Transformers Studio Series Construction Scrapper review

Devastator's right foot creep, Scrapper, is usually the leader of the Constructicons. It might seem weird at first glance considering that other combiners have their torsos as leaders, but there are moments where other members take over. That being said, confusion arises when Hook is seen as the leader since he formed the head and upper body, yet somehow Scavenger gets the spotlight in the Marvel Comics at times. We see this less often with Bonecrusher and Mixmaster, but not Long Haul. Anyways, this modestly masterful designer's biggest other fact was that he was killed by Spike Witwitcky in the IDW comics and was replaced by both Prowl (who formed Devastator's head) and Scoop, who looked like Scrapper but as an Autobot. Not me much else to say so let's review him.

Here we have Scrapper in his vehicle mode. As a front end payloader, it is bright green with bits of purple here and there. Though there are some sculpted details in the rims, ladder, and bolts, this is are basic as SS86 can get on a construction vehicle. While there is some sculptwork applied, it's very basic, and the lack of paint beyond the windows and rims doesn't help much. The proportions are chunky and comparable to Playskool, but at least it rolls fine. I don't really have much else to say about this altmode given how basic the G1 Constructicons can be; they also don't have much identity compared to their ROTF counterparts or the Build Team from RID 2001.

Tbe only thing it can do other than roll well with those giant pinned wheels is nice the shovel up and down on one joint. I wish the scoop itself was articulated at the base; I know some will defend it by saying it does what it needs to do but this is a Voyager we're dealing with.

Weapon storage involves using the rectangular slots for the guns to tab in place, which is a neat way to sort of keep us in anticipation of the winged altmode from using Devastator's chest plate. 

For a size comparison, I mentioned he is a Voyager yet he is a fairly small one at that. Apparently, it was said that Hasbro wanted to make this figure a Deluxe before the inclusion of a ratchet joint meant for the ankle rocker resulted in the size class change. Either way, the scale between these two is no different from the ridiculousness of the G1 toys.

Transformation is typical for the character, with the shovel going on the back, the arms shifting outward, the lower legs flipping down, and the head flipping out. It's more involved than that, but still. The robot mode is about as G1 accurate as one would expect, right down to the asymmetrical details on the chest and shins to simulate the stickers of the old toy. As for the colors, I'm happy we got silver instead of slavish cartoon gray; the shade of purple is perfect, but I am not sure how I feel about the shade of green used. While most Devastator toys went back and forth on being either a brighter or darker color, the Studio Series line ends up looking more like the Universe Micromaster combiner instead. It doesn't necessarily make it break or figure (not the rest of the team), but your mileage may vary. I will apply that on every member and the complete Devastator moving forward in hopefully briefer comments.

His head sculpt is blocky, toyetic, and still has the silver instead of the gray. Not bad if a bit generic. His articulation consists of a ball joint at the neck, swivels for the shoulders and hips moving front and back as well as for bicep and thigh rotation, and hinges for outward arm and leg movement, the butterfly joints, elbows, knees, and pivots. He has no waist joint but he can at least use the ankle joint for Devastator as a faux diaphragm joint, even if it goes to the left.

In addition to his regular pistol, his two purple guns are able to be held separately or combined as Devastator's rifle. Nothing new but he can hold it as a huge rifle if you want.

For a robot mode size comparison, he towers over Jazz slightly, though that is because they wanted to keep the scale consistent to the cartoon. He ends up being even shorter in his leg mode! That is for him to scale with Legacy Menasor, which will be fine with all other combiners moving forward but will look short next to Omega Supreme. Anyways, Scrapper is fine as he is. I don't have many other things to say about him beyond just how he is basically the old toy but much more advanced in engineering. Thankfully he feels like a newly made figure instead of an upscaled Missing Link, but still. 

