Transformers Studio Series Devastator review

At last, the Constructicon giant is finally complete. Announced in late-2018, then with its first two members released in mid-2019, followed by the release of the second pair of members, and the second to last pair coming out in early 2020, and the final pair released four-6 months before the end of the year. It has been an honor to take a look at the 8 Constructicons individually, and while some are better than others, I never felt annoyed with the figures like I did with the Combiner Wars figures because these Movie guys feel more distinct from one another. I'll delve into more of that discussion in a bit, but first, let's take a look at what I think of Devastator in ROTF: he is one of the coolest parts of that film and the Movieverse in general, and I feel that unlike Infernocus, who just plain sucks and has no real interest outside of his film, Devastator is at least iconic for his bestial design and his Kirby-esque Vortex Grinder. He's a monstrous combiner yet still looks great if you ask me, but it sucks that neither the Supreme version from 2009 or the Walmart-exclusive Legends version did that much to make him worthwhile in plastic. It's about time we finally fix that as we delve into the review of Studio Series Devastator!

UPDATE 11/16/2020: Studio Series 69 Devastator included in mold history

Alright, before we get to Devastator himself, I want to take a look at each of the 8 Constructicons and rank them from worst to best. Let's begin with the fairly basic guy himself, Scrapmetal. I feel he's at the bottom of the list because of how plain he is. Sure, he's not an awful toy, but I feel there are better ways to make him visually interesting since he currently looks as plain as the Beewun designs. He does remind me of RID Grimlock, the 2001 version, but he's still not as interesting as the other Constructicons.

Next up is the only other Deluxe in this team, that being Hightower. I like how unique his design is, as he's not a typical up and down robot and instead looks more animalistic. He's also more realized than the only other version of him, the Legends one; that said, I still wish he'd look a little more realized than he currently is. As it stands, he gives me the vibe of an animatronic that is used for dinosaurs made with practical effects. At least the transformation is decent.

After the Deluxes, we go to a Voyager in the form of Scrapper. This is the weakest Voyager of the set, in my opinion. The first problem comes with how awful his vehicle mode looks, with toyetic proportions on-par with the Combiner Wars version of the character. Also, this guy's transformation is fairly Gobotish if you ask me. Robot mode isn't too bad, but it reeks of M.A.R.S. Converters Earthmover. The sad part is his arm mode's underwhelming. I mean it'd probably look fine when combined with Devastator, but Scrapmetal and Hightower at least look cool when combined.

Another Voyager Class figure, this is Rampage. At first, I thought he was going to be a sucky toy, but he's actually pretty good. Unlike that stupid ROTF toy, this guy has no shitty gimmick to ruin him, and I prefer how poseable he is, too. I also appreciate the fact that he's a good size, even if his vehicle mode looks a little too big. Still, a great addition for the Constructicons, even if his weapons are a little too small for him to look convincing.

With one half of the team covered, let's start covering the other half. This is Scavenger, and he's certainly a big guy (but not as big as we all hoped Demolishor would be in 2009). I know some people don't mind the ROTF figure, but I feel this guy is more fulfilling due to how his tires (or one tire) works as hard plastic, and I also appreciate how beefy he feels by comparison. And best of all, he has claws that look pretty good. Vehicle mode proportions are a little funny, though.

In third place is Mixmaster, who thankfully isn't as difficult as the old Voyager in terms of transforming him. I will admit that his design is a little more wonky than the old Voyager, but I guess that's to make up for how he transforms as the head of Devastator (so I guess that makes him a Headmaster?). The cement truck mode's beautiful, and the head mode is a pleasant surprise because of how detailed and monstrous it looks. No cannon mode, but I don't mind that.

In second place is Overload. The recent guy is finally here, and while his vehicle mode isn't the best, I love his design and how unexpected it looks with all those arms and how wide he is. He's almost like Bonecrusher but without the tail claw from the back. And of course, it's finally good to have this guy complete the entire set of Constructicons. Some would love for him to be a proper Spider-Bot, but I think he's good as he is.

