Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Stinger

Review:  #446
Name:  Stinger
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Decepticon
Line:  Generations - Studio Series
Year of Release:  2018
Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 1)
Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

Finally, we get a Stringer who transforms into a Pagani Huayra and this is a wicked vehicle mode.

The vehicle looks stunning and we finally get a Deluxe that isn't lacking in paint, with plenty of black paint highlighting the sculpted details, and the silver striping along the sides.

Above is a comparison against Age of Extinction Bumblebee and Stringer is a little bit smaller than most Deluxes.

The robot weapons attach to four different spots on the underside of the car.

However, if you store them this way, then they stick out the sides.

This is a sleek vehicle.  The only play value though is the rolling wheels.

It is nice that the designer managed to squeeze into the budget some paint on the back as well, since all too often we get a nice sculpt but nothing to make it stand out.

This is a fabulous vehicle mode that does the actual vehicle justice.

TRANSFORMATION:

Stinger has a really innovative transformation.  He is not a simple reshell of Bumblebee and features a complex yet ingenious transformation scheme.  The legs are simple being the back of the vehicle, as are the arms which are formed from the sides.  The clever part is how the torso is formed from the body of the car, which flips inside out and has the windshield being tucked into the robot torso via a series of rotations.  It is neat and is just so satisfying when you first complete it.

ROBOT MODE:

Robot mode looks amazing as well and despite in the film being a red/black Bumblebee with a different head, this is a neat interpretation of the design.

Stinger is relatively kibble-less.  He has the four wheel spikes on his back but they are situated a bit too far out from the back to look like the film.  There are joints that allow you to situate it to your liking though.

The headsculpt is great with the neon green eyes really popping.

In terms of size, he is once again a bit smaller than most Deluxes.

As with all Studio Series figures, Stinger comes with a cardboard diorama which depicts a key scene.  For Stinger, he is designated number 2 and features the Hong Kong battle scene from Age of Extinction.

While the diorama looks nice, it does take up a lot of space.

Poseability is fantastic with jointed shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and neck.

His right arm has a stinger weapon formed from the side windows of the car.  This is a neat usage of what is otherwise kibble and gives him an asymmetric look.

The four wheel spikes can be detached (and they are required to be detached for transformation), they are made from a type of soft bendy plastic.

In addition to form his iconic back kibble, the wheel spikes can attach onto Stinger's forearm as a type of weapon, but looks stupid in the process.

The headlights on his shoulders can also be tailored to your liking, whether it cover more of his shoulders or less.

There remains plenty of paint applications here as well and what could have been a really bland red toy instead looks amazing with the combination of black and red.

This is a fabulous robot mode and does justice to the character.

OVERALL:

The Studio Series has really nailed it with its focus on screen accuracy and complex yet elegant transformations.  Stinger is one of the best Deluxes we have had and he is absolutely fantastic in both modes.  The only negative relate to his small size compared to other Deluxes but otherwise, Stinger is definitely a must buy.

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Book Review: Terraformars 4

Review:  #746
Book Review:  Terraformars 4
Series:  Terraformars - 4th volume
Author:  Yu Sasuga
Read Before:  no
Comments:  It tries to present more mysteries and teases the bigger picture but unfortunately, it just makes the pacing terrible and frustrating.  Not only is the perspective constantly shifting between the different teams, but we get flashbacks and also time skipping of an hour here or there.  There are too many things that you cannot understand because you don’t yet have all the knowledge.  At least one team seems to have information they are withholding from everyone (including the reader), and it seems that the cockroaches are unnatural, have a leader and are much more organised than previous anticipated.  Nevertheless, none of this eventuates into anything worthwhile and so the volume feels mediocre at best.
Rating:  6/10

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a spinoff of the Harry Potter franchise and set before the events of the Harry Potter films.  The film follows the in-universe writer Newt Scamander on his trip to America.  It taking place in another country brings a change to the atmosphere and the focus on magical beasts shows potential.  Unfortunately, the film ends up being derivative and extremely bland with poor pacing.  The heavy reliance on CGI that isn't that great to begin with, severely hurts the scenes and the beasts aren't fantastic at all.  Their designs does not feel like much effort has gone into them.  The characters are uninteresting and the plot is predictable.  There are too many scenes which bloat the film causing it to feel like it is overly long.  There are no surprises and the way the wizards and witches fight is different to what we have seen before such that it feels like it is breaking the rules which had already been set in the previous films.  While fans of the universe will find something to enjoy, it does not add enough to the universe to be addictive, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them feels like something with the intention to milk the franchise for all its worth.

