Toy Review: Transformers DOTM Crowbar

Review: #40
Name: Crowbar
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Dark of the Moon
Year of Release: 2011
Size Class: Legion (Wave 2)
Variations: none as of this date

VEHICLE MODE:



Crowbar transforms into an unmarked version of a Carbon Motors E7 police car, he's black with silver detailing, emphasis on the black.



Surprisingly the tail lights are painted red, and there's a molded license plate. There's also an out of place silver Decepticon logo on the roof, fairly random as it's not in an obvious place in robot mode either.



Crowbar has a lot of panel breaks, a lot more than you would expect, thankfully he's black, so you don't notice it that much. All his windows are unpainted, but being that the base plastic is black and the car is black overall, I don't mind, it works here.



What I found was surprising was that they painted the each of the side mirrors to be red and blue, a really nice touch, and secures the theme of a police car. The front grill has a lot of silver paint, but after Barricade from the first movie, a police car Decepticon just doesn't have the same stun factor anymore.



Panel lines here and there, it breaks up the whole car a lot, and that's the major flaw of Crowbar.



The underside doesn't give too much away in terms of transformation. Of course, all four wheels roll.



Just like other DOTM Legions, Crowbar feels smaller than Legends in the past, he's actually a bit smaller than DOTM Bumblebee, and feels noticeably smaller than even RtS Prowl. All in all, a good vehicle mode, I really like the front design, and the painted side mirrors adds that touch of realism.

TRANSFORMATION:

A much more complex Legion classed transformation that you would expect, this is why there are so many panel lines in vehicle mode, as there's a lot of twisting and unfolding going on around here. The arms are easy, being the whole top part of the car, but the legs are interesting, and has a lot of joints (which comes in useful later on). You would have to be careful when going back into vehicle mode, Crowbar has more pegs than he needs, and I snapped a peg clean off when I tried to push his left leg into the car. Ironically, once it snapped off, that part fitted in way better, so I think my one had a manufacturing defect, the peg might be just a bit too big for the hole or skewed in angle, nevertheless, it still holds plenty well together. The transformation is annoying to start or finish due to the pieces pegging together, but I'm happy that we didn't the standard back as legs, side as arms, and front as chest transformation.

ROBOT MODE:



Crowbar's robot mode is one of the better movie Legions one yet, he looks really menacing with those bat like wing tips, long arms and long legs. The chest is the front of the car upside down, and looks great there, my favourite element by far (the two front wheels on either side of his head is a great look).



He has big flat feet, very stable to stand in a variety of poses. The arms are a touch bit too big due to it being formed by most of the car, but he gets away with it.



It is not all good news, he is extremely spindly, especially around the legs, this is the trade off you get from a design such as this... Crowbar pretty much only looks good from the front.



Not much to glean from the back. One thing to note is that you always have to put his arms in front of the legs, they have no way of sitting 'naturally' at the side due to how the shoulder ball joints are set up, this is mildly annoying. His left hand also has a 3mm hole to hold some Cyberverse weapons.



Being a "Dread", he has... dreadlocks! They flank on either side of his head, and I must say, what an ingenious place to put them, out of the way but maximum visual impact. The headsculpt is also very nice, but he has a gaping hole, which I guess is where his mouth must be. There are actually different base plastic used here, one is black, and the other is a dark gold used for the inside of his arms and his torso.



A close up of where I snapped the peg on his left leg (the 'white' circle), mildly annoying that I broke it on my first transformation.



He is tall for a Legions figure, but like I said, he is spindly and has less mass, so he feels more fragile than Prowl.



I am absolutely amazed at the leg articulation of this figure, he has a balljointed hip, BUT he has thigh swivels (required for his transformation), unbelievable, then there's the knee hinge and finally hinged feet, like I said, amazing... Compared to that, the arms are really static although they can tilt back, they can't tilt 'out' though, what's more, he also has a waist swivel... overkill, surely?!



A really rewarding robot mode, and he carries enough colours to look interesting and not like a plain lump of black plastic.

OVERALL:

A cleverly designed robot mode, just need to watch out when you're pegging him together. Otherwise, an excellent figure, and the standout in the current Legions line!

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Credit: the pictures and text are all my original work, but I've linked a few pages to TFwiki.net.

If you like my format, click here to browse my other reviews.