In first place is Long Haul! This guy was hard for me to find because he disappeared after seeing him one time at my college's nearest Target, and I at one point went to 5 Targets in hopes of getting him, but nothing came about, sadly. That is until I found him on Walmart.com and got him for a bit of a cheaper price than I normally paid for these figures. I love his beefy design, and while the articulation may not be the best, I at least see him use his mass as a weapon whenever he pushes someone aside or punches them real hard in the fiction.

It's certainly nice to see all of the team together for a robot mode shot, as previously mentioned in my Overload review. You can certainly look for the other reviews for my extended thoughts on these figures if you so desire, but I think it's time we get into some serious business, yeah?

Here they are in their vehicle modes for another group shot. Yes, I plan to make a stop-motion with these guys at some point in time so be sure to wait for it.

And for the moment we've all been waiting for, it's time to merge for the kill! I already talked about how each figure transforms into their component mode, with the easiest being all of the figures that become arms, the more intermediate ones being Mixmaster, Long Haul, Rampage, amd Overload, and the hardest being Scavenger thanks to his unique design. The way the pieces combine is fairly familiar in terms of how the arms attach similarly to the Combiner Wars figures, while the two legs, the waist, and the upper torso is used each slide into their rather tight slots, which may require a bit of force yet they help keep this guy fairly solid. The head, which kinda makes Mixmaster a Headmaster, is kind of hard to tab in right. He has two C-joint clips that need to clip onto Scavenger, yet it's fairly tight, and I fear of damaging the clips because of how small they are. Oh, and you need to make sure that the Vortex Grinder is clipped on to where it'll remain fairly sturdy while also attaching Rampage's stand on the butt and Scrapmetal's shield on the leg.

And now it's time to take a look at the big kahuna himself! Devastator is an impressive beast, and he captures the design of the combiner very well despite standing on two legs. I know some people will say "But Quantum Surge, this sucks because he's not like in the prototype image", and I know that he was altered between 2018 and 2020, but shut the fuck up and feast your eyes on this guy! In fact, here he is next to the other versions of Devastator! The Supreme version doesn't capture the proportions all that well and looks very toyish, the Legends version is better yet comes at the cost of being puny, and then there's the...Mega Power Bots version? Eh, had to add at least one more Devastator, but he's not really bad for what he is. And I know as he is, Devastator should be on all fours like in the movie and could go for more parts to beef him up a bit more, but if we can accept Combiner Wars Devastator and his cheap ass compromises, then we can accept Studio Series Devastator for not being able to be on all fours officially. And we'll get to that part in a bit.

The side and back both look pretty good as far as monstrous gestalts like Devastator go, and while there are some parts that could look a little funny, they're at least not as prominent as stuff that would be present for the CG model, like the treads making up a part of the Vortex Grinder. Also, I don't mind that he's standing up because he is at least hunched forward so he can sort of mimic the posture. 

The head is certainly monstrous, and I especially love the beautiful sculpting as well as a great attempt to make the red parts of the face prominent from the gray and black parts of the face. Even the eyes are picked out differently from the rest of the face, and that is a very nice touch. As for the articulation of this guy, he doesn't have any for the neck, but his mouth can open and close. The shoulders can hinge front and back if you use what were Scavenger's arms, the parts that Scrapper and Hightower connect to are able to swivel, and their ratchet pieces can make them move in and out. Scrapper's claw can hinge at three points while Scrapmetal's claw can move at 10 points! There is no waist swivel despite there being a seam that would make you think it's there at first glance, but the hips can move front and back as well as in and out, the thighs swivel, and there really is no knee movement; the ankles, however, can hinge as well as pivot, with the sideways rocking supported by the ratchet joints.

Now it's time for a size comparison between him and a small selection of figures in the Studio Series line. Firstly, we have the tallest Leader Class Transformer in the form of Grimlock, one of the taller Voyagers in the form of ROTF Megatron (who should be on a pyramid yelling Devy's name out), and a standard Deluxe with Bumblebee. He towers over them without a shadow of a doubt, and not even Grimlock is as tall as he is. On the other pic is Masterpiece Movie Optimus Prime, who was in a similar height to Grimlock, and not a Transformer but a mecha in the form of the Beast-X Ultrazord from Power Rangers Beast Morphers! The Ultrazord is a little taller than Devastator is, but Devastator's heavier than the Ultrazord is, who suffers from being a little light due to his plastic not being as dense as the Constructicons are (still better than people give them credit for).