Attack of Titan - Season 2 (2017)

After three years of waiting, the eagerly anticipated second season of Attack on Titan was finally released but at only 12 episodes long.  This series is based upon the manga of the same name.  The plot takes place in a world where Titans, giant humanoid creatures, roam the land.  The last known pocket of humanity lives inside an area surrounded by giant walls, where they had a century of peace before the Titans breached it.  Now, humanity is desperately fighting for their own survival.  Not much is known about the Titans, however, for some unknown reason, they target humans to eat them.  They often ignore all other animals and go directly for humans.

The first season main starred Eren, Mikasa and Armin, as well as a host of other supporting characters, who were part of the army in which they use specialized equipment.  The equipment utilizes a combination of retractable grappling hooks and gas to propel them vertically and horizontally in order to combat the Titans.  The equipment is attached to their waist, allowing them to zip around (similar to Spiderman), although they are not as useful on flat plains due to the lack of buildings and trees for them to hook onto.  The first episode continues straight after the first season where the Female Titan was defeated and the wall cracked showing a Titan set within it.

Putting Eren, Mikasa and Armin into the background in favor of the other support characters instead, the first few episodes throws various new mysteries including another Abnormal Titan, gigantic and covered in fur, acting quite unlike any other Titan we had encountered so far.  Each episode ends in a cliffhanger that annoyingly makes you want to watch the next episode immediately.  Every episode ends in some sort of dramatic revelation that is designed to raise many more queries from the viewer.  While it does hook you, it is also frustrating when you just want to find out at least something about the nature of the Titans.  Attack on Titan succeeds in communicating the sheer terror and horror the characters must feel in such situations.  They are forced to fight against the superior Titans, backed into a corner, feeling helpless and hopeless, knowing that they are right in front of you, ready to eat you.

The intense atmosphere is also felt when they are travelling at night through Titan infested areas, carefully portraying the scariness and tension when you expect a Titan is just going to jump out and kill you.  Coming off from that, no supporting characters are safe since it is usually the case of it a character suddenly gets more screentime, they will probably die.  On the other hand, there are inspiring adrenaline-filled moments such as when the Survey Corps charge into battle even though it was an impossible situation.  What makes these scenes better are the excellent pieces of music, Season 2 reuses the soundtrack from the first season coupled with remixed.  The pacing of the storytelling is uneven; it skips between different parties and different time frames, jumping back a few hours, a few years, and then forward back to the present.

The jumping around in time would break off an intense moment where the characters are just about to battle in order to do a flashback of the daily mundane lives of the characters before the Titans broke through.  It is a good thing that Eren doesn't have much screentime because when he finally becomes more of the focus in the second half of the season, he still sucks, he's still stubborn and still quite useless.  Even in his Titan form, he is thrown around overwhelmingly easily, giving way to his anger and making mistakes.  He does redeem himself slightly during the battle in his Titan form leading to an epic showdown that was exhilarating and amazing.

Unfortunately, no matter how cool Eren was in his small moments of glory, he is one of the weaker aspect of the series.  You feel that Eren is so set in his way of thinking that the two Titans are evil, that he doesn't try to understand them even when it is so obvious that there is another reason behind why they're doing what they are doing (although it is also the Titans' fault for not elaborating in the first place).  Mikasa is fixated completely towards saving Eren in this season that she does nothing else and this clouds her normally sound judgement.  Then Armin is just being Armin, pushed off to the side and in one scene, is quite cruel.  The season doesn't paint them in any good light and serves to making them annoying and useless characters.

As expected, the major plot points of this season are the revelation of more Titans living amongst humans.  The series keeps raising the question on why they are hiding, what their plan is, and why do they reveal themselves now.  One of the most frustrating aspects is the fact that other characters seem to know more about the nature of the Titans but are keeping them a secret.  It seems that character motivations are hard to decipher, especially when they keep a large chunk of it hidden.  Not to mention that we never understood Annie, now with the other characters introduced, we're only getting bits and pieces so with what we are given, it seems to be a stretch on why the characters are acting this way.

The final episode as expected will not satisfy you if you were expecting some sort of closure or answer.  The final few episodes were very intense in keeping the viewers guessing how the current scenario will pan out.  As noted by one of the characters at the end, at least it is a step towards the truth and while we have learnt a lot behind the mystery of the Titans in this season, it raised so many other questions that it is hard to feel that you have a grasp on anything.  Nonetheless, you will be hyped for a third season.  Overall, Attack on Titan Season 2 is an engaging season.  There is odd pacing here and there and too much teasing/foreshadowing, but it did not disappoint in what it promised to deliver.

