Transformers 2007 Screen Battles Final Stand (Longarm w/Bumblebee) review

In the 2007 Transformers movie, Bumblebee lost his legs while helping Ironhide prevent Starscream's missile from damaging the surrounding area. Though there was very little he can do by that point, Mikaela was able to step forward and hook him onto a tow truck for his safety; yet, with a seemingly high chance of the Decepticons winning, the two came up with a new strategy: she'll drive, he shoots. That was later immortalized into the Final Stand set from the Screen Battles wave, where a Deluxe figure comes with minifigures of the humans based on a specific encounter that took place during the movie. In this case, the Autobot figure known as Longarm, based mostly on the tie-in game, was used to represent the same on-screen tow truck that inspired his altmode. Let's see if this set is still worth picking up even without the nostalgia goggles.

Here we have Longarm in his vehicle mode. This tow truck isn't exactly like the one Mikaela drove in the movie, with the toy resembling a Ford F-350 rather than an older GMC Topkick. What I can say is that my copy has some Reprolabels applied by the previous owner, and while they are meant to go over the originally inaccurate Orson's Towing stickers and any other paint apps that weren't 1:1 with the proper, they are see through either by design or from age. I may peel off any redundant ones. Still, the many paint apps kept on this figure is a decent amount for this alt mode, and while not accurate, you know what this is supposed to resemble since it's likely more iconic than anything from Earthspark or One. Inside the driver's seat is a non-removable figurine of Mikaela Banes, which means that she will always be stuck like this even in robot mode unless you want to cover the windows up or disassemble the toy to remove her.

As for the Bumblebee figurine, it depicts him with his lower legs blown off and only poseable at 5 points. Not much to expect from a dude who was severely injured from Starscream's attack, but it does the job fine. Paint apps and sculpted details are good for something at this scale (apart from the barely legible Chevy badge and a dot instead of an Autobot insignia), with the head better matching the CG model more than the old Deluxe toys. Makes me want to do a swap if that were ever possible. The sculpt is based on the Robot Replicas version of Bumblebee yet no parts were reused. That being said, the proportions on the left hand match the rest of the figure far less than it should, but even weirder is that Hasbro did not include any door wings for the back.

Hooking Bee onto the tow truck is pretty simple, and he thankfully won't slip out that easily. While the truck proportions aren't 1:1, it is still in decent scale with the CG model and the physical prop we get of Bee in some close ups.

Transformation is somewhat involved, but still not to the later movie levels of complexity as Hasbro designers started learning how to translate the Bayverse's realism. While closer to how the robots in Cybertron looked with some movie influences, this isn't too far off from the on-screen cast. When I bring up Cybertron, I refer to how chunky the figure remains, not being quite as alien or broken up as Ironhide, for example. We also have part of the altmode staying attached on the right arm. The only bit of Automorph we get on this toy is on the light bar. The resulting robot mode is a boxier version of the CG model from the tie-ins game. Not that it's a bad thing, but he ends up looking squat in comparison to what he is based on. Makes me wonder if his proportions would be different if he turned into the actual truck. The whole crane section becoming an arm cannon is very close to what some prior TF figures did, though it is stuck on his right hand with no proper way of taking it off unless you unscrew it. If there was one other thing I would change, it would have to be the door wings going back more, as they sort of get in the way of the shoulder articulation. Honestly, he may not be as refined as most a Studio Series figures were when it comes to engineering, but it isn't a horribly dated toy.

His head sculpt is closer to a version of G1 Hoist's head rather than either Autobot or Decepticon head used in the 2007 movie game. See, depending on the faction you're playing, Dropkick, along with every NPC drone you fight against, is either an Autobot with a Dropkick-esque head (the pickup truck one, not the dude from the Bumblebee movie) or a camera lens head based on Swindle's. This head was designed by Alex Kubalsky, an former TakaraTomy designer from Australia, didn't get enough of the Activision reference material for a good while and had to make up a few Hoist influences for the toy. Once he got them he tweaked the toy slightly without using either drone head. Anyways, the articulation consists of a ball and hinge combo for the neck, ball joints for the shoulders, wrists, and hips, double jointed elbows, and hinged knees and ankles. There is a slight bit of rotation in the torso but it rarely works.

If you want to leave him without his weapon permastuck, you can unscrew it off via the back of his left hand, but be warned that it depends on that screw to keep it in place.

This is what the figure looks like by itself, mostly using the Orson's Towing decals and slightly fewer decals that even before the stickers were on. The interior also had no Mikaela inside, so this option is your best choice if you want him to not have a human inside him 24/7.

This figure also came in a 2-pack with Bumblebee, though a fairly pristine one in his Classic Camaro form. Only available in the UK.

