Review: #784
Name: Bonecrusher
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Masterpiece
Year of Release: 2023
Size Class: Masterpiece
Mold Status: new
PACKAGING:
Bonecrusher comes in your typical Masterpiece black box, with a shiny finish, rather than a matte one.
The back shows off the various gimmicks but feels a bit bare without some text.
He comes with a bunch of accessories, although most of them are the blast effects.
VEHICLE MODE:
Bonecrusher transforms into a licensed General Dynamics Buffalo Mine Sweeper.
He looks amazing here from every angle. As befitting of the Masterpiece line, he doesn't have any exposed robot parts.
He's absolutely huge too, and his size is probably what makes him so impressive at first, as you just don't expect it. Yes, he is expensive, but the quality is here. He's much bigger than a Deluxe and Leader, and is much heftier than a Commander.
All six of his wheels roll and while previous figures has fake painted on spare wheels on the sides, this isn't the case here.
And of course, there are the sheer amount of detailing of the figure. It's pretty amazing to see what the designers have managed to fit in here, complete with even dirty front windows.
If you look carefully, even the front licence plate has small text that is quite hard to read without the help of zooming in by using a camera. Now that's impressive.
Thanks to the choice of vehicle, Bonecrusher has a little bit more play value in vehicle mode compared to others. His fork has multiple joints, but the placements of those joints can make it a bit awkward at times, as there is a long static piece at the end.
It doesn't help that the fork is designed to be detached and replaced with another design, so more often than not, you might accidentally detach it instead of posing it.
The wheels are also branded "Megatron", to save on licensing fees, which is an interesting touch.
Pretty much a perfect vehicle mode. The only slight flaw is the fork but even that can be easily overlooked and is a minor thing.
TRANSFORMATION:
Probably the worst part of the figure, due to its complexity and as a result, how fiddly it is. The instructions doesn't help either as they aren't that clear in certain steps. This toy officially has 84 steps, at a time where Voyagers have only 25 or so steps. It is very hard to describe but basically the vehicle mode separates into many many pieces that you need to rearrange to form the robot mode. It's impressive for sure, just not very fun. It wasn't fun to go from vehicle mode to robot mode, so it will be even less so to go the reverse way. Bonecrusher cheats a bit as you need to detach the ends of the fork with another, more screen accurate, set.
ROBOT MODE:
The pain of going through that complicated transformation is totally worth it because robot mode is simply jaw dropping.
It looks amazing and of course, it is faithful to the on screen model.
The head sculpt is great, and the head juts forward on two joints, so it has quite a bit of motion.
Bonecrusher is shorter in this mode, still taller than a typical Leader, but he is wide. As mentioned earlier, Bonecrusher just has that solid hefty feel to him that most toys these days lack.
The attention to detail continues on in robot mode. There are a lot of areas here and there that perfectly showcases the complexity of the movie models.
The feet are always one of the most unique designs, and with four spokes, Bonecrusher is very stable and easily keeps his balance where required.
The spare sets of forks, the ones dedicated for his vehicle mode, can store on his back. It's still feels like a cheat that Bonecrusher has to rely on a minor bit of partsforming at this Masterpiece level though.
Articulation is of course, excellent. He has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers, waist, hips, knees and ankles.
Like with most Masterpiece figures, there is a gimmick involving his face. It can detach and then be replaced with a damaged one, so that you can replicate the scene where Optimus punches it out of him.
Another common feature of Masterpiece figures is diecast, and Bonecrusher's die cast element isn't on his feet, but rather in his torso and it is painted over too. Which means you need to be slightly more careful to not chip it.
The play value doesn't end there, given that Bonecrusher has the fork on his back as a weapon. It is very versatile and can posed in a variety of ways.
Then in another surprise, he comes with a bunch of flame effects. These aren't your typical flame effects though, especially since Bonecrusher was never seen, and doesn't come, with a firearm...
Those flame effects are specifically designed to attached to certain parts of him to replicate the scene where he just cut through a bus, and wow, this is a really cool addition. Although there are already quite a number of flame effects, given his sheer size, a few more would be even better.
All his load bearing joints are ratchets, so it can hold the weight of the figure.
There are some pieces where it doesn't quite lock in, such a the panels around his hips. They can get in the way sometimes and you aren't 100% sure that it is how it is designed, but according to the instructions, that's how it is supposed to be.
A fantastic figure and one that is totally befitting of the Masterpiece moniker.
OVERALL:
Bonecrusher is yet another winner in the Masterpiece Movie Series. Both modes are jaw dropping. However, there is one sacrifice to get there, being that that transformation is crazy complex and not very fun as a result. Regardless, the sheer size and quality really puts other mainline figures to shame, and makes him great value, despite a more premium pricetag.
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