Transformers Studio Series Scourge review

Scourge being an antagonist for Rise of the Beasts is an unexpected treat, especially since we continue the trend of Megatron not being focused on in the movies. With a unique design, a new faction for this continuity, and being played by Peter Dinklage, this guy is already winning fans over more than Shatter and Dropkick did last time. We'll see if he is either more in common with Lockdown or Sentinel Prime, some of the best non-Megatron antagonists. If anything, let's see how this new iteration of the character is going to win fans over as an action figure!

Here is Scourge in his truck mode, depicting him as a Mad Max-esque truck that is vaguely reminiscent of DOTM Megatron, only without any trailer for him to haul. He isn't exactly screen-accurate on this altmode, as the fifth wheel is actually shorter on the back of the truck than it is here, the front of the vehicle has an inaccurate grille protector, and the color scheme is a little different in terms of the shade of grey. There is also a bit of a gap where the fuel tanks are, and I wish there wasn't a disconnect between the smokestacks and the cab. That said, I do like the design and the red-tinted windows, especially since it rolls nicely in comparison to Megatron in the same line. 

If you remove the grille guard, you can see all of the insignias he has taken, including Autobot, Decepticon, Wreckers, Mercenaries, and Maximals. His own Terrorcon insignia is placed similarly to that of Movie Optimus Prime, with fans wondering if this is a future, corrupted version of Optimus as we've seen with Nemesis Prime...we'll see how it'll go. Oh, and on his messy back, you can have Freezer pegged in place, though I recommend he is pegged in as tightly as possible. He doesn't really move much as I was kind of hoping he'd be able to rotate like a turret.

For a vehicle mode size comparison, here he is with Studio Series Optimus Prime from the Bumblebee movie and Battletrap from this year's movie. He's got different design traits from either figure yet manages to mostly feel like a Leader, which is common for fans to not expect if they're not used to the current trend of Leader Class figures. Perhaps he may scale with the regular ROTB Prime in vehicle mode.

Transformation does a much better job at giving him a cleaner robot mode than a lot of toys made for the AOE line, as the back kibble is much more compact than one would expect for a lean, mean design like this. The legs were already set to be robot legs halfway through, which explains why the truck bed looked a bit messy. The front of the truck becomes the chest, which is in contrast to the torso being made of the upper body containing the windows. And the resulting robot mode makes him much more intimidating in a different way from Megatron; while he was a hunched-over brute, this guy is slender and much more unpredictable by design, especially with his asymmetrical hands and longer-than-usual neck. The addition of chains around the robot mode also makes him look more like a patchwork character. Unique to this guy apart from the grille torso are the wheels being placed withing the inner sides of the legs, which is in contrast to the typical approach of normal Transformers that turn into trucks. Once again, the figure is based on concept art, as seen with the neck and mouth, which is seen in the promo art vs the movie's on-screen model. Amusingly, the backpack reminds me of AOE Galvatron's first Voyager toy. OH, and be careful with the clear plastic on those heavy-duty hinges. His cannon can be pegged on the butt if you want (while the arm peggs on the backpack).

Head sculpt is, as mentioned before, inaccurate for the mouth and the neck, which is longer than it is in the movie. At the very least, the general head is correct, and the light-piped eyes are nice to have. That being said, it is not recommended to shorten the neck by removing the middle piece both for the ball joint tolerance/sizes and the fragility of the ball socket. His articulation has two neck joints, shoulders moving front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, four points for the left hand, conjoined fingers for the right hand, a waist swivel, hips that move front and back, in and out, thigh swivels, knee bends, and ankle pivots. The knees' ratchet joints are pretty soft-focused in comparison to the normal ratchets one would expect from older Leader Class toys. His right hand can have the blade clip onto the hand so it would make for a proper melee weapon this time around.

His left arm can be swapped with a cannon that is interesting since it's reminiscent of the way older versions of Studio Series Bumblebee would swap forearms for the arm cannon...so if a Leader Class figure can do it, and a Deluxe could, too...why can't ROTF Megatron do that???

Alternatively, he can hold Freezer in his weapon mode with a 5mm port, which does mean his elbow joint would be limited somewhat unless you want to see this as a finisher weapon mode of some sorts. We'll see how this will work in the movie.

For a robot mode size comparison, here he is in-between the same characters once again. He is appropriately scaled, though I feel he'll be slightly taller than Prime if his neck was shorter, so the longer neck makes him look more uncanny than he already is next to the standard design of Optimus Prime and/or Battletrap. Overall, Scourge is a pretty solid figure that is worth getting even in spite of his own flaws that hold him back from being a five out of five, somewhat like with The Fallen. Now we shall see if this guy is the same as Optimus post-TLK somehow...