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Book Review: Terraformars 3

Review:  #745
Title:  Terraformars 3
Series:  Terraformars - 3rd volume
Author:  Yu Sasuga
Read Before:  no
Comments:  After the cockroaches invade the spaceship without it even arriving into Mars, things looked grim until the officers show their stuff and we see that humans might have a chance.  The cockroaches are shown to be overpowered and with some intelligence, which makes it a little bit more unbelievable that they managed this in a measly 500 years, although it starts to hint that there are other factors.  The injection of a drug to morph the characters with insect/animal traits looks cool but still sounds impractical.  As the characters split it, unfortunately the storytelling lacks proper pacing.  Only after a character is killed, it tries to build sympathy through a series of flashbacks in order to dive and explore that character’s personality, their relationships and their motivations.  Apologies, but by that point it is too late, and you are cutting short suspenseful scenes of huge number of cockroaches attacking the teams with slow paced flashbacks which feels inconsequential.  It doesn’t ruin the whole story but does put a stop in it.

Rating:  6/10

Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Blackout

Review:  #445
Name:  Blackout
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Decepticon
Line:  Generations - Studio Series
Year of Release:  2018
Size Class:  Leader (Wave 1)
Mold Status:  new

HELICOPTER MODE:

Movie Blackout now gets the Leader treatment he deserves and the MH-53 Pave Low helicopter mode is stunning.

While most of the plastic is unpainted, there are still plenty of sculpted detailing and tampographs.

Blackout is huge in this mode, above is a comparison against Age of Extinction Leader Optimus.  Not only do the rotors make Blackout seem bigger than he is, the body of the helicopter is already pretty big.

That being said, the rear third of the helicopter is hollow.  However, Scorponok fills up some of that space being in storage there.

The main rotor and tail rotor both rotate freely.  The rotors have a huge span which makes the figure really impressive.

As is fairly traditional with Blackout toys, he comes with a mini-Scorponok.

Scorponok is extremely well painted with silver and gold.

The mini-figure doesn't have much articulation, two joints for the tail and swivels for the claws.  These joints are just for tucking away when attached to Blackout.

There are three pieces of landing gear but they are all solid molded plastic.  In this age of cost-cutting, that's to be expected.

The proportions are a lot better than previous toy incarnations of the character.

The amount of sculpted details is crazy, with rivets all over

There are also details as inspired by the film.

A fantastic helicopter mode that doesn't have any major flaws.

TRANSFORMATION:

Blackout's transformation is complex and to be honest, isn't really that fun due to the heavy reliance on panels.  An interesting (and fairly lazy) design decision is that the robot mode is comprised of the front two-thirds of the helicopter and the rear third forms a hollow backpack.  This also means that the figure can be a bit spindly in robot mode due to not using all the mass it could.  Going back to helicopter mode can be painful with the numerous panels forming the shoulders and arms being annoying to peg together.  The first transformation out of the packaging can be scary thanks to the overly tight pegs for his shoulders, which you will notice is so tight that when you try and detach it, it is warping the plastic instead.  Despite that, it is an impressive transformation scheme and the way the feet form from the sides of the helicopter is clever.

ROBOT MODE:

The robot mode is where Blackout truly shines.  It is crazy how closely it mimics the onscreen character model.

Unlike previous attempts, this Blackout finally nails down the unique cape formed from the rotor blades and it looks awesome.

The headsculpt is crazily detailed but feels a little bit off in person due to being a bit flat.

Despite being huge in helicopter mode, in robot mode due to the rotor assembly, Blackout is shorter than other Leaders.

A comparison against his wave-mate Grimlock shows the massive size difference.

And finally, a comparison against the original Voyager toy and it shows how far toy engineering (and a difference in size), has gone in the past ten years.

All Studio Series toys comes with cardboard dioramas depicting a key scene that they were a part of.  Blackout is designated number 8 and his scene is the one from the opening moments of the first film where he attacks a military base.

The dioramas look nice but takes up a lot of space.

The impressive sculpting and attention to detail is rampant here.  The iconic rotor assembly above his head is spot on.

Scorponok can peg onto Blackout's back kibble.

Otherwise, he can accompany Blackout but doesn't really have anywhere else to go on the figure.

Articulation is pretty good with joints in his neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, needs and ankles.

Despite the plethora of joints, the kibble hampers poseability.  He has a gigantic piece of kibble on his back (the rear third of the helicopter) which gets in the way of his legs.

This isn't to mention the kibble surrounding his arms and shoulders makes it difficult to move them without hitting something else.

The tail rotor on his left arm is detachable and while the instructions has the rotor set farther back of his arms, you can reverse the position to approximate the way how Blackout used it as a weapon in the climax of the first film.

While playability isn't perfect, the accuracy of the design is and this is a wickedly amazing robot mode.

OVERALL:

There is no doubt that this is THE definitive version of the character.  Finally, the Leader size class does the character justice and both modes are amazing.  While the transformation can be scary with the tight shoulders and a heavy reliance on panels, it is worth it.  Blackout is highly recommended and is one of the best Leader classed toy we have had in years.

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