Another Set of Random Transformers - Now With a Go-Bot

It's that time of the year again, people. Random Transformers figures have always been brought together whenever there isn't much else to say about them, which is why Core Class figures are usually reviewed in groups beyond Cheetor when he was all by himself. Here, we have two Minibots, a Legion Class figure from a decade ago, the only other toy made for our medium-sized Terrorcon, and a GO-BOT?! Yes, for the first time ever, we got a Go-Bot to cover before Grand Theft Auto 6. Anyways, let's review them all.

Here we have G1 Gears, one of the first 1984 Autobots to grace the franchise and many a collection. Right off the bat, he is a super-deformed truck of a made-up model, common for most Minibots from the classic toyline. The chrome accents on the puny grill and rims are a treat. Some other details try to make this feel like a convincing truck, such as the wheel arches and the exhaust ports, but things like the legs and the non-specific model details don't help. Transformation is standard for the line, with legs flipping down and arms extending out. Nothing too crazy. The robot mode is also typical for the line, from the stumpy proportions to the articulation consisting of arm rotation. Still, there isn't much else to complain about for the Minibots given the engineering limitations at the time. Now is he originally a Micro Change toy or is he from the cancelled Mysterians line? You decide. Anyways, mine is the Walmart reissue with a slightly bent inward leg.

As far as reuses are concerned, this is the Brazilian-exclusive Pick-Up, representing the country-exclusive Malignus faction. You have the wine/hot pink variant as well as a lime green and purple variant, the latter looking very Constructicon-esque.

Some repaints were specifically made for Gears rather than separate characters, but photos are hard to find. Forgive me as we go to Takara's G1 GoBots set, which features the Guardian Small Foot trading in blue for orange. Amusingly, her face is also pink, though this head sculpt isn't used for the Generations Selects version. 

After that, we have Swerve...ooooorrrrrr a Mexican variant of the mold that is Gears in Swerve colors. The red is more burgundy, making him look more like a half-assed custom from a kid who can't get Swerve but wants him.

There we go. This figure has the upper body retooled to accommodate the new head and torso. The original version had a blank face.

Finally, we have the Encore version, which features newly painted face details to make the visor and mouth region more visible.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Up next, here we have Seaspray in his vehicle mode. So far, he has yet to be remade for the WFC Trilogy/Legacy line, but he was previously seen in the Prime Wars Trilogy as well as a Movie-style figure from Hunt for the Decepticons. This little boat is right for what Hasbro went with, between the trio of colors, the rubsign integration, and the propellers on the back. Some wheels can roll in the bottom decently, and the transformation is a little more inventive. The leg extension is usual, but the upper body's propellor set-up has the head and arms integrated. Robot mode looks to be on-model with the character design we'd get, especially when it comes to Hasbro and Sunbow aiming to make the animation appearances match what we have. Arm articulation is still a thing, but he still rolls around.

As far as reuses are concerned, he only has the G2 version with the blue plastic now covered in chrome. That's about it, but it does look nice.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jumping from the mid-80s to the early 2010s, we now have TFP Arcee from the Cyberverse subline of Prime toys. Long before the name was used for a once-filler and later fleshed-out franchise with Evergreen designs and eventual creativity, Cyberverse referred to a line of Transformers toys that were much smaller than the usual Deluxes and Voyagers and served as neat pocket-money alternatives in addition to having playsets in mind. As such, Legion Arcee lies around a size somewhat smaller than a Core Class Transformer we got since 2021, though Legends/Cyberverse/Generations Legends/Core Class have all varied over the years. The motorbike mode is decently sculpted, representing how it appeared in the show with a few chunky deviations to make room for the robot mode pieces and to make it function as a figure. I wish there were some of the metallic pink accents and some silver around the wheels to make the bike mode less reliant on the black and blue. At least the windshield and headlights are painted silver. You can also peg the gun on the side of the altmode, though it will look a bit ridiculous and oversized. Of note, this looks more like the arm cannons Bumblebee used, though a lot of Cyberverse Legion figures shared the same guns. The reason why it's translucent and PVC is to accommodate the light-up gimmick found in many Cyberverse playsets, such as the Jackhammer or Optimus Maximus.

