Transformers Legacy United Rescue Bots Chase review

Rescue Bots may have been a kiddy show that gets looked down upon by older fans, but it manages to have a pretty good goal of making a simple yet effective way of getting younger kids into Transformers without insulting their intelligence at a Barney level. But what I wanted more were CHUG figures of the Rescue Bots themselves. Medix was the first one we got, but who else to give us proper molds that fans wanted more than Chase himself? Let's roll to the rescue and review this guy!

Here we have Chase in vehicle mode. Cop cars have been pretty common in the Transformers universe, no doubt thanks to Prowl and Barricade, but Chase manages to be a little more original with his color scheme and design. Being more of a muscle car certainly gave him some kid appeal for anyone who wants a cool car rather than a more traditional cruiser. The clear yellow plastic used for the headlights and windows is normally unusual yet it fits the color scheme of Chase pretty well. In fact, the altmode feels more aggressive than it was depicted in the series, which I see as fitting after he becomes a full Autobot.

For a comparison with another Aligned cop, here he is (with floodlights equipped) next to last year's RID15 Strongarm. Always nice to see the same concept of a cop-themed Transformer get different between characters and series, even though Strongarm and Chase are in the same universe.

Transformation is great to see on Chase, as we never had a Rescue Bot character that isn't a custom or a redeco (looking at you, Medix) yet is a full-on Generations figure with an involved transformation. Chase's robot mode looks very accurate to the Rescue Bots series, al beit with a sharper look that takes him from being a rookie to a battle-ready Autobot. In fact, he has a normal insignia rather than the one made for the show. He generally looks good from the front, though the back of the legs and the little winglets are distracting. While I'd appreciate a panel to cover up the lower legs, this still looks better than the unfinished, Concept Art Sunstreaker that was recently leaked. And hey, he has the siren on the back of his head, which I appreciate. Some people have commented that we would get a possible TFP Cliffjumper retool from this guy, and I can sort of see it with how square CJ's torso is versus the Rescue Bots aesthetics in their show.

His head sculpt is a more mature version of the original character design, even taking the shades from his appearance in Rescue Bots Academy. I approve! His articulation includes the standard head movement, shoulder rotation and outward movement reminiscent of SS86 Hot Rod, bicep rotation, elbow hinge, slight wrist curl, waist swivel, hip rotation, outward movement, thigh swivel, knee bend, and the kind of ankle pivot where you have to click it past where the foot locks. He can have his Energon claw slide over his hand as one method of tackling his rescue missions.

The claws can be removed to become hooks that attach to his floodlights, which, btw: not only do the headlights remind me of Lego pieces (studs and a 1x1 tile), but this makes Chase look like he's going to rip Grindor's face off after taking them all on. Fuck yeah. You can really tell how much they were able to use the Generationator appropriately by making Chase's design feel more like a proper Aligned continuity look rather than a stylized cartoon aesthetic. I want to see more Rescue Bots in this look. Heatwave, Blades, Boulder, and anyone else who isn't from TFP or RID15.

And here he is with Strongarm once again. I would love to see these two work together in some way, but maybe that is the case after the Aligned Continuity ended. Still, I like Chase; this is honestly how I imagined him to end up as, and I wouldn't have it any other way...other than the shoulder joints and the back of the legs. Still recommend him.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Prime First Edition Takara Bulkhead/AC-01 Arms Iron review

10 years ago, I bought the Beast Hunters Bulkhead figure because that character was one I could obtain easily unlike the PRID version. It was alright for what it was but clearly not show-accurate. Then I got the PRID version, which was better and obviously closer to the CG model, but something about it felt incomplete. Like it looks like Bulkhead but it doesn't feel like Bulkhead. So fast forward to the as of this article's publication, and I got myself the First Edition version of the character. But with the recent trend for there to be unofficial versions of these characters, we shall see if the version of Bulkhead I got is an official Takara release or the AC-03 Arms Iron doppleganger.

Here we have Bulkhead in his vehicle mode. Now as far as I can tell, there is no major giveaway that signifies this being an official HasTak toy or a knockoff. I looked up some video reviews going over at least the Takara version, but as far as I can see, the Takara one is shinier when it comes to the green versus the more matte take on the dark green that the unofficial one has. Also, the wheels are not visibly pinned on the rims. Beyond that, it is at least close to being 1:1 when it comes to the tooling of the figure, from the sculpted head rack detailing to the proportions of the overall vehicle, and the choice of making the rear doors opaque while the front doors and windshield are still transparent. The beige headlights is like that on the original releases and is not a case of the toy yellowing badly, so don't be alarmed.

