Transformers Studio Series Sentinel Prime review

Sentinel Prime...one of the most infamous Transformers in the history of the franchise. This guy went from a peaceful mentor of Optimus to a backstabbing traitor that is more interested in bringing back Cybertron instead of following Optimus's beliefs that Earth has to be their new home solely for the fact that the human race is in danger from the Decepticons. He may not be a true Decepticon, but he certainly has a POV that contrasts what Optimus fought for since 2007. I'm sure Sentinel's laughing in the Pit when he sees Optimus go against the humans for hunting down his allies during the events of AOE and TLK. Anyways, despite being the Transformer that killed Ironhide, forcefully reclaimed his technology, and made a massive massacre across the planet to bring back Cybertron, I feel Sentinel's an amazing antagonist for Dark of the Moon, and he does make up for the lack of screentime Shockwave had in the movie (since Sentinel was secretly meant to be the real villain the whole time). And to tell you the truth, I had no idea he'd actually go against the Autobots and work with Megatron (but not for him) in bringing back the planet. Now, with all that said, let's see how the Studio Series version of the character stacks up in today's review!

Here we have Sentinel's backdrop. It's the same as Roadbuster's backdrop, only made for a Voyager Class Transformer. Okay, moving onto the more interesting details.

Here is Sentinel Prime in his vehicle mode, a slightly modified Rosenbauer Panther fire truck meant to tackle airport accidents. It's done up quite nicely, I'd say, especially when it comes to how unique the design of this vehicle is compared to what we saw from the common fire trucks (at least the ones I've seen in the US). It's also fitting for a former Autobot leader like Sentinel, whose design depicts him as an older character compared to the more robust Optimus Prime. Just about everything with this figure is spot on to the on-screen vehicle mode, and I have no problems so to speak with the inaccuracies here and there. Aesthetically, the only thing I don't like is how the otherwise complete looking tires have those gaps meant to save money on plastic with the snap-on tires.

All in all, a damn good fire truck, and there's even that 316 that Stone Cold (CooC) Steve Austin is known for. It's worth noting that there is a bit of partsforming involved for the vehicle mode; those two side panels between the front and middle tires are required for the double-bladed sword used in vehicle mode. While this may not be as bad as the Earthrise partformers like Cliffjumper and Arcee, but you better keep these parts if you want to have the vehicle mode feel complete. It's thankfully not too bad if these parts were missing compared to, say, Classics Optimus Prime. Maybe some will find the upper part of the vehicle mod to be a little weirdly curved, but it's not too terrible.

Here he is with some truck Transformers, which consist of Megatron in his damaged Mack Truck mode and Optimus Prime complete with his trailer. I feel that the Rosenbauer Panther fire truck should be a little bit bigger, but he still looks good with the other characters nonetheless.

Transformation is fairly involved with this design, but it's actually quite good. I loved how the legs transform as well as how the front of the vehicle mode almost goes inside out by opening up the windshield and bringing in the chest windows as well as the arms. The hips also have some pieces of armor that jut out somewhat. The backpack is also somewhat involved as the top part of the vehicle mode becomes the cape while the windshield becomes part of the stability for the robot mode, which we will talk about in a bit. 

The robot mode is certainly accurate to his design in the movie, though a small part of me feels that his chest does look somewhat flat while the arms feel a little skinny compared to the rest of his body. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it is odd how blocky the upper torso feels. It's especially noteworthy from the side view, where the chest feels relatively flat. Studio Series Optimus Prime's faux chest at least had dimensions to it, while this figure does feel like a carryover from the first version of Prime. Still, there are some positives to the figure, like the backpack nowhere being as bad as the old Voyager. Sentinel Prime's design has a more regal look to him a la characters like Vector Prime and Alpha Trion, so I'm happy this is carried over with this figure despite the issues I mentioned. As for the headsculpt, it looks quite good, and even the eyes look well done with the baby blue paint. The back of the head being gray is a little odd when his head should mostly be red.

