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The Grand Transformers Thread

It's Thursday, so it's time for my next review as I go through the toys representing Wave One of G1. This time I look at one of my favorite characters, and one of the only things I think the original Marvel comics did better than the Sunbow cartoon. Folks, I give you...

War for Cybertron: Earthrise Deluxe-class Ratchet



Ratchet was released in 2020 in Earthrise, as part of the Galactic Odyssey Collection. He was in a two-pack with lifeline. I'll be reviewing Lifeline... in October, probably. *Evil chuckle* He's a retool of Earthrise Ironhide, with a new head and Prowl's lightbar. His alt mode is a Nissan-esque box van as an ambulance. He's not too bad, barring some panel lines here and there. I like that his laser pistol has internal storage.



Yes, the feet are visible... and I don't care. Hell, it doesn't look all that bad to me overall. And it's only really noticeable when looking right at the back.

Transformation is quite intricate. There's some partsforming, but I don't mind. I'll get to that later. Detach the roof. Fold the side panels and top back panels back and down to form the legs. Push the legs down, pull up the front and arms, rotate around, then push the windshield back in to form the chest. Open the chest up and fold the head out. Fold the arms down. And what do we get?



Earthrise Ratchet is a pretty faithful recreation of his Sunbow appearance. He's a pretty solid toy, with excellent articulation. He's got a ball-jointed neck, universal shoulders, an elbow bend slightly beyond 90 degrees, an elbow rotation, and wrist articulation. he's got a waist joint, universal hips, a hip rotation, knee bend and full ankle articulation.

His roof can form either a shield or missile launcher, and he's got a pistol based off of a component from his original G1 toy. This is why I don't mind the partsforming. The roof transforms a bit and forms an actual piece of equipment. And it can be combined with the pistol to form a sled reminiscent of his G1 toy.



I like that a lot.

I also like to take Siege Ratchet's gear and give it to this Ratchet.



Hmm, arise Medicus Prime? Lord knows he was a bigger hero in the Marvel comics than that version of Optimus Prime!

Now I know what some of you folks are gonna ask. What about SS-86 Ratchet? Well, I'm glad that one came out for those not able to get the two-pack. It's just... I got SS-86 Ironhide, and I'll be reviewing that one with Earthrise Ironhide and I'll go into more details. It's just... I find SS-86 Ironhide to be boring. Again, I'll go deeper into this when I do Ironhide.

Earthrise ratchet overall is a damned good toy. He's got a good ambulance mode, albeit with some flaws like the exposed feet. He's got a great transformation, and a very cool robot mode. If you can get him fairly cheaply, I recommend him.

Tune in next Tuesday when I continue on down Wave One in Generations. Who will it be? We'll find out!
 
Ooh! Devcon is getting a reissue!

Who?

Non-toy, single-episode character featured in G1 S02 "The Gambler", looks like Scourge without the wings but turns into a completely different spacecraft, was a last-wave release that's now hard to find from Legacy Evo, hands down best of all TR Blurr remolds. Has to partsform his little rocket pods but that's accurate to the cartoon where they just vanish, and they can go inside his lower legs where they will rattle around but not fall out without extreme toe up, and fill the small gap in his inner calf with matching red.

Hasbro Pulse has him but I havene't seen any other listings yet - that may mean it's just clearing an extra pallet they found in a back corner and quantities are low, so go fast if you want him.

 
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RK_Striker_JK_5 said:
Hmm, arise Medicus Prime? Lord knows he was a bigger hero in the Marvel comics than that version of Optimus Prime!
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Huh, now I'm curious for details on that canon. I don't really know much about the Marvel books.

RK_Striker_JK_5 said:
War for Cybertron: Earthrise Deluxe-class Ratchet
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To be honest, I think the panel lines and the exposed feet kind of work for this design? The feet almost look like some kind of thrusters, which I can get behind for an alien vehicle, and the same goes for the panels; would be nicer if they were more hidden, but they kind of work as 'weird detailing/shapes for a non-earth vehicle'

Wait, re-read the review, that's meant to be an earth-mode ambulance? Damn, now I feel like I wasted my time with the above description.
 