Now here's the thing people are wondering about: Can you display Devastator by putting him on all fours? Not like this you can. See, there is no proper neck movement for Devastator, nor can the limbs actually be posed as if they're flat on the floor.

However, with some modding, you can achieve Devastator in this form simple by detaching Mixmaster fron Scavenger and using the same pieces used to connect to the top wheel of Scavenger onto some unused tabs for Mixmaster. Then you're going to want to hinge the Scavenger arms forward and upward. You're also going to want to flip Scrapper upside down, flip the tires back in their vehicle mode spot, and hinge the claw scoops up so they can be more claw-like while on the floor. Then you swivel the forearms of Scrapper around and use the legs as the back fingers of the left arm. This configuration of Devastator was covered by the likes of TonTon and PrimeVsPrime already, so it's old news by the time both of them got Overload, but this is possible to do if you want to give Devastator a more movie-accurate look.

Devastator being on all fours is pretty neat, though I can see why Hasbro chose not to go this route and went with the official configuration. I have a feeling they didn't feel too confident with Scrapper and Hightower/Scrapmetal cooperating with Scavenger's arms since they all have a lot more joints than normal, and Devastator's head looks fairly thin when viewed from the dead-set front of his face and could go with a few more parts to fill in the gaps he sort of has. Still, he at least looks more ready to suck up the Twins and climb up a Pyramid to uncover the Sun Harvester! Oh, wait, I don't have the Twins in Studio Series form, as they have yet to be made (and I hope they get made because I'm not like those soy boys who bitched about them for being hip), so in the meantime, B-127 and My Name Is Cliffjumper will take over until we get proper Twins. Would love to see the be done up as the Green Beat and Reddish Orange Trax, Hasbro!

Oh, and before I forget, if you happen to get Skipjack, you can make an even more screen-accurate Devastator by replacing an reddish leg with a yellow one! I mean, it's neat, but it's not extremely important to me for now. Still, if I get Skipjack, then Rampage will be displayed on his own in reference to his brief yet cool encounter with Sam, Mikaela, his family, and Bumblebee. Plus, I know Rampage was fairly hard to find.

Now to go over the 69th release of the Studio Series line! This Devastator gift set justifies its release by adding a few more paint apps, coming in a massive backdrop, and contains every single release from the line, though Skipjack replaces Rampage. While I'm already happy with getting every single Constructicon in the line so far, I can see this being a great way for any fan who missed out on the releases to buy this set at once. I should mention that in terms of the money spent on these guys, I paid around a total of $282 compared to the $260-270 paid. Not much of a big difference, but if you can't find the individual releases (especially on clearance at places like Marshalls or Ross), then definitely take action with this set!

Putting Devastator back in his stock form, let's close off this review with a bit of a reflection on the Constructicons, the path getting to Devastator, and Devastator himself. Each Constructicon figure is great in terms of looks for at least standing out for one another, even if some look better than others, and I also love how there's a little more color variation, even if the only unique ones are Mixmaster and Long Haul. As for gettigng to the entire set, it was a little better than I expected. At first, I didn't buy the first wave of Constructicons because I was focused on getting Beewun Prime, Cogman, and Shatter, with the former being hard to find already. I thankfully got them along with Hightower and the other guys to complete the 2019 wave. I did get Long Haul in 2020 online, and I later got Mixmaster in-person and later bought Scrapper along with Sentinel and later Scavenger online with Apeface before rounding out the team with my preorder of Overload (who cost me 20 dollars less than he is right now, btw!). So it was a little long to get there, but I'm happy to have the entire set for once. And for the actual resulting Combiner, this has been a crazy ride for me, as I was honestly not expecting to own a complete Devastator. Sure, I had to wait a nearly 2 years to own him after seeing the prototype at a toy convention back in 2018, but it feels so damn good to finally own a version of the character that's not missing any important things, it doesn't have any bad proportions, and it feels very worthwhile after years of having barely passable versions of Devastator in the past. Again, I know that there are some things that deserve to be criticized, like with the exposed head for Overload and the fact that this guy doesn't stand on all fours. But I'd rather appreciate what we do have, because who knows when we'll get an even better Devastator officially made by Hasbro. I doubt we'll ever get Masterpieces of the Constructicons, so I'm happy to say that this guy is a better option than all the other ones we've got so far. Plus, I'd rather accept this guy than deal with the embarrassing Titan Class Devastator and Predaking figures, who have issues that are way more prominent than with this guy. So I don't give a fuck if you're against this design, or if you're not interested in the Studio Series line, because this is easily one of the best Combiners I've ever held in-hand, and all I can say is that I'm happy if we don't get any other combiners because unlike Devastator, no one cares about Infernocus or Dragonstorm as much. I'd rather Infernocus be 6 Deluxes combined into a Leader, anyways. So overall, I recommend getting this guy, whether it's by collecting the individual figures or getting them all in one set!

