As we've seen with the few G1 reviews on the site, the toys in question show their strengths and weaknesses front and center. Combiners prove this mindset since the limited toy tech and the smaller scale made them very dated compared to other G1 toys. While some did an okay job in terms of engineering or play pattern, the Constructicons have plenty of cons that might overthrow the pros in this case. But how is the set when they're now Autobots and part of a collab with Tonka? Let's remove the "Devasta" from Devastator and put the "Tonka" in Tonkanator!
Out of the box, these 6 are now stickered up and given their own weapons. As a team, they all look neat, but they all have just about the same articulation with the arms, and some have "knee" articulation due to transformation but are otherwise very immobile.
This is Power Digger, Autobot Scavenger. He turns into an excavator. He has a small bit of die-cast thanks to the arm connector once he works with Tonkanator. He lacks wheels despite most toys having them, and his vehicle mode articulates at the base and at two points for the shovel arm. One of Devastator's forearms can use a drill in this mode.
Up next, it's Motor Load, Autobot Scrapper. He has a pretty basic transformation scheme and robot design. He has no feet but I like how his head sort of works as a lock for the bucket shovel. In digger mode, he can use the chest piece as wings but can't use his gun in altmode.
And here is Skyhook, Autobot Hook. His legs are asymmetrical, his crane leg nearly acts as a tripod thing, and it works so in his vehicle mode more than the Combiner Wars version with the base swivel and the hinge on top of the telescoping crane and hinged hook. He can use the robot head as a weapon.
And this is Mega Hauler, Autobot Long Haul. His arms can't reach past the chest, and he can't really dump things because of the wheels. He can haul the robot crotch.
After that, it's Motormix, Autobot Mixmaster. Unified legs, but he can use two guns and an over-the-head weapon that doesn't work because there are no springs (same goes for the forearms) Idk why either. At least his drummer spins.
Finally, we have Mega Dozer, Autobot Bonecrusher. He looks wonky in the limbs, has yellow legs, and can use the same drill thingie like Motormix. His bulldozer mode articulates okay. It
As a team, they make up a pretty neat set of small vehicles that feel defenseless on their own thanks to their size. And they all have Tonka logos.
Combining them into Tonkanator is different from the Scramble City teams, as we have 6 members instead of five, and they each come together in different ways, but the thing that makes the set unique is the combination method. The arns peg in differently, and I like how asymmetrical the transformation is with Skyhook in order to make the upper body, but the legs are not the best. Motormix pegs in fine, but Motor Load struggles to stay in place thanks to the weak connection method. Also, die-cast is used minimally for the arms and the left arm peg, but Mega Dozer's slot appears to be cracked somehow. Hm. Anyways, Tonkanator looks great from the front, as you get the impression that the smaller robots actually made another humanoid with a refined appearance to make the combination nore exciting, but the effect works from that angle. When viewed from the side, he is leaning somehow. And from the back, he has plenty of weak points since the structural part of the toy isn't meant to be seen.
Head sculpt is standard G1 frown face affair, though it's ironic how the red eyes are somewhat accurate for Devastator on a release that's not actually Devastator. He only has shoulder and somewhat elbow movement while his wrists and head can swivel and hinge down somewhat, respectively.
For a mold history, this is the original Devastator. The iconic green and purple helped make the team stand out in G1, and it's mostly the same style for the first Encore and Vintage G1 reissues. Joustra, a European side of Hasbro, made a yellow variant, not to be confused with retooled Constructicons without any combining accessories (including anything built in).
After that, these two represent the G2 version of the team, with brighter purple to make him somewhat like Wario. A rarer orange variant was also a thing, but no gift sets for either were made unlike with G1.
And finally, this is the Encore 2012 reissue that makes Devastator closer to the cartoon. He has a new head that better matches his design, black forearms, a more yellow shade of green, and the stock images interestingly use fewer stickers, though it might be due to their adhesiveness being weak somehow. Oh, and Mixmaster may have his head missing.
For a size comparison, he is taller than both Prime and Megs, but not Titan size like in the fiction. Considering how the G1 Constructicons are more or less about the same height as a Legends figure, it shouldn't come as a real surprise. So overall, I'd only recommend this set to anyone who happens to be into weird G1 reissues like what eHobby used to do, and this does feel like an eHobby reissue but without the Japanese text. The price it'd normally go for is not one I'd stomach, so get it at $100 or less if you can.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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