The Siege version of the mold that didn't try to reshell it into a earth vehicle worls a lot better, yes. Like, A LOT a lot.
 
Sumanai said:
Huh, now I'm curious for details on that canon. I don't really know much about the Marvel books.
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The short version is that Ratchet gets several moments of badassery, and Optimus gets several moments of dumbassery.

Additionally, Optimus recurrently struggles to moral quanderies regarding how to act, which are written with the expectation that the audience accepts him as a wise, beloeved, goodhearted leader. But the comic book formet leaves very little time for him to demonstrate such qualities due to the large cast.
 
Sumanai said:
Huh, now I'm curious for details on that canon. I don't really know much about the Marvel books.
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Sorry about the late reply. I've been busy.

Anyway, @Jcogginsa mostly has it right. Ratchet was a genuine hero in the Marvel comics, while that version of Optimus-or Crazy Steve-was a complete IDIOT with his head shoved so far up his tailpipe he was folding in on himself. It got to the point where Kup threatened him with the Crisis Act, which is basically removing Crazy Steve from command.

Actually... I think Megatron's biggest rival wasn't Optimus, but actually Ratchet. He was a genuine badass who would NOT quit and did some massive damage to the Decepticons.

Rojixus did a read-through of the Marvel comics on Space Battles and, by the end, we were about 75% convinced that version of Optimus was a fucking plant by the 'Cons, with how much he screwed up.
 
It's Tuesday, so time for Transformers Tuesday. This time I take a look at, not an Earthrise or Legacy toy as my Wave One representative, but someone from Siege. Folks, it's time to take a look at...

War for Cybertron: Siege Deluxe-class Mirage



Mirage was released in 2019, after winning Hasbro's 2018 poll. Good on him. His alt mode here is an F1 racer with Cybertronian elements, such as the enclosed canopy that... probably doesn't even seat anyone. It's a good, solid car. It rolls well, nothing wrong with it. His weapons can mount on the spoiler, but he's a Cybertronian car, so I don't mind.

He does have a bit of a problem with faux parts.



That's his robot mode chest. Whoops. :p

transformation is quite involved. The front end splits up and extends down to form the legs. Care must be taken to do the steps in the right sequence. the back folds down and clicks into place to form the chest. Fold the head up. Split the spoiler and rotate down to form the arms. There's a lot of little things with this one. And what do we get?



Here's Mirage in robot mode. A nice, solid figure styled after his animation model, but not a 100% copy. I like that. He can mount his three weapons on various ports or combine them. He's got two for his rocket launcher on his shoulders, which for some mysterious reason was remolded for his Earthrise figure so they couldn't mount there. I don't know why that was done, and is the big reason why the Siege figure represents Mirage to me.

Articulation is excellent. Universal shoulders, and the spoilers can hinge out so as not to impede posing. he's got an elbow joint and swivel, but no wrist articulation. His head can swivel. He's got a waist joint, albeit mine's a little tight. He's got universal hips, a hip rotation, a knee bend slightly less than 90 degrees, and ankle tilt. What's nice is he's got enough internal structure in his lower legs so the translucent plastic doesn't worry me, unlike the Datsun brothers.

Siege Mirage overall is a very good toy. He's got a good race car mode, albeit with his chest sticking out. :p His transformation is quite involved without being frustrating, and his robot mode is solid and isn't as worrying as some others. I recommend him, even over Earthrise.

Tune in Thursday when I take a look at the next on my Wave One list as I review Earthrise Sunstreaker.
 
If you have a 5mm drill bit putting a port into the tire on WFCE Mirage's shoulder (which means Crasher, Leadfoot, and G2errmelon too) will work just fine as long as you check the alignment first - the textured sections on the wheels will generate enough friction with the parts of the spine they fold up against to hold his rocket launcher steady and the hole is next to unnoticeable on the dark plastic, especially if you're nyooming him around so it's spinning anyway.
 
