Transformers Classics Devastator review (Energon Constructicon Maximus/Construction Team)

The Transformers Classics line was best known for updating Generation 1 characters in modern forms blah blah blah. Everyone knows that, and while many are spoiled today with SS86 Optimus Prime or Siege Jetfire, we can't help but give credit to the old line for making awesome toys back in the day that can still hold up in some regard. That being said, on one side were the new molds for the trio of Voyagers and a handful of Deluxes, but on the other hand you have repaints of the Cybertron Legends molds as other characters, a G1 Soundwave reissue, two Hasbro Masterpiece figures, and new versions of the Constructicons that were repaints of the Energon Constructicon Maximus set. While this is far from the definitive CHUG Devastator in any display given that TFC Toys later popped up, then Combiner Wars, and soon SS86, one could use this for their Energon shelf. Let's see how Classics Devastator holds up, shall we?

Here we have the Constructicons in their vehicle modes, and we certainly have a lot to explain. So 1) yes there are five of them. 2) there are repeats of the front-end loaders. 3) there are no cement mixers, dump trucks, and bulldozers. 4) the excavator is larger than the others. 5) this was originally from Energon, just to remind anyone who'd whine that this looks nothing like that mediocre G1 toy (though that's not saying this set is perfect). And 6) Energon combiners had the budget of either 2 teams with 5 unique molds each or 3 teams with three unique molds each (and a repaint per limb per team), so HasTak went with the latter for profits.

Here we have the two uses of the Sledge/Bonecrusher mold. On the left is Scrapper, and on the right is another Bonecrusher. I guess a bulldozer the latter is usually associated with can be comparable to a front end loader. While they use the same mold, they did try distinguishing their decos, with Scrapper being mostly gray with green and bronze highlights while Bonecrusher has the more traditional Constructicon colors. They have two points of articulation at the shovel, which is perfect for pretending they're normal vehicles; their tires roll the best, too.

Transformation is fairly predictable for this mold. Flip the legs down, hinge the shovel to the back, and bring the arms in place. Their robot modes are halfway between official Transformer and unofficial, generic Construction Converter. The torsos are already blocky as hell given the way they need to integrate the combiner joint and be Scout-sized figures. Scrapper amusingly looks a lot like the Hunt for the Decepticons Night Ops Ratchet. They both have quite the backpacks that one would expect from simpler construction robot designs.

Their head sculpts are so tiny I couldn't get a good photo of either. Their articulation consists of swivels at the neck and waist, and ball joints at the shoulders, hips, and knees, while the elbows simply hinge and have no method of rotation. Their Energon weapons can form vague claws of sorts, though they almost make me wish they could be used as guns had it not been for the lack of 5mm handles for a hypothetical gun mode.

And here we have the crane duo, previously used on Duststorm and Wideload. On the left is Long Haul and on the right is Hightower. The latter is a new character that replaces Mixmaster AND Hook, though the Halloween-esque deco is unique from the usual Constructicon green seen on Long Haul. Once again, it's amusing how the deco that's closer to the usual palette of the G1 team isn't directly associated with the character who had a similar altmode. In terms of functionality, the molds can rotate their crane at the base, the arm can hinge up and down on a ratchet joint, and the arms can extend twice their length. The claw can attach to the crane arm without issues. One issue I have with Long Haul is the two-tone greens that make the figure look inconsistent between the plastic types used on parts such as the hinges holding the arms and the thighs versus the rest of the altmode, and both figures could use better stability with how exposed and floppy the middle portions can get, for example.

Transforming them is a whole lot more unusual. The legs are basic with the front sections splitting in half to become the feet, but the upper body is interesting with how the crane section becomes the arms, in addition to the head having to be on an assembly that balances the right forearm. As for the robot mode, this mold looks like it'd be a cool design in theory, though the budget that the Basic Class limitations dealt with made the toy feel rather wonky. The legs look fine beyond the asymmetry with the stabilizer on the right leg, but the upper body has a head that is much higher than it should be. As a result, the shoulders end up sagging lower, but look at the left arm! A crane for an arm could be a cool way to stand out, but the way they did it here looks pretty goofy. At least Hightower's right arm looks more broken up, color-wise, thanks to the green outline to make the black stand out more. Makes me wish there was black paint in some capacity for Long Haul.

Once again, the heads are difficult to get a good picture for, but the articulation consists of rotation at the neck, biceps, and waist, ball joints at the shoulders and hips, hinges for the right elbow and knees, and a ratchet for the left arm.