Compared next to the Hasbro First Edition, size is one major factor that is brought up, while certain differences in detailing, like the windows and use of clear plastic, are also brought into comparison. Keep in mind that the dark green is a Takara thing while the PRID is normal Hasbro. Even the Arms Micron version has a similar shade of green like the PRID one, only metallic. I will admit, the gray on the PRID version is more accurate than the bronze/beige of the First Edition, and the rims are custom-painted on my copy. At the very least, both alt modes are good, unlike where PRID Optimus felt a little short due to proportions when put next to the First Edition.

And here he is next to the Legacy version of himself, specifically the AOE Hound-esque Wreck-N-Rule version. I know fans hated how deviated the Generations toy was, but with this deco and altmode, I can pretend it's the G1 version of the guy instead of copying and pasting universe-specific character designs like IDW did.

And here he is next to some of the other Transformers Prime characters, at least the ones from the First Edition line. This scale works very well, and honestly better than how Studio Series Optimus, Ironhide, and Bumblebee look next to each other. I would compare Ratchet but maybe when APC Toys gets to him.

If you thought we'd cover the transformation and bot mode after that, you're wrong! As this is AC-01 Arms Iron, he comes with the somewhat unknown upgrade kit made by Dreamworks, and I don't mean the animation studio! A decade ago, Dreamworks Toy Factory made a set dedicated to the First Edition Bulkhead figure, giving fans a bumper that clips over the original one (which is neat but kind of unnecessary on top of concerns over scratching the paint being a concern) while also making the cannons and claw attach onto the wrecking ball to make rockets or blasters for the altmode. It's show-inaccurate but neat as an option.

Transformation is very involved for a big guy like Bulkhead, ensuring that the toy designers manage to make this guy feel as faithful to the CGI model as humanly possible. I love how they handled it with this guy, from the way parts of the altmode are integrated onto the robot while giving ensuring he looks clean with kibble management. And the spring-loaded forearms are appreciative and rare to see nowadays apart from the Siege Seekers' legs. The robot mode is perfectly accurate to the CGI model, even with the gap in the torso due to how he transforms. I love how hefty he manages to be for a Voyager, which is no doubt thanks to the figure not feeling as hollow from the inside like Beast Hunters Prime did 2 years after this guy came out. Nothing feels compromised on this guy, even the faux rear bumper on his, well, rear.

His head sculpt is perfect, capturing a more realistic take on the Bulkhead design that Derrick J Wyatt came up with for Animated. While that version was more in-line with Patrick Star mixed with Broadway from Gargoyles, this has more in common with The Thing from the Fantastic Four in my opinion, even though I don't think he ever voiced the character. As for articulation, the head is on a ball joint, shoulders move front and back a bit loosely as well as in and out, biceps have tight swivels, the elbows bend, and the wrists can curl inwards due to transformation. The hips have limited movement front and back but are on quiet ratchets, and they can move in and out. The thighs swivel, and the knees also ratchet quietly when they bend. When the hand is folded away, you can give him his signature wrecking ball, which has a bit of a wash to make it worn.

And going back to the upgrade kit, here is the bumper attached onto his back. It's got Dreamworks underneath a vague product code. It's a bit unnecessary but the accessory does its job.

You can either have his hands turn into a claw that he rarely used in the show, or he can have these badass cannons deployed and look more effective than folding the hands away. I wish they were painted like in one of the rare preliminary images iirc depicted them as, but...

...the main point of the upgrade kit is to give this guy a hammer of his own by assembling the cannon and claw with a middle piece and a decent-length handle. It's not show-accurate since he used the Forge of Solus Prime briefly, but much like the God Ginrai upgrade kit that came with numerous Evasion Mode Optimus Prime knockoffs, this is something fun to include with an already great figure.

As far as reuses are concerned, the Hasbro version of Bulkhead is a mire traditional shade of green, yet not as bright as the TFWiki images make him out to be. This one still looks good, regardless of version differences; they both have an equal number of paint apps, after all.

