Toy Review: Transformers Generations Voyager Springer

Review:  #134
Name:  Springer
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Generations
Year of Release:  2013
Size Class:  Voyager (Wave 3)
Variations:  remolded into Generations Sandstorm

VEHICLE MODE:

Springer transforms into a green, yellow and grey armored car.  As you'd expect, all four wheels roll.

There are a lot of molded details but not enough paint to highlight them all, I guess this is where the armored car comes into play since those are usually painted (unpainted?) one solid color too.

The back end is a little bit gappy due to transformation (there isn't really anything the designer could do to make it better).  Springer has a spoiler (well... two) which looks pretty good.

Springer's sword/rotor store underneath but pegging onto his knee caps, it's a neat feature.  Depending on your figure's tolerance though, whether the sword actually pegs onto the slots on his knee caps is another story, although it's still possible to store is in that configuration without pegging it.

In terms of his other weapon, the gun, you can plug it onto the roof.  It's personal preference, but I think the abundance of grey on the side feels very jarring with the green and yellow, although it's not as bad in real life.

Some comparison shots, here he is with his wave mate, Blitzwing.

...and another one.

Voyagers are now back to decent sizes and Springer feels big and hefty in your hands.

This is a decent car mode, probably the strongest vehicle mode.  You might have some problems pegging everything together though but it's nothing major.

TRANSFORMATION (HELICOPTER):

From vehicle to helicopter is simple and elegant.  It's still involved enough for it to be satisfying and there are some really neat elements here like how the wheels are hidden (or at least tries their best), how the cockpit is formed and of course, how his sword turns into the rotors (but more on this later).  Things pegs a lot better in helicopter mode and therefore it is easier to get it into this mode (there's less fiddling around with all the pieces).  The helicopter mode's configuration of pieces is closer to the robot mode's than the car was (hence it is easier to transform in the order of car to helicopter to robot and vice versa).

HELICOPTER MODE:

Springer's second vehicle mode is a helicopter.  Wait... you mean that Hasbro is finally making a triple-changer Springer toy after years of saying no?  Yup.

It's well worth the wait as the helicopter mode is quite convincing.  Sure, liberties had to be taken and the helicopter is chunkier than you would normally expect but it's still aerodynamic.

The rotors spin well (considering they transform into a wicked looking sword).  One of the weaker elements here is the winglets which has kibble that protrude too much.

Springer possesses three-point landing gear (but wheels are molded in plastic).

Yes, you can attach the gun to this mode as well.  Fold up the front landing gear and there's a slot in which to peg the gun to (it's tricky to find it at first).  You might even be able to peg it onto the top of the helicopter but I'd imagine that it'll obstruct the rotors (I haven't tried so I don't know).

I've mentioned this already but Springer holds together solidly.  Unlike the G1 toy, the car and helicopter mode has a lot of differences so it doesn't feel cheaty.

Once again, here's a comparison shot of Springer with his fellow triple-changer Blitzwing.

Springer is longer in this mode but slimmer too.  Still a decent size.

This is a great helicopter mode.  It doesn't look like a half transformed car trying to pass off as a helicopter, you can see that the designer has put effort into this.

TRANSFORMATION (ROBOT):

From helicopter mode, you're already half finished (the legs are mostly already formed).  Just a bit more fiddling with the arms, shoulders and flip the front down and whola, Springer in all his robot glory.  It's not too complex which makes the transformation fun, although there is still a fair bit of fiddling.  The way the arms form is interesting, since they managed to include part of the car windows to form the forearm to bulk it up.  Getting the head through the chest piece can be annoying since it can refuse to go through (trick is to do it slowly, lifting the head up as you're folding the chest down at the same time, and you must have the landing out folded out).

ROBOT MODE:

Looks like we have another winner, after two solid vehicle modes, you would expect that the robot would be somewhat compromised, that is not the case it (and before you say anything, yes, I know I should get a new camera as photos are getting blurrier and blurrier).

The best thing is, Springer is relatively kibble free!  There's no awkward helicoper or car pieces hanging off.  Springer is sleek and clean.

However, most of the bulk is in the upper body and arms.  The legs are fairly skinny, this is made worse by how long and elongated Springer is.

The head sculpt is amazing, if you thought that the previous Generations Deluxe Springer head sculpt was good, this one just blows that out of the water.

Let's have a look at his weapons.  One of Springer's trademark is how his helicopter rotors transform into a sword.  While his sword looked stupid on the G1 toy, it's brilliant here.  It transforms by folding the green hilt piece down (locking the spinning mechanism in the process) and the blades are molded in such a way to make an awesome looking sword.  Extremely impressive.

The other thing is his gun, which fires two missiles.  As is the trend these days, it's pressure launched, and as you push forward the sliding mechanism, it fires right missile first and then the left one.  Personally, I'd prefer spring-loaded launcher (they're more fun).

Comparison time!  Blitzwing...

...and Optimus.  Springer is very slim and athletic looking.

Let's get this out of the way first, you can combine the two weapons together by plugging the sword to the underneath of the gun.  Frankly, this looks stupid and awkward but I guess it adds to the play value.

There are some nice joints here, with huge potential for posing.  The articulation is great.  Watch out you don't get a figure with loose joints (it's likely these days), particularly the shoulders (but it's nothing that nail polish or superglue won't fix).

One of the more annoying things is that his feet is molded so that you're supposed to stand him up with his legs apart.  This actually causes some balance issues during posing.

Another cool thing though is the fact that he has rotating fists!!  It's not required for transformation but it is very useful here for a sword-wielding bot.

If you didn't already know, Springer's based off IDW's design from the comics.  It's unbelievable comic accurate considering that the toy was created long after the character design.