For a vehicle mode size comparison, she is a lot closer to the real-world scale that many would expect motorcycles to have in the Transformers series, giving fans the option to place her with the Deluxes and Voyagers rather than the Deluxes. She could be a tad bit smaller, but she fits in better than either the Deluxe we got in the First Edition or PRID lines.

Transformation is similar to the duo of Deluxe TFP Arcees we got, mostly with the leg transformation, the arms being made from around the seat of the altmode, and the front section is the backpack. Differences include both tires going on the legs and the back of the seat now serving as blades for the robot-mode arms. Said robot mode looks on-point to the series, even with some proportions being altered as a smaller figure (in addition to the right knee spike looking incomplete). The wings and arm blades may look oversized, but I appreciate how faithful she manages to be despite the scale. She even has a bit of a smirk sculpted in. Her articulation consists of ball joints for the shoulders and hips while the knees are on hinges. Next to Cliffjumper, she still isn't entirely to scale in robot mode given how she was much taller in the cartoon, but it's still an option for anyone who doesn't want her to look oversized. Oh and her right boob has an Autobot insignia that wasn't on the show model.

When it comes to the reuses, this is the Takara EZ Collection version included in an Autobot multipack, where the characters had metallic or darker colors depending on the figure. You should be fine with the Hasbro version.

The latter half of the Prime Cyberverse line did give us Flamewar, a Decepticon who shared the body type associated with Arcee in addition to homaging the BotCon toy that was previously a repaint of Energon Arcee. We did get a Flamewar from the PRID and Legacy versions of Arcee, but they represent the G1 version (or Shattered Glass for the latter). Her gun looks somewhat like the blasters those Snipers in TF One used.

And finally, we have Groove, who is a straight repaint of Arcee, comes with two guns now in a grayish blue plastic, and has more color break-up in a vague attempt at looking like a police cycle. Hasbro Asia put this in a 3-pack along with other TFP repaints, such as First Aid from Ratchet and Streetwise from Prowl/Smokescreen. I know this was the only mold we got for a motorbike figure, but unless there is an Ask Vector Prime post that describes this as some universe's gender-bent version of the character, then I'm going to question why Groove thinks he could usurp Ranma Saotome.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About a decade later, we go to an era where mainline toys are now scaled back in terms of engineering while making play features feel more like a mixed bag than they ever were in the past. This is Battletrap from the Autobots Unite subline of toys seen in Rise of the Beasts, which I believe was more commonly found in discount stores after the movie's theatrical release and probably even the home video release. Given how Battletrap was sorely under-represented in the toy line beyond the Studio Series Voyager, this made me curious to see what the Power Plus figures were like. So far, Battletrap's vehicle mode is more like a typical 1980s pick-up truck with large smokestacks rather than be a pick-up truck like in the movie. The windows are pitch black rather than the Voyager's toy, though it matches the film prop. Honestly, I don't think the altmode looks bad on its own, but it clearly doesn't match the way it looked in the movie, something that plagued a lot of other Autobots Unite toys.

His play feature includes shoving an igniter core into the back, which reveals some cannons that look vaguely familiar to a certain Autobot we all know and love. If you press on the lever, you wind up the wheel in said igniter before it propels the toy at a surprisingly good distance. The transformation includes bringing the arms out, bringing the chest down with the back, rotating the legs, and separating them. Robot mode definitely looks less like Battletrap and more like Ironhide, complete with a left arm representing another one of his cannons (articulation at the shoulders and elbow included). Now why does Battletrap look like a version of Ironhide, you might ask?

That's because this was originally an Eneron Igniter version of Ironhide from the Bumblebee movie toyline, which depicted him in the Bayverse design but with an 80s truck mode and a color scheme that reflects on the G1 design that can also be seen representing some of the red-decos he had as well as the TFP design we nearly got. I rather wish we got this look instead of a Geewunish Cybertronian design, though hopefully with a properly assembled waist. A similar design treatment was done for Ratchet in the same line.