And here is a more unexpected addition: this is Cloud Brawn, based on a canceled GDO release that would have been in Asian stores and as part of a huge bulk (pun intended) worth of Transformers products products sold at Toys R Us along with Masterpiece Optimus Prime 2.0, Hasbro MP Thundercracker, an altered Jetwing Prime from Dark of the Moon, and some First Edition re-releases. Maybe GDO Brawn was redundant since he looked too similar to Bulkhead, and this guy mostly tries to differentiate himself from the character he was originally retooled/redecoed from, but the shade of green ironically looks like the most show-accurate version of Bulkie's altmode than either his Hasbro or Takara releases in some ways.

First up, here he is next to his PRID counterpart. The First Edition easily wins thanks to his more refined engineering resulting in a more definitive Bulkhead than the Voyager price tag would lead you to believe, at least back then. HasTak engineers certainly weren't restraint with making the character's design feel faithful while still being an enjoyable toy. 

While I was happy to own the PRID version, he felt 75% like Bulkhead when it comes to the robot mode proportions as well as the engineering feeling scaled-back due to the continuous oil costs used to make plastic. That and the PRID line was also scaled back after parents complained that the toys from Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon were to difficult to transform for kids. While PRID holds up better than a majority of the Fall of Cybertron toys ever did, the First Editions generally held higher standards that made me miss the 2000s/early 2010s of Transformery goodness.

And here he is next to his Legacy counterpart, with the radically different bot modes making me happy to keep the First Edition with my Prime display while the Legacy version will go with my G1 guys. By the way, anyone else think the W&R version of Bulkhead feels a little cheaper than the regular Legacy version?

I know Hasbro has its reasons to make the Prime characters the way they are in Year 1 Legacy, and while Bulkhead and even Knock Out turned out better than Arcee, this is basically a sign that Hasbro would rather leave the more faithful designs to the likely dead R.E.D line. At least Skyquake and Thundertron turned out better, and while not 100% accurate to their in-universe designs, their Legacy figures were better than their PRID toys. Here, First Edition (and by extension, PRID) Bulkhead wins.

And here we have him next to Breakdown, his eternal enemy. While Breakdown is a little shorter than Bulkhead is (as he was meant to go with thr PRID line), I love contrast between the broad bruiser Decepticon and the big boulder Autobot. And yes, my Breakdown still isn't stickered up. I'm interested in seeing what APC Toys can do with Breakdown in the near future.

And finally, a group shot homaging the iconic intro of Transformers Prime. This is my favorite TV show, and I am happy to see how much my TFP collection is shaping up to be after how unsatisfied I was with it a decade ago. And First Edition Bulkhead is making that dream come true. Regardless if this is Hasbro or Takara, official or KO, APC Toys or another company, this Bulkhead is one I highly recommend. He is magnificent, and he is what fans call a mini-Masterpiece even before the term popped up when SS-86 was a thing.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series Mohawk & Concept Rumble review

2024 is the year Hasbro not only remembers The Last Knight has characters to make as toys despite being a bad movie, but it also brought in the concept of, well, the Concept Art characters. So far, it comes across more like Hasbro trying to squeeze out as much attention put to the Bumblebee movie by making shit up and claiming it was scrapped content. At least there was proof Megatron was going to pop up, but I don't recall anything regarding Rumble intending to appear in the movie. I know he was in a motion comic where he had a very different (and arguably cooler) design than the one we end up with, but while there were hints of Megatron's design up until ROTB's repackaged Titan Hero toy revealed it, nothing of the sort for Rumble. As for Mohawk, I'm surprised we had to wait until 2 years after TLK turned 5, especially since the end of 2022 had Hot Rod and Crosshairs from the same film. But let's take a look at the first Core Class duo of 2024's Studio Series entries.

Here we have Mohawk and Rumble in their alt modes. The former turns into a pretty decent approximation of a Confederate/Curtiss Motorcycles 2016 P51 Combat Fighter, and the latter turns into...something. I don't know what it is. The lighting on my setting doesn't do it justice, but there is a nice level of sculpted details that make Mohawk feel like a well thought out toy, and the painted brakes as well as the handle bars make Mohawk feel like he was designed with more love than the screentime he was given. As for Rumble, he looks more like a Rock Lord than the Magneous guys from Legacy United, I guess.

For a size comparison with another Core Class bike mode, here is Mohawk next to ROTB Arcee. I love seeing how varied certain types of altmodes can be, and having these two feels like comparing the ride of an anarchy lover versus the ride of a turbo lover. Speaking of anarchy in some extent, Cons of Anarchy is a fitting pun thanks to the TFWiki. And yes, you can store the knife on the side.