The last use of regular Longarm specifically came in a 4-pack with 3 ROTF characters: Breakaway, Sideways, and Rampage. As the only 2007 mold in the set, the aesthetic and engineering differences stand out between him and the ROTF trio.

As for the sole repaint, this is an actual Hoist that came in a 2-pack with a G1-themed Mixmaster. Ironically, that figure came with a retooled head to go with his paint job. If you want this mold to.b a bit more Geewunish and are not triggered he won't fit in with your Bumblebee movie characters, he works.

For a size comparison, here he is next to a modern Voyager in the form of Brawl. While the sizes fluctuates over the years, I think he might fit in decently with your Studio Series collection. While not as dynamic as their designs, on top of him just being a truck in the movie, the scene that inspired this set at least should be enough to get fans interested in this toy along with the nostalgia for better days. Get this at a reasonable price if you see it.

Here's an idea for Hasbro to do: make a new version of the Longarm design for the Gamer Edition subline instead of doing more G1 stuff so we can get a bit of Bayverse rep that isn't from the movies themselves. Either that or end the Gamer Edition subline because the WFC and Devastation figures are mostly being as mediocre compared to the games they're based on.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Star Wars The Black Series Kyle Katarn/Quinlan Vos/Jango Fett review

It's been so long since I reviewed a Black Series figure, eh? Or at least a pair of them? Why don't we fix that with reviewing not two, but THREE characters? We already know I love Jango Fett since he remains my favorite non-Force using character out of the galaxy represented by the 6 movies Lucas made, but some of you may know Kyle Katarn and Quinlan Vos even less, so I will fill in the blanks for you. Kyle was once a recruit for the Imperial forces as a Stormtrooper, but he eventually defected to join the Rebellion after he realized the harm the Empire caused rather than be a protector of the galaxy. He would later be a part of the New Jedi Order alongside the likes of Grandmaster Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade, becoming a prominent dude in numerous events from the invasion of the Yuuzahn Vong to tackling the Dark Nest Crisis and the Second Galactic Civil War. As for Quinlan Vos, he was known to hail from the Clan Vos, served as a double agent known for hiding deep in the shadows, and he even pretended to align with the Dark Acolytes of Count Dooku during the Clone Wars rather than serve as a general (and that was a seemingly good idea to spy on the Confederacy of Independent Systems before he wrestled with the dark side of the Force briefly). TCW (and the Disney canon we got using only the movies and TCW) would have him act closer to the Dude from Big Lebowski, while Kyle Katarn is a name ruined by a Disney shill known to go "HeLlO tHeRe, KyLe KaTaRn HeRe", gross. Anyways, let's see if these figures are worth buying.

Here we have Kyle Katarn in-hand. As with most Black Series figures of late, we have a blank torso underneath a PVC overlay representing his shirt. I always appreciated how in spite of the casual nature of the clothes and their color scheme, Kyle Katarn does at least stand out on his own with the forearm guards, a prominent holster, and a shoulder pad on the right side of his body. While the shoulders being lower and the head sitting up high is a common issue with most Black Series figures, it isn't as bad on Kyle as it would be on other Jedi who probably worked out harder than he did to get their reasonable builds during the Clone Wars (shirtless Anakin and Kit Fisto, anyone?). I wish the brown on the belt and shoulder pad would look somewhat less like unpainted plastic, though. While the gun holster keeps his blaster in place, the lightsaber hilt doesn't like staying pegged into his belt. Speaking of, the hilt lacks silver paint all throughout. It would be one thing if they all lacked that detail from the beginning, but with the price increase affecting all Hasbro lines, what is the excuse for this? 

His head sculpt thankfully looks less like the Disney Shill who would spit his drink out from a totally convincing reaction and more like the FMV actor from Dark Forces II, Jason Court. I get a sense of nobility from a man willing to steer away from his past as an Imperial recruit as he helps Luke Skywalker and friends with the New Jedi Order and the New Republic. Thankfully the beard isn't as digitally printed as some other characters or at least it doesn't seem that way. Articulation is standard for all Black Series figures, with a double ball neck with less range than I'd like, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, rotation and single elbows at the forearm joint, ball jointed wrists, a ball joint at the torso, ball jointed hips, thigh swivels, similar joint systems used for the elbows also applied on the knees, and ankles that hinge as well as pivot. In addition to a somewhat underpainted lightsaber and equally somewhat underpainted blaster, he comes with a swappable swooshing blade that probably should have been more common in other releases from the past. Does that justify the price hike? Probably not.