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Evolution Crashbar review

Another Junkion in the Evolution line?! I'll take it! After Hasbro made Scraphook, it was cool seeing them make these designs that aren't just retools of Wreck-Gar. While we have a motorcycle as an altmode, it's great to see him pop up with a new design and transformation scheme to give him more of a new identity. Not much else to say about this characterless individual without any fiction to use reference to (apart from that QR code), so let's cover him in today's review 

Here is Crashbar in his motorcycle mode. Already distinct from the typical Wreck-Gar affairs, it does have a flame pattern that I believe are reminiscent of the Reveal the Shield toy belonging to his leader. Crashbar's color scheme is mismatched with the beige contrasting the orange and grey, but it is befitting for this kind of design. There are bars that can help keep the altmode stable. Some of the spikes are painted orange, and I like the inclusion of rear-view mirrors and handlebars on this guy.

In general, it is a decent alt mode for a Junkion, but there are some screws visible on this side. Reminds me of when a gimmick toy is best viewed in one angle rather than the other for obvious reasons.

You can interestingly swap parts with his fellow Deluxe Junkion from the last wave if you want an uncanny mashup of parts like this. The mashup on the right looks weirdly cool, while the one on the left struggles for obvious reasons.

For a size comparison, here he is next to Wreck-Gar. Definitely a much smaller and obviously different design, which I commend them for doing since it makes him distinct compared to his leader. I also like that the palette, while similar, isn't exactly the same. Well done, Hasbro!

Transformation continues the trend of the Junkions not requiring to partsform like the Weapon/Modul/Fossil guys, which I can appreciate as someone who wants to see them come up with an original transformation. and to my surprise, this guy is fairly reminiscent of Animated Prowl in terms of the leg transformation, which says a lot when the legs both have the wheels on the backs. The torso transformation weirdly reminds me of a Cityformer for some reason, like Metroplex. The only partsforming is the clubs on the back and the weapons he will later utilize. Robot mode possesses a mix between symettry and asymmetry, surprisingly enough. Fans should be able to find how much he has in common with some designs that pop up. I already thought of a cityformer for the torso design, but the head reminds me of a mix between an Energon Basic Class guy for the torso and a G1 Predacon. The orange and the horns kind of make him fit well for the latter if he was blending in with them. The upper body retains the symmetry while the legs have the front and back of the altmode as their components. The gold helps make the figure pop, too. I kind of wish the right leg held together better than it currently does.

Head sculpt is a fun mix of being robotic and reminiscent of a biking at the same time. It once again reuses the idea of an Ironhide-esque helmet, but with a visor, beard, and horns. His articulation gives him a ball-jointed neck, shoulders on 5mm pegs, outward movement on hinges or ball joints that also help serve as bicep swivels. The elbows bend deeply, the wrists swivel, hips move front and back as well as in and out, the thighs are on 5mm ports, the knees bend, and there are ankle pivots. His weapons can be on the forearms or pegged on the hands. Without the other Core Class ppl around, we can give the torso of Volcanicus the arms of Scraphook and the legs of Crashbar in the meantime.

For a robot mode size comparison, both he and his teammates end up shorter than Wreck-Gar, which I expected given the size difference in the scale. I also have to commend them both for not only taking elements of Wreck-Gar's colors, but also making unique palettes that helped make them distinct from one another, especially Crashbar who isn't really using the same layout on the robot mode like Scraphook is doing with mimicking Wreck-Gar. OH, and one of the wheels can become a triple spike shield.

You can swap the limbs with his buddy to have Crashbar being a shorter and somewhat unbalanced design while Scraphook has lankier legs and shorter arms. So yeah, this figure is pretty fun if you ask me, which is something that we can hope to continue seeing for the other Junkions that may pop up soon.

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

Transformers Siege Jetfire review

Was there ever a figure that you regret not getting in the past because of how impossibly stupid you felt with getting a version that wasn't as good instead? That's me with Thrilling 30 Jetfire. At the time, I got him because I wanted a Jetfire that scaled better with my CHUG display. While it was nice to have that design, the figure was a major downgrade from previous Leader Class toys made since Cybertron. And the worst part for me was that Jetfire was sold for $50 on Walmart.com, which I didn't even notice because I didn't use the website at the time. So after getting Rodimus Prime and later Scorponok and The Ark, I was encouraged to get the past Commander Class figures, which I initially struggled with until I heard from Entertainment Earth that they'll make a special release for the Siege and Earthrise releases of Jetfire and Sky Lynx, respectively. Now it's time to cover this guy after nearly 4 years of not getting this release!