Transforming Mohawk is pretty involved given his design, and moreso than with Arcee. It still works pretty well if you ask me, as it results in a pretty good conversion between modes that doesn't come off as confusing. The robot mode not only is sculpted very accurately, down to the asymmetrical torso, but we get a few green paint apps to breakup the gray plastic gray along with some lighter gray paint apps likely to represent dirt or grime. I wish he was painted silver but at least he looks good as a robot design and is translated pretty well down to the maniacal chameleon head and the titular hairpiece. His articulation consists of a neck swivel, ball jointed shoulders, lower elbows, hips, and ankles, hinged upper elbows and knees, along with a surprise jaw joint. Only issue I have with Mohawk other than wishing he was painted silver would be how unstable he sort of feels with his feet. 

For a size comparison with some other TLK Decepticons, at least the currently existing crew that have toys because Onslaught and Dreadbot don't while Berserker was kept in prison. He is small yet at least is able to stand out along with Nitro Zeus (ik it's KSI Boss but who cares), Megatron, and Barricade. Updates for some of the Cons as well as proper figures for Dreadbot and Onslaught would be nice. Hasbro, HINT HINT.

One cool aspect about Mohawk is his ability to recreate his death scene by having his head removable via a 5mm post. I love it when stuff like this is possible without disassembling a toy in a way that compromises durability (i.e. Crosshairs' back kibble, the left forearm on TLK Bumblebee). So without question, Mohawk is my recommended purchase for the first wave of Studio Series Core Class figures. Aside from wishing he'd stand a little better and being painted in silver, he is at least worth the wait as he hasn't had a toy for nearly 7 years.

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

And here we have Rumble next to Ravage. I know I gave Ravage flack for being more of a glorified accessory than a proper Core Class figure, but he manages to at least try to pass off as some sort of data cube or whatever they call the homage to the tape decks. With Rumble, it's more like a mechanized Rock Lord. Whoopty freaking doo.

Much like Ravage, Rumble also has the ability to store inside Soundwave's chest. Maybe it's my copy, but he doesn't really stay in as well as Ravage does. Granted, both have to go in certain positions to fit, but it feels like Rumble was designed in isolation from Soundwave as a figure made 2 years later, while Ravage was at least designed around the same time as Soundwave. I don't like Soundwave as a figure that much, but I can tell Hasbro made sure to keep the Voyager and Core Class figure with a good amount of synergy as possible.

Transforming Rumble is very basic, as you turn a cubish guy into a rectangle. Straightening out the limbs and attach the guns. Robot mode looks like rejected concept art for the High Moon Cybertron games' take on Rumble, with the proportions almost being designed as such before he was remade to be a Data Disc. I know he's a Core Class figure, but he comes off feeling more like a Micromaster figure sold on its own with how basic his engineering is. Those hinges on the arms are especially ugly, even with the reminder that this is a tiny guy. At least there are a decent amount of paint apps to break up the sculpt, but his head has a mouthplate therefore it's inaccurate to the godly G1 source material and Travis Knight is a hack. Oh wait it's okay to talk like that when it comes to Michael Bay, how silly of me. Anyways, Rumble comes off feeling as unbaked as the existence Hasbro claims he has. His articulation consists of a ball-jointed neck, shoulder rotation, slight outward arm movement from transformation, hip swivels front and back and hinges in and out, along with ball jointed knees. Maybe it's just me, but the figure's piledrivers don't really have the right length to make the pose like the G1 versions.

His weapons can be used as a small pistol for Soundwave, and the grip is okay but on-par with the poor grip of his chocolate rifle.

For a size comparison, here he is with Ravage. Again, I had issues with the jaguarcon, but his added articulation, paint apps, and accessories make him more worthwhile as a Core Class figure. He makes Rumble feel like an accessory even more than he already has. 

Overall, I don't like Rumble. He is the virgin to Mohawk's chad. Rumble feels like a way for Hasbro to milk off the overrated hype put towards the Bumblebee movie by feeling undercooked as a toy. At least the characters we had beforehand were designed better as toys, adding onto barely seen character designs by giving them alt modes and transformations to further complete them. Rumble makes me worried that Concept Art figures will be a waste of space, and with stuff like Sunstreaker looking like shit, I fear for the worse. 

Final ranking: ⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