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series Leadfoot review

Did you seriously think I'd cover Devastator without taking a look at the final Wrecker??? LOL!!!!!!!! Anyways, Leadfoot carries over most of the same things I mentioned about the other two guys. He may have not done much, but I dug seeing him on screen, whether it's his banter with Roadbuster during the construction the Xanthium or him saying that he and the Autobots ain't going nowhere. Sadly, his return in Age of Extinction was brief and he didn't even get John DiMaggio's voice (instead he reused Robert Foxworth's reused Ratchet dialogue from when he was attacked by Cemetary Wind and Lockdown); sucks because I love Leadfoot the most, what with his blue visor, chunky design, and Target branding. While I like Target stores fine enough, I don't like that they're far away from where I live, as the ones I could access are either at Downtown or are at Indiana. Thankfully, Leadfoot didn't suffer from the same scalper scraps that would literally fight for the Skywarp and Thundercracker 2-pack the same way that people did for Popeyes Chicken Sandwiches. Now let's move on from an outdated meme and talk about the third and final Wrecker!

Here is Leadfoot's backdrop. Big surprise it's the same one Topspin and most of the Dark of the Moon Autobots in the line included so LET'S MOVE ON TO THE TOY ITSELF!!!!!!!

And here is Leadfoot in his vehicle mode! It's the same as the other two characters in terms of it being a NASCAR Chevy Impala Racecar, but as mentioned with Topspin, he's more than just a color swap because of how he's designed compared to the other two. That being said, his car mode certainly has more going on from the sides, whereas the middle part of it doesn't look too altered aside from the way the grill looks and how the Target logo is split. The weird part about the figure is how there's a gray panel that looks out of place, though you could say it's part of the robot mode in a way. I don't think I mentioned this yet, but while the Stealth Force gimmick is a pretty needless part of what is an otherwise awesome movie (that being Dark of the Moon), it makes sense for the Wreckers as they are the more trigger-happy Autobots ready to kick Decepticon ass.

Weirdly enough, he's a little light on Target sponsors for a toy that's based on Target itself. Sure, he has the NASCAR brand, and the 42 as well as the Ultra Wreckers details are neat, but I know he could use some references to Cottonelle, TUMS, Lysol, and an Autobot insignia. Those were the ones the Human Alliance one came with, and it'd be a neat callback in my opinion. I mean if Earthrise Wheeljack can have sponsors despite not really having them before, so can Leadfoot!

Here he is next to the other two Wreckers from the same line. I gotta say that it's so nice to FINALLY have official Wreckers that are not only in scale with one another, not only are in the same line, but are all relatively close to each other in terms of release. Seriously, before the Studio Series line was even a thing, all we had were Deluxes which had a non-armored Roadbuster and the lack of a US release for Leadfoot while the Human Alliance line had a Leadfoot who was not armored and no sign of Topspin anywhere! Sure, some would say that the Cyberverse line was the best way to complete the set, but believe me when I say that their small sizes and the fact that Topspin was both a shellformer and had no armored bits made the trio feel compromised. Thankfully, we have three Wreckers that all look good, and it's also nice to say that I own a version of Leadfoot.