Here is Jetfire in his jet mode. It's a very cartoon-accurate design that was kept this way because HasTak designers wanted to maintain the traditional look that the character has in the show specifically. While past iterations of G1 Jetfire's toys were meant to be a stylized version of the Macross design, which has been common up until this point, this is the first version of G1 Jetfire that was made to closely resemble the cartoon instead, which was later repeated with the Masterpiece figure. With various sculpted details added to the figure, it makes what is basically a not-so-sleek jet feel more impressive than it normally would be. While the Macross design was moreso meant to prioritize the robot as much as the jet, this being a made-up design did result in him feeling more compromised as a jet. An attempt has been made here to make it look better than some other attempts, like with the later made Masterpiece figure.

Some of the features he includes are flip-out handles for other robots to hold onto while he allows them to drop off of the ship like when soldiers hold onto the rope from a ship. And who can forget about the blast effect pieces that Commander figures have along with Titans and Battlemasters in the entire WFC Trilogy line.

Weirdly, the cockpit can sort of open if you hinge the nosecone down, but it helps you access the computer module. The back of the jet can house the additional gear of the toy like an extension of weaponry that can almost serve as a drone that could dock on if needed, kind of like a smaller shuttle that is docked on a jumbo airplane.

For a jet mode size comparison, here he is next to the Thrilling 30 version of the character. It's a major difference in aesthetics between the cartoon-accurate Siege figure and a more F-14 Tomcat-based altmode. While their jet modes were different from one another, they have a few similarities like the color scheme and the use of added gear on top of the jets. 

Transformation may seem simplistic at first glance, but there are a few parts that help make it feel more involved than expected, such as the way the legs extend, the panels for the arms, and the torso transformation. It doesn't really have the same level of engineering that one would expect, in fact, it's more or less comparable to a MV1 Leader Class figure's level of complexity. I didn't have too many high hopes to mindblow me as a Transformer, but it does well enough to be mostly worth the price tag. The robot mode, on the other hand, manages to not look like too much of a Titan Hero shampoo bottle. It's given a great level of attention for the sculpt work, even if it may use more of a wash. I like that the red and gray/black break up the white, especially on the front of the toy. The cartoon-accuracy that he possesses is much stronger here than with other figures, as it captures the physique that his past figure never really captured, especially since their jet modes were meant to be more realistic in appearance. The barrel-chested design is especially striking after fans are more used to a mix of both elements or having toy elements be more prominent.

Head sculpt is stoic and heroic as one would hope from G1 Jetfire, and there is some light-piping that makes him noteworthy as we started to have painted eyes on Transformers figures more often without these translucent pieces. Even the forehead has a translucent piece, which we'll get to in a moment. As for the articulation, the head can turn left and right as look up and down, the shoulders ratchet front and back (but they move at an angle somewhat), the biceps swivel, the elbows nearly bend 90 degrees, the wrists rotate while the fingers can articulate with 5mm posts shifting in place if the fingers make a fist - a trait that hasn't been done before on a Transformer. The waist swivels, hips move front and back as well as in and out (with hip skirt guards that can hinge up), thighs swivel, knees bend, and the ankles pivot (though they need a stronger snap than Siege Megatron). 

The features he has include the ability to switch factions with a rotating panel that has him go from Autobot to Decepticon if you want to have him be a Con from the beginning of his life up to Fire in the Sky. It's also purple for the faction as it should be, though it was sometimes made red in the episode like with TFP Starscream, but inconsistently. As for the other gear he has, the longer guns can peg on the backpack, the cannons can be on the wings, the chest armor pegs over the torso, the guns split in two, and the mask can cover his face. It's a more original take on the toy-accurate design of Jetfire, but I think it works well for Hasbro wanting to do something original with him. It is weird that he doesn't have any antennae.

As far as repaints are concerned, this is the Shattered Glass version of Jetfire, which is based on the Dark Skyfire repaint in the Henkei/Gentei toyline of Takara history. It's also the only Commander Class figure to be repainted in the line so far, as Sky Lynx, Rodimus Prime, Motormaster, and the upcoming Armada Optimus Prime have yet to be repainted. This figure looks great with the evil deco, but it is otherwise unchanged in terms of functionality. 