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series AOE Optimus Prime review

"Finally" is an understatement of a reaction towards getting this design in Studio Series form. Having to wait for HasTak to give a complex design another chance took nearly 10 years for it to happen, and it was just a year late after Age of Extinction turned 10 (of course, we had to focus on G1 filler and anything that looked G1, amirite). The more I looked back on prior figures based on the Knight Prime design, the more I feel that it isn't the design itself that is difficult to recreate, but the budget Hasbro uses as a crutch for their scaled-back engineering. Look at how much of a downgrade the AOE First Edition and Leaders were compared to the 2007 and ROTF Leaders from nearly 2 decades ago. Sure, the original trilogy design is easier to work with given there are plenty of vehicle parts on the body, but we saw real evolution going from a blocky Leader to a more athletic one in 2 years. With all that said, let's take a look at a long-overdue AOE/TLK Optimus Prime in the Studio Series line!

Here is Optimus Prime in his vehicle mode. As a fully licensed Western Star 5700EX, the altmode usually looks the best since there isn't much part integration for the transformation. Though some paint apps are missing here and there, and the gray squares break up the flame decals due to them being integral to the transformation, this still captures the look of the altmode just about right. One thing I will say is that it would be nice to have some silver for the gas tanks, toolbox steps, and smokestacks, but it could be due to them being made of unpaintable plastic.

The weapon storage is more or less the same from what we've seen previously, though the sword now goes on the back of the trailer hitch via a sheath adaptor instead of going underneath like with prior AOE Primes. As for the silver-painted Energon blade, it goes near the rear wheels.

For a size comparison, here he is next to the TLK Voyager. Now I should mention that I added some paint apps on my TLK Voyager Optimus, so keep that in mind if you see the silver added on the rims, the vents, and smokestacks. I honestly feel like both alt modes look good, though the Studio Series one may be closer to the actual model of the truck used in the movies, especially considering the profile and flame designs this time around. That being said, despite being a Leader, we are once again given a Voyager with Benefits. I get that this is meant for scale reasons, but it suck that this figure couldn't be bigger given how we have SS86 being a slightly larger version of G1 Prime, and I wanted to see Hasbro do something similar with other figures. Also, with how weird scaling got in AOE and TLK, it sometimes felt like Optimus was the same 28 ft height from the first three movies, and other times looked as if he grew taller because he scanned a larger truck mode. That especially rings true when being put against TLK Megatron.

And here he is with Rusty Optimus Prime. While their robot mode scale would be inconsistent, these two make for a great display in vehicle mode, showcasing Optimus in his worst condition yet before scanning a new altmode and making his return. I wonder how long it will take for Hasbro to make a new Studio Series version of Evasion Prime...probably until 2029 when they acknowledge AOE's 15th anniversary, oh silly me.

Finally, here he is with Galvatron. Hot take, that figure is better than people say it is, and the concept of AOE Galvatron is underrated as hell, even if the character got less focus than Lockdown. Anyways, they scale decently well with each other, and I have no issues with the way they look in terms of scale.

Transformation has the most effort made by HasTak than any prior AOE/TLK Optimus mold ever had in terms of official figures. I know there will always be the third-party Challenger or Alien Attack figures that offer a lot more for screen-accuracy, but I appreciate the hell out of the engineering put in this figure. Not only does it integrate more vehicle parts in areas that would make sense, like the top of the truck going into the legs or the front wheels going inside the torso, but it also results in a cleaner silhouette that captures the CG model much better than prior figures. One flaw I have for my copy is that the toolboxes detach easily, which sucks since they are meant to form the heels. Maybe I can fix that. I know people will still complain about the backpack being there, and there will be a few questioning the smokestacks on the legs not being the same ones on the back. If that is the worst this figure can do in terms of kibble management, then I will easily take it over the prior efforts we had from HasTak. Hell, I'd rather take this flawed yet still competently engineered figure than the lazy fan wank that is Concept Art Megatron with his lame ass Geewunification and crappy altmodes that pale compared to the original Bay trilogy's Cybertronian jet and tank modes. That being said, the lack of silver paint in robot mode, as well as the way the forearms are painted, really bothers me considering this is a Leader Class figure. Sure, we have some of the necessary details, but considering how incomplete it feels, it's even sadder how he could use more paint than Que from the same wave. Also, his forearms appear to vaguely look like the ones he had before gaining the sword, which was where Optimus had an even stronger knight motif than before. We really could use some additional flames and paint apps for this otherwise screen-accurate robot mode.