Up next, we have Quinlan Vos. If you're hoping to fudge him into a Star Wars display void of any TCW & Disney canon characters, you may need to do some custom work. While he did wear Jedi armor in some capacity, it wasn't in the exact same style as this. The chest originally didn't look like what Anakin, Obi-Wan, and most generals wore in the Clone Wars, and the outfit's colors were generally darker (and arguably moreso than in Skywalker's case). That being said, this is supposed to be based on his TCW appearance, albeit in live action, so it gets that right with that regard. As for the proportions, the arms have a bit of muscle to them, yet the head seems to sit up a bit higher on the next than normal. Maybe it's from the way the way his torso armor requires it be longer, but it can look a bit off in some angles. Not as bad as some Marvel Legends but still worth mentioning.

His head sculpt could mostly work at remaining intact with the face, but the hair needs to have the dreads replaced with long, greasy hair. I've seen some figures that have had their hair detach easily without any glue from the factory, so that should customizers out if they plan to use epoxy clay to sculpt that new hairdo. His articulation is mostly the same as Kyle, only he comes with two lightsaber blades. Would have been cool if he had red ones, but he never turned to the dark side in Disney canon (boo).

And finally, we have Jango Fett, who despite being a known Jedi Killer, but he may be equal to the prowess of Kyle while struggle somewhat against Quinlan. Anyways, this is the second version of a Jango Fett buck we got in the past, with the first one going as far back as the early-mid 2010s (before they started going too hard in with peg warming Force Awakens and Rogue One characters), and it also had a reuse with the Gaming Greats version that I reviewed 3 years ago (which was based on how he appeared in the video game Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. So far, this figure looks pretty good, so what's the issue to be had with its aesthetics? Firstly, I already mentioned the half-painted lightsaber hilts on the two Jedi covered earlier, so what can be said about the bounty hunter's armor? The chest area has been painted with silver paint, but the forearm guards and all of the leg panels have nothing going for them. I mean, the hoses and the part meant for the flamethrower have some detailing, but once again, we shouldn't have to expect less and pay more. And while the indigo on the rest of the figure looks fine along with the areas of the figure that are painted, the brown could go for some additional paint to make it look less cheap, like it was carved out of chocolate rather than resemble the leather of the materials from the actual suit. 

His head sculpt is a saving grace, because it is a huge improvement from the Gaming Greats version and even most of the Clones whose helmets come off. I almost want to do head swaps where applicable, though Black Series heads rarely come off with ease. Articulation is otherwise functionally the same, though with some limitations by the shoulder pads, straps, and hoses...more on those later. His guns are equally as underpainted, which is even worse since Jango is known to be a shiny boss. On the bright side the helmet does have the articulated antenna piece, which is something, I guess.

Here he is next to the Gaming Greats version of himself, which was honestly not too bad of a figure beyond the helmet proportions. My copy has some added weathering and leather straps that miraculously haven't snapped off all these years later. The heads under the helmets are vastly different, but I don't think swapping the helmets would be easy given how well they fit on their opposite heads as well as how consistent the silvers are. Hell, new Jango has his almost see through, it's stupid.

One thing I need to warn everyone is that Hasbro's quality control problems are hitting this figure hard. If you bend the elbows, regardless if the forearm is rotated to the inside or not, the hoses behind the arms will snap. Same goes for the belt straps if you move the legs even as carefully as possible. The former's issue stems from how stiff the materials are used for the hoses versus the starting points where they connect to the forearm armor, while the latter went as far as leaving a small gap within the chain, which makes the belt materials so thin that they cannot withstand the flexibility. How does a toy company NOT look through these issues?! I may have my issues with Kyle and Vos, but the problems that plagued Jango Fett take him from being a figure that's make me say "The lack of paint sucks but the figure is still good otherwise" to having so many issues I'm more than conflicted. If you love Dark Forces, Kyle Katarn is the best one. If you like Quinlan Vos regardless of which canon he abides by, maybe wait for a sale. If you're a Jango Fan, be ready to deal with these issues unless you want to fix them immediately. But as I always say in these reviews, NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO FIX THEIR TOYS OUT OF THE PACKAGING!

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Kyle & Vos)

⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Jango Fett)

McFarlane DC Multiverse Jay Garrick Flash & Jokerized Superman review

As we continue on with the McFarlane reviews, I was that there would be yet another stab at getting a classic Jay Garrick (or as classic as these tend to be) as well as a Superman figure corrupted by the Joker (or the Clown Prince of Crime pretending to be the Man of Steel). One is a Page Puncher, the other is not. One is a Red Platinum release, the other is a Gold Label. One represents a character who once used the name "The Flash" before we got the likes of Barry Allen and Wally West, the other is part of a subline many people either love or hate. There isn't much to talk about with these two, so let's instead talk about them individually for the rest of the review.