Remember when Transformers fans came up with stupid ass fan theories on how Scourge was a reincarnated version of Bayverse Prime, and how the same went for Battletrap being an undead Ironhide? I guess to Transformers fans, similar alt modes and design cues equal a new version of an old character. By that logic, RID Scourge is an undead G1 Optimus Prime, or how about Armada Wheeljack being an undead G1 Sideswipe? I swear to God, their fan theories were just as stupid as the "Who are Rey's parents" speculation whorehouses that generated back in 2015. What about Nightbird? Anyway, this figure is with me solely because I like imagining how Ironhide and Battletrap would react to seeing a hypothetical love child pop out of nowhere.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

And now, it's time to talk about what may be the one Go-Bot I would ever own. Road Ranger transforms into a red and blue truck like Optimus Prime, and that's where the comparisons end. The truck mode is entirely integrated a la Dark of the Moon Megatron or G1 Motormaster, meaning the trailer is permanently attached to the truck. We get chrome accents for the rims, trailer, and grille, while the cab is made out of die-cast and the windows are tinted in orange. Between the trailer-type, the overall truck design, and the scale, I don't get where many would confuse this character for Optimus Prime. 

He is about the size of the Minibots like a lot of Go-Bots were, though it does mean there is a bit of shared play value for the trailer. While the size comparison with Bumblebee is funny, the scale with Seaspray looks to be about right.

Transformation is a little more involved than I expected, mostly with the trailer folding into the legs and the truck shifting in place, but the arms can flip out in place. The resulting robot mode could have some people confuse him for Optimus Prime...if they have very poor eyesight. Beyond the colors and maybe some vague design choices, I still don't see the similarities, though the IDW Go-Bots comic did say he would have an optimized version of himself, so shrug. Arm articulation is all you get. If you want to see what Transformer he got turned into, the G1 GoBots set we talked about earlier features Road Ranger as a black and orange redeco of Huffer, a redeco we later saw in the Kingdom line as a retool of the awesome Huffer mold.

For a size comparison, here he is with the other Minibots we saw earlier. He's taller than the usual Minibots from the G1 line, but he would probably be shorter than the Autobot Cars. I don't think I plan to get any Go-Bots right now beyond maybe Leader-1 and Cy-Kill, but I feel happy to own the original version of Road Ranger to go with my Kingdom version. That being said, I still question the wisdom of people who say that the 80s were the best when it came to toys or cartoons, but they'd immediately contradict themselves by shitting over the Go-Bots line. Then again, Geewunners are known to look down on anything that isn't their precious cartoon they still dickride even to this day.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Marvel Legends Retro Scarlet Spider & Quicksilver review

Marvel Legends retro-carded figures vary in terms of quality. On one hand, you'd get sculpts that feel genuinely worthwhile overall and are almost perfect for having regular releases in the BAF-wave lines, such as Spiral and Armored Daredevil, but on the other hand, you have garbage such as Tarantula and Multiple Man with barely any paint or over heads that come off as over-sized somewhat. Then it comes to the characters who's probably need to be in the middle ground when to comes to articulation or accessory count, but there's always the necessity to have their newly tooled parts to focus on in addition to making the overall execution easy to stomach given the price tag Legends go for. Let's see which of these two examples can survive current Hasbro's penny-pinching: Scarlet Spider from earlier in the year or the recently-released Quicksilver.

Here we have Scarlet Spider in-hand, who is a reuse of the Renew Your Vows mold and has a prominently red suit with the iconic blue hoodie and a belt with more visible bracelets serving a web shooters and pouches strapped around the ankles. A far as things I like, the shade of red is correct, and I always love seeing the hoodie's slanted logo in addition to the sculpted rips for the sleeves and bottom trim that would be around the waist. I also love seeing that the smaller details, such as the strap for the belt combined with that red dot on the buckle, the silver on the pouches, and the straps near the hood. The belt and bracelets could have easily been painted with silver rather than be molded in marblized plastic, but I'd rather see more shading on the rest of the suit. As it stands, it just ends up looking rather plain, something that could have been fixed if Hasbro wasn't going to add too many accessories.