Another 3P Starscream, with a twist. Credit for going from a very feminine robot mode to a reasonably sleek space-fighter with only a moderate backpack, and for the option of traditional or forward swept wings, but the transformation to get there looks almost as fiddly as that cool helicopter Waspinator from a year or two back, so I think I'd give it a miss even if this wasn't already a painfully packed year for must-have official releases, and Newage's Real 86 Megatron Regulus.



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t00ZUfM-NA
 
I managed to preorder the reprint of Nova Prime but yeah tbh that's all I'm doing for TF for quite a while. Most of my fun budget has gone to gunpla, gunpla, model kit robots, gunpla, and gunpla lol
 
RK_Striker_JK_5 said:
I do hope we clear the stand's threshold.
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We have, we're sitting pretty at 18,177 backers.
RoboRenee said:
I managed to preorder the reprint of Nova Prime but yeah tbh that's all I'm doing for TF for quite a while. Most of my fun budget has gone to gunpla, gunpla, model kit robots, gunpla, and gunpla lol
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A big chunk of my fun budget has been ear marked as date budget. Just under a week from my one year anniversary with my partner.
 
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Oh my god, this stupid thing... why do I want it so much?



It's the size of a small child! I haven't got space for that.



And why does it have a separate giant jet engine molded in pinkish gold? Is that some kind of "critical machinery" MacGuffin stage piece from a cartoon or comics story I'm not familiar with, to be saved from the villains or something?



At least it's relatively cheap, from a TF collector point of view... $100 USD usually, but as I write this listed for $38 at Amazon for as long as the sale price lasts.

Fuck it, I'm in. He can stand behind my computer tower and still loom over the TFs on top of it. He could probably scare the lunch money out of Haslab Unicron.

edit: NA-NA-na-na-NA-NA-na-na BAT MECH!
edit 2: Yeah. Uni is only 27" tall :rofl:

"It's the fandom rematch of the millenium... The Death Star vs. Unicron! But what's this? A NEW CHALLENGER APPEARS! It's Batman coming in from teh skylight with a folding chair!"

edit 3: I threw in a robin to drive the other vehicle (also currently on sale)
 
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Jcogginsa said:
Additionally, Optimus recurrently struggles to moral quanderies regarding how to act, which are written with the expectation that the audience accepts him as a wise, beloeved, goodhearted leader. But the comic book formet leaves very little time for him to demonstrate such qualities due to the large cast.
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RK_Striker_JK_5 said:
Sorry about the late reply. I've been busy.

Anyway, @Jcogginsa mostly has it right. Ratchet was a genuine hero in the Marvel comics, while that version of Optimus-or Crazy Steve-was a complete IDIOT with his head shoved so far up his tailpipe he was folding in on himself. It got to the point where Kup threatened him with the Crisis Act, which is basically removing Crazy Steve from command.

Actually... I think Megatron's biggest rival wasn't Optimus, but actually Ratchet. He was a genuine badass who would NOT quit and did some massive damage to the Decepticons.

Rojixus did a read-through of the Marvel comics on Space Battles and, by the end, we were about 75% convinced that version of Optimus was a fucking plant by the 'Cons, with how much he screwed up.
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GuestLurker said:
And that in Regeneration One him teaching Rodimus was his stories being a list of things not to do.
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Putitng thse three together since they cover the same topic:

The only thing I know about Marvel Optimus is the time he commited suicide because he killed an NPC in a video game and even Megatron wa slike "Lol wut?" so, uh, glad to know that that wasn't just a weird outlier, I guess...?