Here we have Jay Garrick Flash in-hand, who is a retool of the 2023 version we got back when the DCEU was on auto-Gunn mode with a movie based on Ezra Miller's misadventures flopping harder than a flaccid happy space. It's funny how this was a look that almost doesn't scream "The Flash" because Jay looks like a normal dude with an upside down lightning bolt on his shirt, but we have to keep in mind that apart from Superman, Batman, and Captain America, most superheroes in the Golden Age weren't exactly known for being like the characters that shaped the Silver, Bronze, and modern ages as we know them. I like the shades of red and blue we have here, but I have to admit that the belt buckle being painted on once again is bothersome since you could easily sculpt it on there. The lightning bolt looks good from a distance yet there are some slight alignment errors here and there. At least the boots have the wings on them, though given their placement near the ankles, they sort of make him more like Namor compared to the lightning bolts used on any other Flash title bearer. Also, the body build for the character is a good balance between comic book exaggerations and lean/mean for a runner.

Head sculpt is the same from what we got before, and I appreciate that the wings on his flying saucer head have a bit of sharp detailing in them, though given how much older Jay became by the time Flash of Two Worlds popped up, shouldn't this also be aged up? Articulation is the same as before, though with superhero costumes like this, be ready to make sure his lightning bolt is aligned since some torso joints tend to feel more stuck on some copies than others. The biggest complaint I have about the figure is the severe lack of accessories. If this guy had an unhelmeted head or more alternate hands, that would be one thing. If he had the same reused lightning effect parts we got in the past, that would be fine even if they didn't stay on that great for my Snyder Cut Flash. But to come with nothing but a stand and a card is always an L when it comes to McFarlane standards. Even the Barry Allen reissue came with alternate hands, which makes up for the lack of an unmasked head somewhat.

I know he is a Page Punchers release, and therefore the comic book would be the main selling point, but was it hard to give him SOMETHING to swap? Anyways, for his comic book, it is the first of an uncountable number of multiverse crossovers within DC, even predating the Crisis on Infinite earths and the continuity reboot fetish they keep doing. After a weird molecule vibration quirk took him to Earth-2, Barry Allen encounters Jay Garrick, this allowing the Silver Age hero to go between worlds. More of these crossovers popped up before they ended with COIE.

For a comparison with the Flashpoint version of Barry Allen, we can see how much costume design philosophy changed between the Golden and Silver Ages. Yet the use of red and lightning is at least consistent between the two. I also have a stock photo of the 2023 version with brighter colors, a yellow belt, and more modern-superhero gloves and boots. He even came with alternate hands and lightning parts, so why can't this one?

As for the other versions of the Jay Garrick mold, we have the Flash Age version which gives him even darker colors with an outline of a lightning bolt. If not for the head, he would have been mistaken for the Rival, whose colors are closer to the Page Punchers version but with brown boots and an evil face that screams unlimited power.

Now for anyone new to the school of McFarlane repaint sublines: the Jokerized line is self-explanatory yet is often described as either the characters being corrupted by the dude himself or just vandalized as he tends to do in-universe. It's like the many glow in the dark/black & white/frostbite repaints that come out where they expand on a year's worth of repaints. Some like them, some hate them, I find some cool and others needless. Like why would Joker Jokerize himself beyond line completion? I would like to see a Jokerized Batfleck like what was intended for the Suicide Squad movie? By the way, WB and Ayer are cowards for not doing anything with the Ayer Cut.

In this case, many collectors would probably want to get Jokerized Superman because his changes are not only reduced to the face and hands, but he uses he COIE body we first got with Earth-2 Superman. It is based on how he appeared in Superman #9, which also adds some proper justification to pick this up if you want to recreate that story. The colors are almost close to Silver Age, but there is no logo outline as many complained about. With the red and yellow already standing out among the sea of his costume's blue, that black outline isn't needed at all, even on the light blue. Thankfully, the shades of blue are slightly different, at least in my pictures. Furthermore, JS has Kryptonite chains that can wrap around him for some further display potential, seeing regular Superman weakened by those chiseled space rocks.

This figure also comes with playing cards equally vandalized after the Joker himself, all too appropriate for someone like him in addition to his use of cards. If you get many other figures in the line, you can easily get a whole deck to do any solitaire games. By the way, anyone still play those Windows card games? I'm more likely going to play those than get more Jokerized figures.

Taking the thumbnail from none other than Brad the DC Universe Geek, this figure can have the parts swapped with Silver Age so we can have a proper classic Superman without a black outline on his logo. The hands should be easy to swap (though switching the wrist joints will be harder to do), but while the necks should be swapped to complete the look, you will need to use a heat gun of boiling water. The former is easier to prevent getting the cloth goods wet. Do this at your own risk, because I may do just that. Unlike Brad, the other parts will not go to waste. So while Jay is left behind for missing accessories, Joke gets the last laugh for having more, being based on actual DC history, and containing custom potential.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Jay Garrick)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Jokerman)