His head sculpt is another example of this, where it looks great in terms of etched retail yet the use of gray plastic instead of silver leaves it feeling drab. If it was painted better, I'm sure it would be a top tier Prime head. As for the articulation, we have a ball jointed neck, swivels for the shoulder rotation, biceps, waist, hips, thighs, and feet, and hinges for the outward arm and leg movement, double-jointed elbows, fingers, knees, and ankles. His sword and shield are colored accurately in addition to having the right sizes, but paint is another issue once again.

One thing that makes this shield unique is that it's the first one by HasTak to properly display the cannon mode by splitting it in half, even if it's by means of relocating the halves on separate ports. Not how I would have done it but still neat to see.

His Energon blade can peg into the arms in a manner similar to the first MPM Optimus Prime. It could use some orange paint, but I always felt this design wasn't always compatible with the blades in my eyes; the felt more in line with the "traditional" look of the trilogy design.

With the adapter piece, Prime's sword and shield can be stored on the back kibble, and said piece will be your only method of sheathing these weapons. If you want, you can remove the back kibble via the mushroom peg, though it is an unofficial method. It does make the silhouette even cleaner, and the truck parts decently line up with the CG model's back detailing, but again, the backpack this figure ends up with us nothing like the laziness on prior Knight Primes.

For a size comparison, here he is with the Rusty Prime I reviewed last month and the TLK Voyager. The Evasion mold is slightly taller but it can make for a great stand in until a new mold for Studio Series gets made. The TLK Voyager was fine for its time, as it tried to make a more streamlined design, though there was still issues with barely changing chunks of the altmode like the back kibble and the front wheels on the lower legs; it's biggest flaw was how it had less articulation and range, mostly with the limited knees as well as the removal of wrist and ankle articulation. That being said, it has more silver paint AND is slightly taller.

And here he is with his other main designs in each era of the BayKniCapverse. I think the new Leader may be the most interesting one since the trilogy design, while I do like in the Studio Series line, does have better toys made in the past. As for ROTB, I like it but it feels been-there-done-that.

Here he is next to Galvatron once again, just to show how the drone has no soul nor fear. 

Here he is next to Lockdown. I feel like the bounty hunter could use a new figure, perhaps with the engineering of SS86 Hot Rod.

And here he is with Megatron as he appears in The Last Knight. I don't know how soon a new Megatron for this design will pop up in the Studio Series line, but it would probably be in 2027 when that move turns 10. That being said, I always liked this Voyager since it was a figure that didn't need improvements to be better than it currently is from the start.

For a recent version of AOE/TLK Optimus that I reviewed a while back, this is the Yolopark AMK Pro model kit. The scale is different between the two, and while I didn't expect Hasbro to make their deco 1:1 with the model kit, it would be nice if they got the flames, pinstripes, and color break up where necessary.

And finally, here he is next to Grimlock. The scale still isn't accurate to the movie, but it is still possible for this Prime to ride on him. Just be aware that the loin armor is slightly longer. Overall this Optimus is still close to perfection, but he deserves a lot more respect than he currently gets. The biggest issue would be how under painted the figure is, but the engineering for this design is the best in terms of HasTak standards, and unless we get an official MPM, things won't get better than this. I recommend it regardless of its flaws, but be ready for ToyHax or customs if you must fix its looks.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series Wheeljack (Que) review

Que, aka the Dark of the Moon version of Wheeljack, is probably better known for his toy's mostly worldwide release being canceled than most other facts about him. Not that there is an issue with him being less involved with the action, but many fans were annoyed with how most characters didn't get their toys released in the US, and it hurt even more for characters without ANY proper figures at the time like Dino. Que was lucky to have a Deluxe made in physical form, but he, along with a Deluxe Leadfoot, and both Deluxe as well as Human Alliance versions of Soundwave were only released in Asian countries. Nearly 15 years since the movie's release, we FINALLY get a new mold for the often-neglected Einsteinbot so we no longer have to use Jolt for our stop motions. Let's give Que a review!