Articulation is generally good. Head is on a ball joint with limited range due to his facial hair; shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, biceps swivel, elbows bend, and the wrists swivel. If you fold windshield's roof piece, then you would get a bit of a waist swivel that is otherwise absent when the windshield and roof piece are flattened. Hips move front and back as well as in and out, the lower legs swivel above the knee and bend at the knee. The two side panels that come off during transformation are able to combine into the double-bladed sword he is known to brandish in the movie. It's not entirely accurate, but it does get the job done in terms of how it looks. One thing that does suck is that he doesn't come with either a shield or a rust gun. The latter is understandable if it wasn't included, but the former is another iconic part of Sentinel that adds to his look.

Here we have the other Sentinel Primes to compare alongside the Studio Series version. The new guy obviously wins in terms of better capturing the look of the character, and the head sculpt alone beats the other two when you look at how close it is to the likeness of Sentinel Prime, but that doesn't mean the other toys are really that bad. Leader Sentinel's arms are a little short, his head sculpt looks off somewhat, and his chest isn't really all that accurate, but it was a damn good Leader Class figure, and sadly one of the last ones deserving of the title Leader Class before everything started to get smaller (by contrast, Bumblebee wasn't terrible yet felt unnecessary since Megatron or Shockwave would have been perfect candidates while Ironhide was a major letdown). He's one I'd recommend if you want to get him to go along with your ROTF Optimus or MPM Optimus. Voyager Sentinel's probably got slightly better plastic, but he's...got some issues. He's a real shellformer and also lacks paint even for a Voyager or has gray plastic that's too light for the shade of red he has. Also, while I mentioned that the Studio Series version has a chest that's relatively flat, at least it's used for the transformation whereas the DOTM Voyager's chest simply hinges downwards. Yeah, skip the old DOTM figure unless you're a completionist.

Here he is with Optimus Prime, his successor. It's nice to have two good versions of the characters that are also in good scale after years of just owning the Cyberverse Commander versions and initially getting Voyager Primes when the Studio Series line began. They look quite nice next to each other, though Optimus's blue should have a darker shade as well as a few more paint apps to make him as complete as Sentinel looks.

You can also use the Matrix accessory from HFTD Optimus Prime to recreate the scene where Optimus offered his leadership to Sentinel, who rejected it because he is no longer Optimus's mentor and now sees his successor as his.

Here he is next to Ironhide, the one Transformer he killed. I guess Ironhide should be a little shorter than he currently is, but I still think he looks good next to the Transformer that murdered him.

No, I won't display him getting killed by Sentinel. Instead, in Soviet Russia, Ironhide kills Sentinel Prime!

Here he is next to Megatron, who despite looking good next to Optimus Prime (who looked good next to Sentinel), the scale between these two seems a little off. Especially since Megatron possibly shrank somewhat when he adopted the Mack truck mode. Like, it's not a bad thing, but it is worth mentioning that they appeared to be the same height when they were on the 35 East Wacker Jeweler's Building.

Nonetheless, it's great to have these two in a good display. Though Sentinel may work with Megatron in rebuilding Cybertron, he will never work FOR him!

And now it's time to recreate the scenes from the movie! 

"I bring you Cybertron, your home! and still you choose humanity."

"You are the one who taught me freedom is everyone's right."

Always the bravest of us, but you could never make the hard decisions! Our planet WILL survive!

We were gods once! All of us! But here, there can only be one!

The former Autobot leader gets shot down by the Decepticon Leader!

"This is my planet!"

We need a truce. All I wanted was to be back in charge! Besides, who would you be without me, Prime?

Time to find out

Optimus lashes against the Decepticon leader with one arm and an axe in its hand!

And unlike Thor, he actually aims for the head!

Megatron is now done for...until the next movie

"Optimus...All I ever wanted...was the survival of our race. You must see why I had to betray you..."

"You didn't betray me. You betrayed yourself..."

With Megatron dead and Sentinel taken care of, Optimus Prime looks to the camera with an expression that's best seen as unceremonious. One of the worst experiences he went through meant the loss of his corrupted predecessor. As for the corrupted predecessor himself as a toy, he makes for a nearly good entry in the Studio Series line. If it weren't for the missing weapons to go with his sword and maybe the slight proportion issues he has, I'd say that this guy is a perfect 5 out of 5. As he is, though, he's still good and can only be improved if he had everything he needed and then some. Still, I bet that there will be a version of Bumblebee in his ROTF or DOTM form that comes with human accessories and other weapons to justify the heavy price tag if he ever gets made. We'll see. Still, I do recommend Sentinel Prime without a shadow of a doubt!