I was actually thinking about Optimus, and I kind of realised that the main thing I dislike is how heavy he is marketed as the Big Damn Hero these days. This goes back to my personal interpretation of the character and disliking him as a Chosen One archetype... but I definetly feel like a lot of media, especially since the Bayfilms, have leaned into the idea that Optimus is not only the leader o the Autobots, he's also THE heavy hitter and if he were gone they would lose instantly - not because his leadership is crucial to their success, but because he is just on a whole other level of power compared to everyone else.

RK_Striker_JK_5 said:
Mirage
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I've always liked Mirage, so this is neat.

Looking forward the Sunstreaker though since I think I had the classics version of that toy back in, like, 2008.

Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
Another 3P Starscream, with a twist. Credit for going from a very feminine robot mode to a reasonably sleek space-fighter with only a moderate backpack, and for the option of traditional or forward swept wings, but the transformation to get there looks almost as fiddly as that cool helicopter Waspinator from a year or two back, so I think I'd give it a miss even if this wasn't already a painfully packed year for must-have official releases, and Newage's Real 86 Megatron Regulus.
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... is her tongue sticking out in that thumbnail?

Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
Oh my god, this stupid thing... why do I want it so much?

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Where's it's arms at in this picture?

Besides that, lets face it, Btaman WOULD be the Justice Legaue member to have a mech sitting around for no reason
 
Sumanai said:
... is her tongue sticking out in that thumbnail?
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It is, yes. Between that and the silicone butt cheeks, this may actually be a bigger Don't Tell Mom figure than Bigfirebird Nicee.

Sumanai said:
Where's it's arms at in this picture?
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The lower arms are still folded up in most of the product photos, apparently a similar case to how a lot of stock photos from Beasties all they way up through the Netflix trilogy were mistransformed because the photographers just got a sample with no instructions and a really short schedule to get all the pics done. Even the "make big stompy robot noises with the motion sensor" demonstration in the official video left them folded up!

That photo is mid-combination, though, with the mose/chest not folded down either, so almost understandable
 
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Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
It is, yes. Between that and the silicone booty, this may actually be a bigger Don't Tel Mom figure than Bigfirebird Nicee.
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Oh lord.
I have no idea what that is and I'm terrified to look.

Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
The lower arms are still folded up in most of the product photos, apparently a similar case to how a lot of stock photos from Beasties all they way up through the Netflix trilogy were mistransformed because the photographers just got a sample with no instructions and a really short schedule to get all the pics done. Even the "make big stompy robot noises with the motion sensor" demonstration in the official video left them folded up!
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Huh. Weird.

Wonder if the back wings are up due to mistransformation too? I mean, the shape makes sense based off the alt mode, but it's so odd to see a batman where the cape goes up instead of down.
 
Sumanai said:
Looking forward the Sunstreaker though since I think I had the classics version of that toy back in, like, 2008.
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I'll probably do Universe 2.0 Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Punch/Counterpunch in one big review.

*****

It's Thursday, so time for another review. This one will be shorter than usual for two reasons. One, I had to have a tooth pulled this morning due to extreme pain. And two, the toy and character I'm talking about just isn't very interesting overall. Still, he's Wave One. So he gets a review. it's time for the Arkobot's resident jerk jock, as we look at...

War for Cybertron: Earthrise Deluxe-class Sunstreaker



Sunstreaker was released in 2020, as part of the Earthrise line. He transforms into a legally distinct Lamborghini Countach LP500S, and shares engineering with Wheeljack. A shame he didn't share more... anyway, it's a solid car mode that rolls well. However, as you can tell, the hood doesn't match the rest of the car. It's translucent plastic painted yellow. Other than this, it's... a yellow sports car. I am a bit surprised the windshield is that tech greebly instead of any sort of interior.

transformation is similar to Wheeljack's but more involved and IMHO more frustrating. The back bumper folds out to form the arms. The front accordions out to form the legs, but there's some difficulty snapping them into place. You also have to twist the lower body around a few times. And what do we get?



Sunstreaker is overall a solid robot. Everything either locks into place or has enough friction to stay in place. He comes with a detachable spoiler that is supposed to be his weapon, but it looks dumb and can't be slotted into his hand properly due to a short peg and thick forearms.