Transformation is different from the other two guys, who had their vehicle mode hoods be the back of the legs, but Leadfoot changes things up by actually transforming as he normally would. The front becomes the chest, the sides of the vehicle mode become the arms, and the rear portion of the car becomes the legs. There are even hinges for the legs that further make him look squat. So...what is left to be said about the big tubby Autobot himself in his robot mode? I think he's the best-looking Wrecker of the trio, and he looks way better than the other versions of himself. Part of what makes him unique is his potbelly, which is made up from the front and makes him visually interesting from the other guys. At first, I thought that it could be a little more broken up, though there is a panel that lifs up and gives him a little more of the potbelly design. To his credit, he's actually screen accurate than the other Leadfoots we've gotten in the past. The Deluxe one was not an awful attempt, but it doesn't quite have that same level of proportion accuracy to the CG model thanks to his small head, wide shoulders, and weird chest proportions. And did anyone really like the Human Alliance one? It looks too ugly and doesn't even capture Leadfoot's physique quite well. Also, both had some ugly beige plastic.

The side view looks pretty good, and the back isn't too out of the norm. I will say that the feet are a little chunkier than what we normally have, but I think it works as once again, he's got a fairly unique design with proportions that need to be chunky for his design. Maybe some added paint would give him a better look, but he's still better than the other Leadfoots we've gotten. And his head sculpt is at the right size in contrast to his body; he certainly had a big head with a metal beard, shares, and I guess a bald spot to show his age, but part of me feels there should be some more silver paint thrown in for the cranium. Still, he's got a great head design that gives him that robo-NASCAR fan vibe.

Articulation for this guy is pretty good for a tubby robot. Head is on a ball-joint, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, the biceps swivel, and the elbows bend. You could say that the wrists can curl in, but the hips move front and back as well as in and out, there are bicep swivels, and the knees bend. He has 6 accessories worth talking about, one of which is a shoulder cannon that has a 5mm hole, two of which are miniguns with ammunition molded on (these are for the forearms), and another two of which are missiles for his big gut. The former two types of accessories peg on with no problem, but the missiles suck at staying on in this mode and I don't know why there are space issues. His final accessory is Steeljaw, the off-screen but still cool bulldog of the Wreckers! He previously appeared in the Human Alliance version of the character, and while he may not have a tongue sticking out or can turn into a cannon, he's at least just as charming here as he was in the old set. Still weird how Leadfoot got his partner but ROTF Soundwave doesn't have Ravage and Barricade doesn't have Frenzy.

For a size comparison, here is Leadfoot next to who else but the other Wreckers of his team! And I've got to say, it's once again nice to have a set of Wreckers that are complete, but it's also nice to have a set of Wreckers who are close to each others' releases, have consistent engineering, and are all ready for action. Leadfoot is also shorter than the other two, which makes sense given his aforementioned design nowhere being as sleek as his allies.

Having all three Wreckers is pretty awesome in my opinion, and it's especially great to have them together either on display or when they're posed fighting. There may not be a Decepticon ship that was shot down, but they can always kill Crowbar before Optimus tells that the Decepticons will never leave Earth alone! As for Leadfoot himself, I think he's my favorite version of the character as well as the best Wrecker that we got in recent years. Thankfully, Hasbro doesn't do a terrible job with bringing this guy out and it makes me happy worthwhile. The only issues I have with the figure are the lack of paint in some areas and the tabs for the chest not being strong enough, but it's worthwhile to enjoy these guys nonetheless. I certainly recommend getting this guy, especially when your Target stores have him in-stock.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series Overload review

Overload has very little to talk about, especially compared to the other guys I reviewed this week. At least Soundwave had a role in spying on the Autobots while also having dialog, Topspin was involved with the Wreckers and would later speak in The Last Knight (albeit with Leadfoot's head and with a new name), Cliffjumper had some lines and would later be split in half, and Blitzwing was cool yet frustrating at the same time. I guess I can say that Overload had a prior incarnation from Armada where he combined with another Transformer. Oh, and he was red, too. Does that work? Anyways, let's see what the final Constructicon member has to offer as an action figure so he can make up his lack of character!