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

Transformers Studio Series Scrapper review

Scrapper is a different take from his G1 self as he now becomes an arm instead of a leg. Beyond that, he's mainly known for being the Constructicon that uses their left hand as a chain whip against Sam and Mikaela in Revenge of the Fallen. He's also one of the Constructicons that never got a full-scale action figure in the past, though he did have a Legends figure and was part of the Supreme Devastator. Now that we have a Voyager version of the character in our possession, and with the ability to combine, let's see how he stacks up as an action figure!

Here is his backdrop. It's once again the same as all the other Constructicons presented so far, so there's nothing really new to say about it.

Here we have Scrapper in his shovel dozer mode, and I'm going to say it: this vehicle mode doesn't look good. While I get that the design is going to look compromised given how the design works, this is just as bad as the way Combiner Wars Scrapper looked. There's awkward proportions on top of kibble that's exposed. It also doesn't help that this vehicle's usually small, so Hasbro needed to make it a lot large than it normally is. Still, it sucks that the ROTF Supreme version, despite not having a robot mode whatsoever, looked better than this. At least there's a good amount of paint to break things up, and I commend that there are sculpted details like the ladder and the design of the four tires to make them look a lot more realistic overall.

I like that you can hinge the shovel up and down if you want, but you do see the claw hand from this view, so best you take pics of this action from the front.

Here he is next to the other Constructicons in the line. He fits in with the other Constructicons no problem, but he does suffer from the awkward proportions that everyone else doesn't have in vehicle mode aside from Scavenger. Shame too because Mixmaster, Long Haul, Scrapmetal, and Hightower look generally good. Rampage also looks good albeit oversized. 

The transformation makes me think of the MARS Converter named Earthmover in terms of how it's done up. Like take a look at how the legs transform and how the front part of the vehicle mode is used for the arms. Obviously, the torso isn't the same, but it's kind of a funny coincidence. Also, the arm transformation may not be much, but the way the legs transform is relatively decent. Also gotta give some big props for how the combiner joint goes on the back of the figure instead of being left without a proper spot or any integration so to speak. The robot mode itself still has that Moviefied take on the Earthmover because of the proportions of the legs and how small the arms look. Their hips are also far apart from one another, which does make Earthmover look like a stupidly awkward robot with charm while Scrapper has that weird alien look to him. With G1 Bonecrusher having nothing in common with the MV1 namesake, you might as well combine G1BC and G1 Scrapper into a single Constructicon that would serve as the inspiration for the ROTF guy.

The side view has nothing much going for it save for the hunched legs and the way the torso looks, keeping this guy in character with who he is. The back's fairly bland but there are the smokestacks and decent paint apps.

Headsculpt certainly has an...interesting look to it. It's so flat that it honestly makes me think of the pre-Headmaster version of Hardhead, briefly seen in the G1 series. Also, I'm pretty sure his eyes aren't complete since he looks like he's got red nostrils.

Articulation is not too shabby for this guy. The head is on a ball joint for looking down and tilting his head sideways while a neck hinge helps him move left and right. Shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, the biceps swivel and he has two points at the elbow. The right arm has a swivel for the claw, which can open and close manually. The left hand may have the claw in its mace form, but it doesn't do anything. Hips move front and back on swivels while they barely hinge outwards. They also have swivels around the waist but they don't really have much of a purpose. Knees bend, but not at a particularly useful degree since they're already hunched.

Here he is with the other Constructicons. While we do have two other yellow guys in the team, Scrapper at least stands out by being tall, having a more alien design to him, and with his nontraditional arms too. It's also funny how he's one of the taller figures in terms of where his head is placed, since only Rampage can be as tall as Scrapper.