And here is one more comparison with T30 version of Jetfire, this time in robot mode. Now I will admit I like the design of the Thrilling 30 figure back when it first came out, but I can't really say that he is that great of a Leader Class figure when the plastic quality was bad and the overall value for money that he has. It's weak for what it's offering. Also, that chrome on him looks very tacky in contrast to Siege Jetfire not having any chrome that clashes badly like a KO. So yeah, I'm happy to have this guy in my shelf replace my T30 version, especially since I haven't been able to get this figure for so long. Much like Sky Lynx, Jetfire has been reissued by Hasbro and is available on various fan channel sites. I got both on Entertainment Earth, and now it's time you should if you missed out on this guy.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Star Wars The Black Series Luke Skywalker (Mandalorian) & Mara Jade Skywalker review

It's nothing new to know that Luke Skywalker was depicted as an iconic hero for the Rebel Alliance and redeeming his father from the corrupted forces he was consumed by for years. Many fans would remember the time when Like met Mara Jade, got married to her, and raised a child in what was once looked back on as the best continuation for the original Star Wars trilogy...that is until Disney made things retconned as Legends and we got Jake Slywalker instead before we saw Luke's debut in Disney Star Wars as part of The Mandolorian. No sign if Mara Jade will return, but until then, George Lucas is not her creator and wants YOU to get out of this office right now let's cover this couple!

Here is Luke Skywalker in-hand, depicted in his iconic black Jedi attire. This was my favorite appearance or Luke Skywalker, as it both shows his evolution from whiny farmboy to a new leader for future Jedi, and I especially love the that the vest is matte while the rest of the suit is a shinier black; it makes him look more layered than had they both been the same kind of black. There is no paint apart from the belt, but the right hand has a glove to hide his robot hand while the left hand has his normal hand intact.

Head sculpt is well-rendered in terms of the likeness to 1983 Mark Hamill, and probably the best we're going to get for this character since most of his figures in the line haven't been that great if I'm honest. It does look a little odd, though it might be due to its recovery from the accident it had before they filmed The Empire Strikes Back. His articulation gives him a double-ball neck, shoulders that move front and back, in and out, butterfly joints, swivels at the elbow, a bend that nearly works as a double joint, a diaphragm joint, hips move front and back, thigh swivels, knee bends, ankles hinge front, back, and pivot side to side. He can hold his lightsaber with no issues, even with both hands when posed right.

His cloak is another accessory he possesses which can wear like in Return of the Jedi or his scene in The Mandalorian. It does make the poses and hood a little tricky to work with because it's not wired, especially when you want to make it look cool. The lightsaber sucks at staying on his belt, though. I feel like this Luke should be good enough for fans who want what's arguably the best iteration of the character in the series. Still, between this, the Grogu Training version, and the ROTJ anniversary release, Hasbro must have had too many copies of this guy laying around in case their involvement in selling Sequel Trilogy toys would bite them in the ass.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

And here we have Mara Jade Skywalker, former Dark Side user and later redeemed wife of Luke, both of which would later raise their son Ben Skywalkee, not to be confused with Ben Solo, who would turn to the Dark Side like Jacen did. This figure appears to be a mostly new sculpt for the limbs, but part of her torso appears to be reused from another relative in the Legends Skywalker continuity, that being Jaina Solo. It's nice to see her shoulder harness, bandana, and her goggles in-between said bandanna and her chin. She also has gloved hands which thankfully give her some paint for the cuffs so they don't end up looking like they're flesh-colored. Her belt and holster are the same as Jaina's, but colored in brown this time.

Her head sculpt is very well-made for a figure that has been represented in artwork only, even though she is modeled after Shannon McRandall, who has used her likeness in the covers and promo art. I do wish her hair had a wash; Luke doesn't have one but it does look less like flat plastic on him by comparison. Her articulation, as with the females, is mostly the same as the males, but her knees bend at two points while there are no butterfly joints. Her gun can fit in her right hand easily, but her left hand is more problematic with holding her lightsaber: it's too flexible for a good grip and it doesn't help that it refuses to work this way for me.  I do like that it's purple, which predated Mace Windu's, interestingly enough.

Overall, this figure is great to have for a fan like me who wanted a Mara Jade to go with Peak Luke, but I'll admit that she has problems of her own that keep me from recommending her at full price. Mostly with the hands, but also that package that she has. Now Luke's box has the closed window package that I think isn't great (as is the case for EVERY figure in Hasbro's line doing this), but at least it's a normal box. As for Mara Jade, her box attempts to replicate the book cover idea since she debuted in the books, but instead of something logical like a velcro piece, Hasbro just used the same cardboard connector flap like on every other box. Honestly, I feel Hasbro bashing can be cringe as hell, but this is cringier somehow.

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