Toy Review: Autobot Alliance Sea Spray

Review: #39
Name: Sea Spray
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Autobot Alliance (or Hunt for the Decepticons)
Year of Release: 2010
Size Class: Voyager (Wave 1)
Variations: the Japanese version has brighter yellow and blue, and it was also repainted as Reveal the Shield Deep Dive

HOVERCRAFT MODE:



Sea Spray transform into a hovercraft, just like his namesake, in fact, this toy is a homage to that character. He features two missile launchers on either side, the transparent baby blue plastic used here is really nice.



You can clearly see the head from behind as there is a gap at the back of the cabin, a bit lazy here in my opinion. The fans are independently able to move, and are quite well jointed. There are little fans in there that you can spin, which is surprising.



There are four little plastic wheels on the bottom so you can roll him along. The bronze and blue plastic used here is a little too dark, he looks way better with the vibrant colours of the Japanese release. His cushion is also textured, and I think overall a very attractive colour scheme.



A major selling point for Sea Spray is that he is capable of 'transporting' Scout classed vehicles on his bed. He is supposed to be partnered with Breacher (the picture above shows Breacher on the back, and the front of Breacher actually fits into the gap where his head is quite snugly), much like Sunspot was to Mindwipe. If you look at the underside though, all the parts are bunched upon the front, leaving a huge gap in the middle, coincidentally, this is what you would expect of a real hovercraft...

TRANSFORMATION:

Not hard, definitely not hard at all, but still satisfying. Sea Spray is fairly blocky and everything is pegged into place in vehicle mode, so you would need a little bit of force to start the process. You can also leave the missile launchers in their place while transforming, no need to detach them. It's a fairly good transformation, with the placement of parts, the whole back of the hovercraft collapses into a tight back pack. Overall, it is a transformation that you would get bored of though.

ROBOT MODE:



Sea Spray's robot mode is very blocky, very different than the mostly spindly and skinny Movie aesthetic of other toys in this line. He retains the same colour scheme, but bronze is a lot more prominent. Again, the bronze is a bit too dark, if it was brighter Sea Spray would be more stunning.



I like how the air cushions on his back resemble scuba tanks (there are other various elements that resemble scuba divers, but I'll cover them later). The silver ladder rungs on his shoulders are actually C-clip joints, so you can attach some weapons on there if you wish.



Sea Sprays looks like he is wearing some sort of breathing apparatus, and the head features a wicked lightpipe. It's also well jointed, in addition from side to side movement, he can lift his head up too. I like how the fans is now on either side of his shoulders, they look imposing there.



There's a gimmick linked to the feet, you can leave them as they are for 'normal' robot feet or...



You can flip out the flippers underneath, this is the third and final element that resembles scuba divers. Speaking of the feet, it has movement in two planes, that's unexpected, but welcomed.



Instead of having Sea Spray holding his harpoons (the missile launchers), you can leave them in the sockets for the vehicle mode, now situated on the underside of his arms.



Sea Spray is decently sized, although looking a bit flat from the side. He matches Breacher quite well, too bad that they don't have an unofficial combined mode like Mindwipe and Skystalker.



Poseability is... okay, most of my gripes in this area. The elbows are really weird and situated too high up. The ratcheting joints for the shoulders are too far apart so even if you click it up once, it's too far up and hard to get it to look good. It would be good if the heelspurs are flat against the table, but they're not, and to make matters worse, they are rounded, making Sea Spray to lose balance sometimes. Still, it's a good solid robot, a bit mediocre and underwhelming, there's nothing here that sets him apart from other figures.

OVERALL:

I only got Sea Spray coz he was cheap (lower than half price), but I don't regret it. He is a solid toy, a bit normal and dull perhaps, but there are no glaring flaws. He is easy to transform between modes, and I like how his bed in hovercraft mode can carry scout classed vehicles (legends also work, but they seem to be a bit small). Some little tweaks would have improved this figure a lot, but he is still nice.

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The gallery on seibertron.com provides some good views on this figure.

Credit: the pictures and text are all my original work, but I've linked a few pages to TFwiki.net.

Some reviews on other Transformers can be found on this page.

Book Review: Wasted World

Review: #82
Title: Wasted World
Series: Horrible Science
Author: Nick Arnold
Read Before: no
My Comments: As far as non-fiction books go, this one isn’t actually half bad, probably one of the most interesting I have read. Definitely one of the best in the Horrible Science series, it actually made me laugh many times (the puns were quite good, and the jokes were enjoyable and wasn't too lame), and the way it had presented the information was really interesting. Basically the whole book is about global warming, and although a fair few of the stuff I already knew, I learnt many more, and it’s really quite updated (even though it was published in 2009. Of course it doesn't really compare to fiction books, and I wouldn't even bat an eye, but this is quite a well written book and I heartily recommend it.
Rating: 6/10 (always strict with non-fiction as they hardly capture my interest the way fiction books do)
Rereadability Factor: 2/10 (I do think reading it once would suffice)

Masterpiece Rodimus Prime (Hasbro Version) Additional Pictures

This is the post where I put up the rest of the pictures I took, but didn't make it into the review.

