy Load into arm mode is quite easy and natural.
LANDFILL (TYPHOON MODE):
In Typhoon Mode, we have Heavy Load as the arms, Hightower as the right leg and Grimlock as the left leg.
Heavy Load's tray sits on Landfill's back and bulks that up a bit, making it look more substantial.
As you can see though, the benefit of Hurricane Mode is that Landfill has proper feet, having Grimlock as a leg means no feet and this can look a bit weird.
That can be remedied by partially transforming Grimlock. You transform the treads into Grimlock's robot legs and Landfill looks ten times better. The treads still peg into place and the leg is still the same length, so it's a win-win situation.
Landfill retains all his poseability but having Grimlock as a leg causes some stability issues when you try some dynamic poses.
Weapons-wise, there are pegs underneath the hands that allows the weapons to peg in. Grimlock's scoop turns into a type of claw weapon now (there's a spring-loaded grey piece underneath) but it doesn't look that great.
Landfill's also a bit harder to stand because the combiner attachment for Grimlock is attached to a big balljoint instead of being a ratchet joint like the other two.
The hands are also just claws but they don't look as great as Hurricane Mode's.
Not the best mode but still decent and adds playability to the figure.
TRANSFORMATION (CYCLONE MODE):
For Cyclone Mode, we have Hightower as the arm now and he transforms similar to Heavy Load, which is no surprise.
LANDFILL (CYCLONE MODE):
The last configuration is using Hightower as the arms, Grimlock as the right leg and Heavy Load as the left leg.
It's a bit more awkward here using Hightower as the arms due to the cabin sticking out quite a bit. You can detach it but there's nowhere else for it to go.
Once again, Grimlock lacks any feet but you can use the configuration above in Typhoon Mode to give him some proper looking feet.
Poseability is the same as Typhoon Mode, once again, Grimlock's balljoint and the lack of a flat surface for his leg prevents some of the more dynamic poses.
If you wish, you can fold the crane gun forward as an overhead gun.
Once again, Landfill can use the individual bots' weapons as his own, Grimlock's claw weapon and Heavy Load's tray as a shield (which you need to flip out the wheel on the arm in order to attach it).
It looks really good in a few poses, in this mode, Landfill can really hold Heavy Load's tray as a claw weapon simply because there isn't enough space for him to hold it properly (you end up folding the claw back at an awkward angle).
Hightower also gives Landfill the two-clawed hands which isn't the best.
Probably a tie with Typhoon Mode since they're both so similar.
OVERALL:
Simply put, Landfill is a fantastic combiner. There are some very clever engineering in play, and if we were only given the Hurricane Mode, Landfill would have still been worth it. Instead, the designers went one step further and gave us interchangeability which ups the play value considerably. Highly recommended!
----------------------------------------------
Check out some other Transformers reviews on this page.