Here we have Que in his vehicle mode, a Mercedes-Benz E550. Though it's shade of blue is on the more standard side, it is accurate to the on-screen prop like a lot of Movie figures are (aside from Dino), though it should have some missing details around the front bumper. At least the rims are given a trim around them, something Jazz didn't have. The seamlines for transformation how I expected them to be given where the parts split, though they look worse in the front than the other side. On the plus side, the windows are tinted in a black shade to hide any robot parts.

The weapons can combine and attach to on the side if you want some MechTech levels of ridiculous weapon storage.

Here he is with Bumblebee and Dino, two Autobots who were led by him during a sneak attack on an Iranian nuclear weapon plant. I bet you could add some tiny flags on Que for that effect.

Transformation is somewhat simpler than the DOTM Deluxe from what I can gather (since I don't have that version in my collection). It's thankfully smooth to go from one mode to another apart from the concerns on clear plastic that should hopefully be sturdier than SS86 Jazz. Some parts could be pinned, though. The robot mode looks much more proportionate to the CGI model, and we even get some kibble to represent the lab cost he somewhat had without it being made from the vehicle. While the vehicle parts on the back of the altmode and the bulkier legs are fine, I wish this figure was coated in silver paint. Okay, he has some paint apps on the torso, but the lighter gray plastic just makes the sculpted details washed out somewhat. Some would argue that it'd be fine for a Deluxe to not have that treatment, but we have to remember that prior Deluxes in this line and older toy lines had coats of silver paint applied; if I were to agree with that excuse, however, then there is another figure who should have been painted with more silver.

What I can say, however, is that the head should have been painted silver if they didn't want to do the same for the rest of the body. There is a great level of sculpted detail like his glasses and the mechanical "wrinkles" to show his age. Sure, he has blue for the eyes and hair along with his golden mustache, but where is the money really going? Oh and he can have the weapon peg on his back like in the movie. 

Articulation consists of ball joints for the head, shoulders, elbows, and hips, while swivels are used for the thighs and hinges for the knees. Thanks to transformation, you can fake some ankle pivots. As for the weapons, while the gun looks fine on his hand, the way the hand works means that he can barely hold the start past the tip. Sadly, there appears to be no other way for him to fake holding it in the middle.

Here we have him with the other Autobots minus the Wreckers because they're assholes stuck at the Xantium while Sentinel is a traitor. Either way, the DOTM Autobot cast is finally complete unless you want to count the Twins, and we know Hasbro would rather make an SS86 Concept Art lame ass than give love to the misunderstood duo (though their absence in the movie beyond can justify them not making their Spark altmodes). It's great to have a Que that I don't have to go out and buy at the same price I could get another Buster Prime for, though he isn't 100% perfect. I'm sure many would think Dino is overhyped yet is held back by his altmode and back kibble, but I think he turned out much better than people give credit for. Que is a similar story, though I just wish he had a bit more paint to make him pop better as well as a better way for him to hold his weapon. I still recommend you get him either way, just don't get your hopes too high if you really want this to be a slam dunk.

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

Marvel Legends Headpool (w/Logan) & Colossus review

We already know Wolverine at this point, especially the version portrayed by Hugh Jackman. Colossus is a long-overdue addition for the Marvel Legends line, unless you count the 2007 X3: The Last Stand figure back when Hasbro first got the license. That version, however, is not quite the same character we saw in the Deadpool movies. With a fairly prominent role and a Russian ethnicity, I'm amazed it took Hasbro long enough to finally make this version of the character for the Deadpool Legacy Collection...which only features reissues of the titular mutants of last year's MCU movie and this Titan. We won't soon see Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Cable, or Domino, sadly. With all that said, here is my look at the two figures meant to fill in for more Fox X-Men characters, even if one is a variant and not the real Logan.