The limb mode requires you to transform Scrapper back into his vehicle mode and simply bringing the arm joint out as well as changing up his shovel to look a lot more clawlike. The cockpit has to tilt forward and the tires have to be relocated to a lower spot. It's nowhere near as cool-looking as the combined left arm made up with Scrapmetal and Hightower, but it gets the job done fairly well. Also, its ratchet joint is very heavy, which means you're going to have to use as much strength when posing him. We'll see how he looks on Devastator soon. As for Scrapper himself, what I said about him doesn't mean he's a bad toy per se. He's just goofier compared to ones like Long Haul, Rampage, and Mixmaster, who were pretty badass in design and felt like proper Decepticons. Either way, I highly recommend Scrapper if you are interested in completing the Constructicons and the line as a whole, and hell, I'm sure he'll be your favorite figure from the team.

But we're not done yet, fellas! We've got one more Constructicon to go, and he'll be part of the Devastator bandwagon that I've been aching to complete!

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series Shatter review

Shatter's previous Studio Series figure managed to be just as bad as Chopkick; while slightly better in terms of certain aspects of its design, it's still got plenty of issues that keep it from being worthwhile unless you either REALLY love the character or are generally a completionist. Thankfully, we can take a look at how Dropkick improved significantly with the car version of the character. While it's odd to see Shatter do the reverse of going from car mode to jet mode (while Dropkick went from helicopter mode to car mode), a more important question needs to be asked: how does Studio Series Jet Shatter improve on the character's offering in the series?

Here is her backdrop, which depicts the scene where she hung out in the Sector Seven computers and looked over stuff like, IDK, the entire world, where B-127 could be, reasons why the film she's in broke continuity worse than The Last Knight did. It's an appropriate choice if I do say so myself since she has been affiliated with S7, though I wonder why she wasn't taken down like Bumblebee was years later.

Here we have Shatter in her jet mode. Can I say that it reminds me of when TFP Starscream and one of the Aerialbots have a baby? I say that because, in terms of size, the jet has the small feel that TFP Screamer's jet had while the proportions feel more reminiscent of the old Aerialbots. It also doesn't help with how huge the intakes are compared to the wings, and then there's the rounded off nosecone. I haven't seen a Jetformer with a rounded off nosecone for a while, and while I understand it's for safety reasons, it does make this jet feel a little odd in terms of looks. IIRC, the Harrier Jump Jet she takes the form of doesn't have these exact proportions. There were no winglets on the already modified intakes, and the wings weren't exactly designed like that.

The jet mode generally captures the design that she does have as much as it could, yes, but it is funny how the only Jetformers that do represent their alt modes accurately are Starscream and Jetfire since they have no license issues to worry about. Regardless, this jet mode does look alright despite some issues. Also, the guns she has can be stored underneath the wings.

There's a cockpit molded within the canopy, which I didn't expect them to include but they did nicely nonetheless.

Here she is with Dropkick, who yes does have his cockpit colored in black because the robot junk in there didn't look too hot. I feel that the size differences between the two may not look quite right given how erratic the scale was for the Bumblebee movie robots, but I guess it works fine here.

Here she is with her car mode self. Yeah, I know Transformers doesn't follow logic with scale, but the truth is that it shows how undersized their jet modes are when they turn into their car forms...might as well have Shatter be a drone and Dropkick be a giant toy helicopter.

And here we have the four vehicles together. Will we ever get triple-changing versions of these characters? Probably not, but I do hope that if an attempt was ever done, that they try doing so at a larger scale instead of a making them a Deluxe like what happened with the so-so Astrotrain from the Classics line and that horrendous Tankor that was actually meant to be Octane in Universe.

Transformation's...kind of like First Edition Starscream's if I'm being honest. Not that it's a bad thing, but it is funny how the leg transformation and how the torso swivel give me that Starscream vibe, even if they're not exactly like him. Additionally, the fuselage also uses part of the arms to make up that mass, and hey, even the nosecone is also in a similar spot like on First Edition Screamer. To criticize this mold's transformation, the way the wings work feels a little cheap, especially with how they stay in place as well as how the tailfin halves hinge upward. This figure's honestly reminiscent of some of the 2012 Transformers I own, like a few TFP figures and the FOC Deluxes. The way the arms move on their ball joints just doesn't feel right and I don't feel too comfortable with getting the big wings warped given how their plastic doesn't feel quite as strong as I'd hope.

