Transformers Studio Series Construction Bonecrusher review

Bonecrusher in the movieverse had as much screen time as Greedo in A New Hope, yet his design and battle with Optimus made him pretty memorable overall. By contrast, the G1 version was on screen more and spoke, yet he blended in with his teammates and was probably best known for combining with Devastator. Now as for this design's past on the review site, it was previously covered as an Autobot for Tonkanator. I would have gotten Combiner Wars, but I felt it was a let down in terms of engineering and plastic quality. Even the Supreme Devastator from ROTF was better for plastic quality and play features. Now with Studio Series redoing G1 Devastator a year after the CW version, let's see if this smaller-scale counterpart will be worth building up to. I looked at Scrapper and though he was okay, so maybe the same can be said for Bonecrusher?

Here we have Bonecrusher in his bulldozer mode. Like Scrapper, the green is very prominent, and moreso this time around. While there is some silver, purple, and black for some color break-up, it's all barely acceptable given just how too much of the green remains for the surface area. I get they want to maintain toon-accuracy, but the sculpted details are either missing paint or are washed out by the plastic quality. Those exposed mechanical details would go well with some silver paint and I know the same could be said for the inner workings of the treads. Sure, they have to keep the legs bare for the accuracy, but it feels more like an excuse to avoid painting the rest of the figure. Also the Decepticons logo is scratched on my copy.

The side is fine apart from the screw holes, crevices, and another reminder that the lack of paint is annoying. The gun can peg on the top, though we have no wheels on this figure. I guess the plus side is that even if they were included, the toy would suck at rolling. It should be mentioned that the slots on the previous photo are for the combined mode with Devastator.

For a vehicle mode comparison, here he is with Scrapper. The height of the Deluxe figure is slightly taller than that of the Voyager, but I feel like the general scale for the Constructicons will be funky no matter what versions they are.

Transformation is a little more involved than with Scrapper, mostly for the multiple hinges for the front section to go on the chest as well as making sure there is enough space for the arms to move into place. Surprisingly, no extensions were applied onto the arms nor the legs, leaving him somewhat stumpy. As for the robot mode, I don't think it turned out that well. Yes, he is cartoon-accurate, but does that mean it's automatically good? Color break-up is only present in the chest and I guess the back piece/forearm part, which at least is better left on the back than to have a more plain look without it like in the cartoon. I also feel like the torso just looks much fatter than he should be, thanks to the hinges making his body with less definition than there should be, and the aforementioned stumpy arms and legs don't help.

His head sculpt is probably the best part, even if it is blocky and gives him a chin guard that sort of tries to mimic the look in Animated. Anyways, the articulation is the standard neck rotation (may be a ball joint but it's limited), ball joints for the shoulders, hips, and elbows, swivels for the thighs, and hinges for the knees and ankles. He sort of has a waist swivel, but the hinges for the chest get in the way. Also, the assembly that holds the shoulders has no tabs for better stability, so pray that the friction on the hinges are tight.

The back piece that serves as the forearm comes detached out of the box, so be sure to attach it onto him ASAP. Next to Scrapper, he slightly towers over him despite being a Deluxe. Not only that, but I'd argue he looks worse given his lack of color break up as well as the design just being plain bad next to Scrapper, who at least looks more like he has some genuine effort put into him. 

On the left are some fan modes with Bonecrusher in a pseudo ROTF Rampage/Skipjack mode and Scrapper as a quadruped. Anyways, the proper Devastator limb modes are about what I expect, though Bonecrusher is missing his hand and some needed bulk for the forearm itself. Long Haul and Hook will come with those needed parts to help complete the left arm. With all that said, Bonecrusher kind of sucks as a figure. It's clear that the whole budget of a Deluxe means he will be held back in terms of looking good, though I guess the payoff will be how Devastator turns out. So far, the limbs themselves are mid.

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