His head sculpt is just as simple, mostly focusing on the white, jagged lenses signature for Scarlet Spider, but I do wish the lenses could be a little more pearlescent since they appear somewhat flat. That and I'm annoyed at the very tiny paint chip. Articulation is the same as the RYV mold, which means you have a double ball-jointed neck, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, double-jointed elbows, wrist rotation, inward wrist hinges, butterfly joints, a diaphragm joint, a reverse ab-crunch joint, ball-jointed hips with drop-down capabilities, thigh rotation, double-jointed knees, boot rotation, ankle hinges, pivots, and toe hinges. He also has a pair of web-shooting hands and wall-crawling hands, with one of each displayed in the second pic. Sadly, there are no other display options to make up for the super basic deco, such as an unmasked head sculpt for Ben Reilly or a hood to put over the mask for that more uncommon look.

Here's a comparison with RYV Spider-Man. As much as I do like Scarlet Spider for the most part, the thing that makes Spider-Man's traditional design better in my eyes has to be the effort put in the color break-up and the various details that make this design feel intricate while having that classic simplicity we all love from the character. Maybe Hasbro could have done some washing to make the flat red less dull on him, or they could go for an Across the Spider-Verse drybrushing route to go with his somewhat edgy character in the movie. Still, Scarlet's a decent figure, and between him, Final Stand Spider-Man (who has the coat-like design), and Spider-Shot (the one with the wonky leg gap and dumb name CALL HIM SPIDER-SNIPER), I'll be fine with what I got.

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

And here we have the recently-made Quicksilver. A lot of people tend to think that Hasbro Legends of late have come off as rushed and not worth the price in 2023, and some of that rings true in 2024 with a few figures. The retro-carded figures also tend to suffer unless they're new sculpts or have worthwhile accessories to make their prices tolerable. Scarlet Spider turned out to be fine, but Quicksilver, rendered in his lesser-known green costume, feels more like the usual crap we've seen with the examples mentioned in the intro. Deco-wise, we get the lighting "strap and belt" design on the torso as well as the white for the rest of the gloves, but color break-up is still pretty basic otherwise. The trunks are a darker green, and the hands and boots are white, yes, but those are molded parts, meaning there could have been some room to either add a wash to accentuate this flat plastic look or a slight bit of sculpted detailing on the lightning bolt that we don't see as often. With the Vulcan body being plain as it is, why not change it up with a bit of new tooling beyond the head? Even the lightning pattern feels a bit mediocre. The lines are crisp and it's not poorly applied, but it could be a bit less transparent. I also don't like how the elbow and knee joints don't mesh with the colors of the rest of the suit.

His head sculpt reeks of brainrot we've seen in Gen Alpha memes of late, as if the Quicksilver was corrupted by that Ohio Skibidi Rizz Sigma Gyatt garbage from one of those 2020 New Warriors everyone made fun of. Pain apps look good, yes, but I do not like this expression and how oversized it comes off as on the body. Also, I don't like how half-baked his hairdo looks, either sculpt those strands of hair to look less like alien antennae or have the hair white and give it a wash! Do both, in fact! His articulation is almost the same as Scarlet Spider's, but the main differences include a ball and hinge combo, an ab crunch and waist swivel combo, and no toe articulation, all of which were common on older Legends. His sole accessories include alternate hands that are not the same as the flat karate chop hands on the card art. Great job, stupid!

We previously had a Quicksilver with a blue suit and entirely different head sculpt, with a more serious facial expression and a less goofy haircut. While this was sold as part of the Family Matters 3-pack with a so-so Magneto and a metallic Scarlet Witch, this Quicksilver looks better than the one we got in green, even with the somewhat dated head sculpt. At least that facial expression doesn't scream brainrot.

Overall, Quicksilver SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS. I'm all for Hasbro shadow-dropping a figure out of nowhere, but this may as well be a freebie if the quality is going to be mediocre. If you want a comic Quicksilver, either get this for way cheap or get the blue version.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Retro Starscream review

Overdone 86 movie jokes are commonplace nowadays as much as dickridng said movie can get, but there's always the chance to still enjoy the merch associated with the movie regardless. If you've paid attention to my prior reviews, you may be wondering why I chose to get another G1 Starscream when I own the collection version, and that is simply because I wanted to have a fresher copy. My Takara Collection version feels pretty loose in some areas, has a somewhat messed up nosecones, and was stuck using some repro fists that don't match the shade of blue associated with the rest of the media. So why not get a more complete copy? Here's my look at Retro Starscream...a year after it came out.