VEHICLE:



The Hasbro version here actually uses a darker transparent blue plastic, it works well for the windshield but not for the headlights. The dark colour masks the detail that is sculpted in the headlights. The lack of paint on the robot mode forearms works well here, as there are no random outbursts of colour among the red on the sides of the car.



The back looks really bland and bare without any paint, there's a lot of sculpted detail, just nothing to bring it out.



The only place where Rodimus retains chrome is his side exhausts.



Being painted silver, the engine piece will less likely have chips in it, as it will wear down due to transformation.



One aesthetic complaint about the vehicle is that the front tapers to an end, there's nothing wrong with that idea, just that in this case, it's too thin, making it look a bit weird and out of proportion.



The rims are left unpainted plastic (slightly disappointing), and you can also see how the front of the car on my doesn't align quite right.



Plugging the other gun into the engine, in my opinion, this guns look better due to the sleeker and sharper design.



You can also plug in the combined gun, but more likely than not, it will sag down due to the weight (the engine is on a spring).



Side profile with Offshoot on the engine, you can also see the spoiler slightly sagged down on it's joint (happens in robot mode too).

GUN:



Side profile of the individual guns, the Hasbro version has paint on it, and I think it looks good, even the blue which many don't really like. You know, once you've seen how awesome and long the combined gun it, the individual components look so short and weak.



The top of the combined gun, it was actually fairly annoying combining it for the first time as things were catching against each other.



The combined gun also sports two handles, and Rodimus is able to wield it double handed.

MATRIX:



The two sides of the Matrix is sculpted differently. One side has a larger transparent blue centre, while the other one is smaller, the smaller one is for display when it's open.



The larger side opened...



The smaller side opened, there are some details sculpted on the plastic surrounding the orb that imitates the rays that are revealed when the Matrix is open (too dark to see in the above photo).

OFFSHOOT:



Offshoot is a stocky robot with a well stature, the way his arms are moulded make it seem that he's quite powerful and ready for a fight.



I don't think I've mentioned that his head can turn from side to side as well. The knees are situated a bit lower than usual but it's something really minor.



You can pose him to shoot his back guns in classic G1 style (like the Combaticons did in the cartoon).



The back of the gun mode, where there is a bit of a gap.



I do wish the barrels were longer so it'll look more impressive.

ROBOT:



Even with the spoiler fully pushed up on it's sliding hinge, it is still a bit hard to see from the front, it's not especially prominent.



Rodimus has a lot of ratcheting joints, and a couple of swivels, as such, all his joints are nice and tight.



I like how the chrome pipes end up on the back of his legs, and also the wheels are pushed in, so they don't jut out.




He is way taller than a Deluxe, but Rodimus just kind of lacks some mass and bulk, compared to some recent movie toys, he doesn't have as many moving parts and panels.



I love how you can position the exhaust as a gun like in the 1986 movie.



Even better with his visor down and firing on both arms.



The start of the process of interchanging his hand with the connecting attachment for his tools.



A different angle on his saw.

Anyway, that's it, again I think Rodimus is a great toy and well worth the money you're shelling out for him. This Hasbro release has fixed all the major quality control issues from the Japanese release, and he looks different enough that you can buy both (one to display as Rodimus and the other as Hot Rod maybe?).

Book Review: Horribly Hilarious Joke Book

Review: #81
Title: Horribly Hilarious Joke Book
Series: Horrible Histories
Author: Terry Deary
Read Before: no
My Comments: Worth a read actually, and the jokes make me chuckle quite frequently, which is good news as I usually am not impressed with weak attempts at humor (which is usually what these joke books are, relying instead of the fame of the series it’s based on). It is padded out with covers of some of the books with the funny captions, which is disappointing, and a lot of the jokes rely on puns, which isn’t necessarily bad, just that it might get old fast for some people. It’s a fairly good novelty book, and very easy to finish in under and hour, I recommend it if you like the Horrible series of books.
Rating: 5.5/10
Rereadability Factor: 2/10