Here we have Logan, who is mostly a reuse of the 2020 version from the older movies, though with new arms, a new waist with a different belt, and a new piece meant for the jacket. This represents the variant Deadpool encountered at the bar, the same one who was a sore loser and regretted letting the X-Men die in his world. Hence why he has the boots peeking through the pants and the gloves in one of his pockets. If you thought this was going to be a straight repaint of that original figure, it technically isn't, though a lot of the paintwork mostly stays reserved for the shirt, jacket buttons, and belt. I wish we had some shading for the arms and legs, especially to highlight the texturing better, though I guess some of the lighting does help that well enough. Plus, gray and sandy beige don't look as cheap as yellow, seen from the simultaneously released Wolverine figure. This look also works fine for the character, though I wish the arms would go down a bit more, and I also question why we have another case of pinless joints for one set of limbs while the other still has them pinned. One or the other, please.

His head sculpt is a reuse of the Wolverine figure I recently looked at, though slightly different in paint apps. I don't have any complaints with that since this is meant to be the same Logan that Deadpool recruited in the movie, and you can always swap this head with the other versions for regular Fox-canon Logan. The articulation is the same as with that other figure, with a double ball neck, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, double-jointed elbows, wrist articulation, inward hinges, limited butterfly joints, an ab crunch, waist rotation, ball jointed hips, thigh rotation, double-jointed knees, and ankles that swivle, hinge, and pivot with slight hinderence. He comes with alternate clawless fists that he can shake at the Headpool accessory, which is not only getting top billing for some reason, but the stand is too short for it. Unless he's going to be staring at people's crotches, why make his altitude that low with such a mediocre stand? And no, he can't be on other figures' bodies.

For a Hugh Jackman Wolverine comparison, here are the other two versions of characters that this Logan reuses parts from. The torso, legs, and maybe the arms are reused, though I generally appreciate that the new parts and deco at least help distinguish him from the 2020 Logan decently well. Meanwhile, the head and feet come from the costumed version, which is fine for anyone who really likes that head sculpt and the fact that the costumed Wolverine kind of sucks. Scratch that, it really sucks. I'll take reused parts over an overhyped yet poorly proportioned new sculpt any day.

And here we have Colossus, who is a new sculpt and is thankfully painted for his metal flesh. I appreciate that the red is still dark without looking transparent, and the other paint apps on his clothes are also crisp and lined up properly. The silver on his arms and head is especially needed, which is something I complemented on the reissued Silver Surfer after getting the 2023 Quantumania-wave Ultron and the Infinity Saga Mark II Iron Man. I also appreciate that there is linework applied in the crevices of the figure, making this feel more premium than other figures. Now while I compliment the paintwork greatly, I have to admit that his proportions are not 1:1. The legs generally look fine, but the torso needs to be bulkier then it currently is, especially since it looks under sized than the rest of him. There's more to say about the torso so in short, sculpt and paint are good, torso proportions suck.

His head sculpt is done more competently than the comic versions that came with Juggernaut, especially since the eyes are aligned this time. Also appreciate that the eyeliner and lips aren't too dark. His articulation is the same as Logan's, though he has washer joints comparable to McFarlane's DC figures at the shoulders (albeit with louder clicks). He also has boot rotation and some of the worst range for an ab crunch that I have ever seen in a Marvel Legends figure, especially in recent memory. Was it hard to sacrifice a bit of the sculpt to add more range??? It's another reason why the torso sucks ass. He can even show his frustration with his alternate angry head.

He comes with a rule book that he tried using on Deadpool, and even with some printing imperfections, it looks better than the photo that cel shaded Wolverine had. He can use that on the a Deadpool figure shown for a size comparison. I'll get NSTW out again someday just wait.

Overall, these two figures are a case where they're alright but far from perfect. They both look fine but the range on some of their joints can be very questionable at best. While it's cool to have another Hugh Jackman Logan and a long-overdue Colossus, there is still a lot of room for improvement. You may want for them on clearance, but at least they don't suck like the costumed Wolverine does.

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