Here is his backdrop, which is the same as the other Constructicon backdrops, only in Leader size. LET'S MOVE ON!!!!

Here we have Overload in his vehicle mode. In terms of design, it looks like how it should as a long dump truck, though parts of it look pretty off, especially from the side view. I think I like the front portion of it since it at least feels relatively complete, though the In terms of coloring, there's not really much to say about it aside from the predominant red at least having some grays, blacks, and small bits of silvers and dark blues here and there to break it up.

You can better understand what I mean with the proportions from this view. The front part looks fine but the middle and parts of the back start to look pretty bad. It's especially noticeable when the hip joints are exposed and there are some discrepancies that are made for the robot mode and later the waist mode. Oh and I find it odd that there is one pair of rear wheels on the back, but that's just me. Overall, not the best-looking vehicle mode, though I do appreciate the effort in making it a larger size after just having the Legends one.

He has one piece of Devastator that requires some storage, and it's the Vortex Grinder! The piece can only be placed on the top, and it looks silly, I won't lie. Still, this piece will help with a component of Devastator's head, which we'll get to very soon!

Here he is next to the other Constructicons in the line, and what a team they are! Isn't it satisfying to make it this far, after waiting for so long to finally complete the team  As a Leader Class figure, he along with Scavenger at least make up their robot mode sizes with good vehicle mode sizes that have lengths which make Scrapper, Rampage, Mixmaster, and Long Haul feel like they're still Voyagers. But this is only the beginning, boys!

The transformation is a little involved yet not quite as complex as Scavenger's was. I think it's a little disappointing that the most involved part of the transformation are the arms, which certainly have a lot of joints to them, but they are otherwise more acceptable than transforming something like Supreme Cheetor. As for the rest of the transformation, the way the legs work is fairly simple, but it gets the job done. Also, there are heels that need to be hinged back. As for the robot mode we end up with, it's a little like Bonecrusher but with the added arms replacing the big tail. I guess it's neat, but it makes him a lot wider than Voyager-sized toys would be. The legs don't really have much to offer in terms of their design, but I like how crazy this guy looks from the top. Almost like you can't really expect him to make his move so you have to be careful whenever you get near him. He is a little hard to keep him standing still, and I feel his head sculpt's a little to Shockwavey but with added eyes and no horns.

Now it's time for the articulation! His head is on a ball-joint, the shoulders move front and back as well as in and out on some heavy ratchets, the outer set of arms hinge in and out, they swivel, and they also hinge at two points. The inner arms swivel, they bend at two points, and their claws hinge. The hips move front and back, in and out, the thighs swivel, the knees bend, and there are some ankle pivots.

For a size comparison, here he is next to the other Constructicons, here he in the back of the team. And I feel he's got a height similar to what Scrapper and Rampage have while his price point makes sense with the width that he has. And while these guys never appeared as a team in their robot modes, I like this display. It's much more refreshing to have the Constructicons stand out from one-another compared to the G1 versions, who weren't really all that different aside from Long Haul and all shared the same color schemes. These guys are different from their designs, their colors (for the most part), and they make for a unique display as a team.

And now, it's time to turn him into his waist mode. You're essentially going to need to turn him into his vehicle mode, rework the dump bed to have the stabilizers like in robot mode, and twist and turn it into the thighs and hips. As for the front of the vehicle mode, you need to hinge the parts around and give them a V-shape that will later be used for the torso to be filled in. And as it stands, this guy's not quite descriptive like with Scavenger, though he is easier to tell that he becomes a part of Devastator because he has thighs. But what about the figure itself? I think it's a nice way to cap off the Studio Series Constructicon team, and while his vehicle mode may not be the best-looking of them all, I do at least appreciate that he has some ways to make the price seem more worthwhile by at least being long in vehicle mode and wide in robot mode. I know people would love to see the spider-design that the concept art had, but this guy is still the best version of the character in ROTF, even if he was barely in the film. I recommend this guy, especially if you want to complete the Constructicons or if you love his design.

Final rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