I gave him one of the weapons that came with the Centurion Drone.

Articulation is good. The head is on a swivel. He's got universal shoulders, albeit somewhat restricted. He's got elbow swivel, rotation, but no wrist movement. He's got a waist, universal hips, a hip rotation, knee bend less than 90 degrees by a smidge, and ankle movement.

Earthrise Sunstreaker is... fine. He's like the G1 character himself, good but bland. It's kinda interesting that Sunstreaker's most prominent role was in 'All Hail Megatron'. Other than that... not really much of anything. Hell, Sideswipe's been used more. I recommend it, but just barely.

Tune in Tuesday when I do another two-for-one review, as I look at both Earthrise and SS-86 Ironhide.
 
Sumanai said:
Oh lord.
I have no idea what that is and I'm terrified to look.
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Third party Arcee with silicone cleavage, allso available in Elita colors and a couplke of mostly-black with grey or brown trim as "Mooka"/Mocha or Cat. I'd go for Mocha if any of them, as even G1 Arcee was never treated like eye candy or "damsel in distress" even as the token female character in a franchise aimed at boys, let alone her comics portrayals.

Huh. Weird.

Wonder if the back wings are up due to mistransformation too? I mean, the shape makes sense based off the alt mode, but it's so odd to see a batman where the cape goes up instead of down.
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No, the wings are right, and yeah, it does look a little weird compared to the standard Caped Crusader outline. Also the big jet engine/mustard bottle can either open up into a mini Bat Computer console, or attach onto the left shou8lder in a cannon-like configuration.

I love how the Bat-wing and suit are mostly Keaton, while the bike is West style. The Bat-tank is mostly just what was left over for a robot, but I guess it's got some vague Tumbler vibes? Not enough to ruin it, fortunately.
 
RK_Striker_JK_5 said:
Punch/Counterpunch
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Ooh!

So, I have to admit, I've always beecurious how they ould work Punch/Counterpunch's gimmick and make the toy still function well, so looking forward to that one when it gets down the pipeline.

RK_Striker_JK_5 said:
One, I had to have a tooth pulled this morning due to extreme pain.
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Ouch, sorry about that! Hope you feel better!

And Sunstreaker... yeah, he looks okay? Not really got anything to say about him, actually. I never actually knew who he was for along time, other than 'the Autobot with the cool head who was on the shuttle with Optimus in the movie', but I think I recall the Classics version having afimmick where you had to turn the chest piece 180 degrees to do... something? Pop out the head or pop out the head wings, maybe? I don't remember.

Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
Third party Arcee with silicone cleavage, allso available in Elita colors and a couplke of mostly-black with grey or brown trim as "Mooka"/Mocha or Cat. I'd go for Mocha if any of them, as even G1 Arcee was never treated like eye candy or "damsel in distress" even as the token female character in a franchise aimed at boys, let alone her comics portrayals.
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I always thought Arcee was cool. She did have some moments where I think she was supposed to be specifically coded female in ways that the other autobots weren't - her relationship with Daniel felt more maternal than the buddy-dyamic he had with Hot Rod for instance - but for every moment where Springer has to pull her along to transform autobot city, you get her pinning Hot Rod to the wall and saying "No, you better stay close to me".

Much as I like Prime!Arcee - and she is really cool - I was a little disappointed that they dipped out of the pink paint scheme and the car mode. I like pink as a colour, and having that shift to blue felt much more like them trying to market her as being cool.

Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
I love how the Bat-wing and suit are mostly Keaton, while the bike is West style. The Bat-tank is mostly just what was left over for a robot, but I guess it's got some vague Tumbler vibes? Not enough to ruin it, fortunately.
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Does it come with a dead Superman for Batfleck Representation?

Also... transformers has to have done Batman collabs, right? You could do an entire line of toys just of Batmobiles turning into their respective Batmen and it would sell like hot cakes.
 
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