You can do all sorts of nice sword poses.  If you like ratcheting joints then you're in luck, since Springer has ratchets for his elbows, knees and hips.  Ahhhhhh... the comfort of those clicks.

I feel that the gun is too large for Springer to hold (and it is fairly heavy for his arm to support too).

They managed to get away with not having too many paint highlights.  I guess since Springer looks like he's ready for business and the (relative) simplicity of the comic design, you don't need such elaborate paint applications.

Springer also has a waist joint, something that I missed the first time around.  So, Springer has the perfect level of articulation.

He is a really fun figure to play and fiddle with.  If something could be done with those spoiler pieces behind his feet, it would make the robot mode perfect (they're a bit awkward sitting there).

Dual-wielding poses look good.  I can't get over how great the sword looks, and it's not a little stub too, being the perfect length.

An excellent robot mode that ranks among the best.

OVERALL:

Finally, the wait is over.  We have the perfect modern representation of a proper triple-changing Springer.  It still amazes me how well they've managed to design this figure, with three good modes.  I loved the fact that the gimmick is firmly focused on the triple-changing aspect (i.e. the transformation) and that they didn't force some other random compromising feature.  The days of feeling as if the toys are being skimped by cost-cutting are over, Springer will fulfill and exceed your expectations.  One of the best toys to be produced in over a year (the Prime toys were a disappointment), get it NOW!!!

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Various other Transformers reviews can be found on this page.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

A film that was easier to sit through than the first movie.  It improved upon it, with the plot being more coherent and easier to stomach.  It wasn't as messy and felt more streamlined, this made it much more enjoyable.  Would have been even better if there was more humor.  I didn't like how they tread into the area where Hellboy was not accepted by the general populace, thankfully, they didn't make such a huge deal out of it.  I was worried when Hellboy was hurt, suspecting that they might be tempted to go into the whole "the hero is hurt, but he will still fight the bad guy compromised", which would have sucked.  Thankfully, they were handled pretty well (but it was still made some boring scenes in which Hellboy heals again).  The action sequences were better, and the special effects were well done.  The design of the monsters were good (i.e. less ugly).  It does seem though that Hellboy himself is more static compared to the first movie (most notably is his tail which is just there and it doesn't moves like it did before).

Book Review: The Black Book of Buried Secrets

Review:  #343
Title:  The Black Book of Buried Secrets
Series:  The 39 Clues - companion book
Author:  Mallory Kass
Read Before:  no
My Comments:  I’m surprised at the amount of work put into this companion book, as it’s not just a rehash of material from the series.  As far as I can tell, most of the information is newly created (or maybe taken from The 39 Clues website, I don’t know since I haven’t been there before and have no intention to).  The content however, they have finally gone overboard, but listing all these famous people that is apparently part of the Cahill Clue hunt.  All these retcons seems preposterous and I find it extremely unlikely that anyone who has ever made a name of themselves is part of the five branches.  You can’t help but roll your eyes whenever someone well known is listed.  It’s always “...but Cahills know that it was because they were hunting for clues” this and “hiding a clue” that, it gets repetitive and annoying.  The introduction was different, if a bit cheesy.  The pictures do a lot to improve the book, as it would have just been too boring with only text.

Rating:  6/10

The Social Network

A surprisingly good film.  The first few mins were slightly confusing in that I didn't know it was a flashback scene, so I was wondering what was happening when it cut to the discussion scenes.  The story that was told by the film was done perfectly.  I couldn't fault the way it was told since it captured your interest straightaway and you feel like you were growing with the characters in terms of their creation of Facebook.  I really liked how they handled with the creation of the idea, then building it, watching it succeed into the huge thing that it is now.  Ignoring all the inaccuracies, the plot was captivating.  You want to find out how the co-founders ended up at odds with each other.  At first, you're on the side of Mark (the main character), but at the end of the movie, after all the things that had happened, you can't help but feel that Eduardo got the short end of the stick.  There were some good performances from the actors.  It's hard to explain, but wow, you have to see this film.

Book Review: The Thief Lord

Review:  #342
Title:  The Thief Lord
Series:  N/A
Author:  Cornelia Funke
Read Before:  yes
My Comments:  I had remembered this book to be quite amazing and great.  Rereading it though, it just seemed like another average book.  The concept of the plot had some potential, with a roundabout that would twist time to make the person older or younger.  However, this concept didn’t appear until late into the story and it didn’t fully blossom out.  The book feels less fantasy than the author’s other works, while the writing isn’t too captivating.  The title refers to a character in the book who steals for a living, pushing a big twist on the character around halfway through the book.  The story is enjoyable without being spectacular; you want to see where things are going.  To be honest though, while reading, you’re waiting and expecting something massive to happen but it never does.

Rating:  6/10

Hellboy

A bit more boring and slower paced than I had imagined.  It started off well, with some intriguing encounters with the monster.  We are also treated to a fairly well introduction on how Hellboy was found on Earth.  Then it slowed down, and the story got a bit convoluted, making it harder to understand and follow.  It feels like the antagonist's notions are the same old same old, opening a portal in order to allow some sort of monster to come through and destroy the Earth as we know it.  Hellboy himself was pretty good, and I liked his body language that really adds to the character.  There were a few good laughs here and there.  The climax where the battle between Hellboy and the monster was disappointing, and I thought it was lacking some of the more spectacular thrills (and it was very short in length).  The special effects were done well and plausible.  However, its far from the best superhero film.

Book Review: The Darkling Curse

Review:  #341
Title:  The Darkling Curse
Series:  Something Wickedly Weird - 4th book
Author:  Chris Mould
Read Before:  no
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Rating:  6/10