As for the robot mode, it looks pretty good from the front! Aside from certain issues like how bowlegged the knees look compared to the thighs and how the hands look like they're etched into the plastic, this toy looks great from this view! Shatter along with Dropkick and Offroad Bumblebee are some of the better designs of the Transformers in the Bumblebee movie (by that I mean the least annoying when it comes to the Geewun fanservice). I like how she's unique compared to most female Transformers by actually looking like she transforms into something compared to characters like G1 Arcee and also manages to have a unique design while still turning into a car with jet elements on her back...speaking of the jet elements, she's got a back alright. No, not an afterburner for her to shake, but massive wings that would have knocked her over had it not been for those tailfin halves keeping her from falling back. I get it, this was the only way the jet robot mode can be done at this scale (and the attempt is fairly noble), but it looks like she had to tape the wings on her back when they detached from her. Sure, it's a Deluxe figure and it's gotta have some form of excuse, but I'm not going to lie when I say that those wings would probably look better if they were a lot smaller. And when viewed from the back, let's just hope that those hinges don't break over time. Her head sculpt is certainly better than the previous version, though it does remind me of some of the older Movie toys where the sculpting wasn't quite as refined as it is now. Not horrible, but noticeably lacking, I'd say.

Articulation is the norm as always. Head is on a ball joint, except it's a ball that's a part of the head instead of being a neck. Shoulders move front and back as well as in and out on a not-so-uptight ball joint, the arms swivel above the elbow and the elbows bend on plastic ratchets. Hips move front and back as well as in and out on more effective ball joints while the legs swivel above the knee and the knees bend. One thing I don't like is that without anything covering on the gap behind her head, it's easy to knock her head back. The guns can easily attach to her hands and they do the job okay.

However, one neat thing about this figure is the compatibility with Siege effect pieces! Let's take Firedrive's effect pieces and use them on her guns to show you how they look!

Even her feet can use Siege effect pieces, so if you want to display her on a flight stand, then you can easily add to the effect by giving her blast pieces like the ones that come with Hotlink! Wish Hasbro would give them to the Studio Series line.

Here she is with her 2019 self. Now she traded in her inability to pose properly for a massive backpack. Oh and she has a better head sculpt, though the weapons being different is questionable in a way. Like, I get that the old toy was going to have some inaccuracy issues, but the fact that it's a figure made after the shite that was 2012's TFP Airachnid was a very bad thing...and it didn't help that the recent best lines had stinkers like Chromia, Chopper Dropkick, WWII Bee, Cog, and Refraktor.

It's no surprise that this figure beats the original version of the character, but it's not quite saying much if you know what I mean. Also, I'm sort of taking back what I said: jet Shatter's massive wings aren't as bad as that mess on car Shatter's back.

Here she is with Dropkick and Offroad Bumblebee. The scale between the three of them works well in my opinion. Some will say that Bumblebee should be shorter than both of them, but he looks good enough as he is in my opinion. Plus, I'd rather not have to worry about the scale discrepancies that the Bumblebee movie made. Though some will say that Bee needs to have his VW kibble, I'm more interested in at least getting another Dropkick and kitbashing him to look more like he has two modes.

As nice as it would be to have the help Bumblebee needs to take on these Decepticons, Optimus is currently busy hoping that his precious B-127 stays safe on Earth. As for Shatter herself, while she is an improvement over her 2019 car mode self, I'm hesitant on saying that this figure is one of the best Studio Series figures in the line, let alone one based on the Bumblebee movie. Like I get that there was so much that can be done with a Deluxe figure at this point, but the way her back kibble works on top of the somewhat unsettling plastic quality prevents her from being one of the best entries in the line to date. She also places fourth on the ranking of the Bumblebee movie figures from the Studio Series line. Better than VW Bumblebee, Car Shatter, and Chopper Dropkick, but worse than Car Dropkick, Offroad Bumblebee, and Optimus Prime himself. Let's see how Blitzwing and Cliffjumper stack up when we cover them in the near future.

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