Here we have Starscream in his jet mode. It's the classic F-15 Eagle associated with the G1 Seekers, and it matches the overall look pretty well without the need of a license. As a Diaclone toy, this could accompany a pilot meant to fit in the cockpit. The vehicle mode features die-cast for the landing gear (the one in the front being removable) as well as the fuselage, which becomes the chest for the robot mode. It should be mentioned that this doesn't have the cluster bomb missiles, but it's okay since they are elongated for safety reasons and are way less convincing than the null rays.

The Megatron gun can peg into the right chest hole, but be sure to avoid paint chipping for the chest and accessory.

For a comparison with the Collection version, main differences include a slightly lighter shade of gray, no stickers are included, light gray is used in the cockpit rather than silver, the blue tailfins, in addition to not having any paint apps, are a lighter shade than on the Collection version, the ring trim around the missiles is gray rather than blue, and the nosecone is now gray rather than blue. 

Transformation normally requires partsforming in order to make things easier, but you can leave the wings, tailfins, and stabilizers on; otherwise, all that you need to remove or relocate would be the null-rays and landing gear while the fists go in the arms. The fuselage, arms, and feet are the only genuine parts of the transformation. The robot mode looks rather stumpy and non-threatening when you consider how his legs are all shins and his arms are just stumps with boxing gloves. Obviously, the engineering back then was limited for there to be any elbow joints or extending legs to reveal any thighs, but this still comes off as a bit amusing in terms of aesthetics. The wings sit lower than usual as well. You can tell how much inspiration was taken from the box art before they refined the design in the comics and cartoon.

His head sculpt is noteworthy for being fully painted rather than using a sticker for the eyes. Even the side parts are painted, too. Articulation is solely in the arms, and Starscream can hold the Megatron gun after separating it in two parts.

Since I already have the Takara Collection reissue to show off, let's go over some general Starscream iterations. The original had darker colors and a smokey grey cockpit, making this version of the mold a little more evil than the cartoon colors. This was the usual deco we got in reissues, including the Walmart 2019 version with it's own Megatron gun.

This is the Generation 2 version of the mold, with a sky camo deco of sorts, new missile launchers, and a sound box for aerial combat.

This is Takara's Ghost Starscream, which casts almost everything in clear plastic. The chest remains opaque because its die-cast. It was an eHobby exclusive.

This is a black version of Starscream, also exclusive to Takara. It loosely resembles the Machine Wars design, and was also exclusive to eHobby.

This is Secret Starscream, which has only 5 copies given away to any lucky TF fan in Japan as part of a Lucky Draw contest. He looks more Ghostly than Ghost Starscream!

This is a hand-painted mock up prototype for a possible Jungle Camo Starscream. So far, it has not been repurposed as a separate Seeker.

As for other characters, I'll try to not go overboard on specific releases like with Starscream, so here are the regular and Retro versions of Skywarp. Purple becomes lavender.

Original and Retro versions of Thundercracker. Hasbro cranked up that brightness level.

This is the Creamsicle-esque Sunstorm, exclusive to eHobby.

Dirge, who has remained unchanged in his reissues, was the only Conehead to have a Commemorative Series reissue (though the others got attention in other reissue lines).

Ramjet, who is a more popular Conehead in repaint potential yet never got a Commemorative reissue.

This is the G2 version, with similarly new accessories to Starscream and a radically different deco that was homages a few times.

This is Thrust, who has VTOL capabilities long before Windblade ever did! He also has his fair share of reissues, but the Commemorative Series one got canceled.

And here are canceled G2 Seekers Blackout, Sandstorm, and Cloudcover. The latter two got official Generations figures in Kingdom and Legacy Evolution.

For a size comparison, here he is next to former Micro Change toy, Megatron. Being from incompatible lines makes their height difference more noticeable than in the media they became a part of.

And here is the Collection version in bot mode. The stickers are a part of dated 80s detailing but they do at least cover those holes. If you want a more affordable Collection Starscream without getting the stickers applied, Hasbro's retro version makes for a great alternative. The mold shows its age, especially as a partsformer, but it's one you can get by itself without needing a Seeker Squadron like with CHUG. You could get this on clearance if it's possible at your Walmart, or online if they have decent prices.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