And here we have Scavenger, who is a Deluxe this time around. The vehicle mode looks mostly fine, though the treads do appear to be rather far forward than it should be. For some reason, my copy can't seem to get the hinge for the left arm to properly stay in place for vehicle mode, which might be a molding error my copy has. That being said, neither the shovel nor the carbon has any proper spots to tab into.

For comparison with an Energon counterpart that I DO own, here is Scavenger next to Steamhammer. You'd think there would be no major differences between the two, but there are a handful to go over: 

-The shades of green are different

-The cabin has purple windows rather than green

-The Powerlinx logo is not on the sides of the vehicle

-There are more gray hinges and panels on Scavenger than on Steamhammer (same going for the shovel)

-The Energon version has its combiner ports in blue as with the other Maximus combiners while the Classics version has it in purple (with Universe/ROTF Superion having teal and Bruticus having orange).

Transformation is a little comparable to the way the crane mold works, with a symmetrical leg transformation (though without the stabilizer for what will be the left arm), and a bit of an asymmetrical upper body transformation, mostly with the limbs. The resulting robot mode looks rather blocky for a modern figure, with a physique almost comparable to a G1 toy, yet with the left arm throwing off the rest of the aesthetics. It's a unique design trait, but I need clarification on how it's supposed to work; I like to keep the smaller side of the pin in the front to make the already weird shoulder less ugly, yet the arm ends up looking broken when viewed from the side. That would be easy to fix if you want to accept the visible screws as well as having the bucket's hollow side upside down. The combiner pegs will always look like huge tumors on the forearms. I like the way the treads are stuck on the back, though I find the bar behind the head unusual.

Speaking of the head, I was surprisingly able to get a mug shot out of this mf. Not only is there barely a size difference between it and the other limbs' heads, but it is ridiculously embedded between the treads, making neck rotation impossible. As for the rest of the articulation, there are swivels used for shoulder rotation, bicep rotation, and thigh rotation. Meanwhile, the right shoulder can hinge at 90 degrees in contrast to the left shoulder's 180-degree range. As for the elbows, the right arm is double-jointed while the left arm is single-jointed with a hinge for the bucket. The waist as well as the hips are on ratchets, the knees are on somewhat indented hinge joints, and I guess there is toe articulation.

For a robot-mode comparison, here he is next to Energon Steamhammer on the right. The difference in paint app placement, paint app colors, and the different plastic colors used on the limbs results in a toy that almost passes off as being a different toy, which is a practice we've seen Hasbro no doubt pull off in the past to make retailers think they're brand spanking new. It's been common in the old days when the plastic colors are barely altered to the point where repainting a green guy into another green guy is comparable to the many repaints we've seen of G1 Optimus Prime and Movieverse Bumblebee.

It should be mentioned that all copies of the mold are misassembled. Classics Scavenger does not have the tabs on the top yet the head is kept in place properly because of the treads reassembled in the right spot. Meanwhile, Energon Steamhammer has the tabs exposed on the top, and rotating the treads to be tabbed in place would mean not having the head in its proper place. Leaving it as it is isn't as severe as the incorrect leg articulation Storm Jet was left with.

And here we have the team standing together. They're a rather odd bunch, with the front loaders looking generic, the cranes being wonky in terms of proportions, and Scavenger looking a bit like a G1 brick with asymmetry.

Before we go further with the combination, I want to show how the torso modes look, and you can see how different the shovels are on the left side of the upper body as well as an altered deco for the head that vaguely tries to match G1 Devastator. What are the chances TFHypeGuy would look at these two and be like "erm ackshully the difference between these two is staggering ☝🤓"?

Combining the limbs onto the body is pretty simple, as you're essentially slightly transforming the vehicles and slapping them onto the ports. Obviously, the right side has more going on with the Energon claw tabbing onto the stabilizer for the arm claw as well as shifting the wheels elsewhere on the forearm. You get quite the asymmetry between the two limbs, with the balance between the cranes feeling rather undersized next to the front loaders. At least with the two Air Team limbs, their proportions as limbs beyond their different transformations. We'll get into an alternate configuration later down the review, but I'm not satisfied with how slapped-on the limbs are for Devastator Maximus. I feel like the G1 Constructicon scale, while not perfect, was at least better balanced given how everyone was the same size in addition to each member forming a component that makes sense relatively in regards to their size or design; Hook folding in half to form the bust of Devastator, Scrapper fitting proportionately as a leg if his proportions match the others, etc. The ROTF Constructicons use both an entirely different design philosophy as well as swapping vehicles and rearranging where the components in a way that makes sense for their version of Devastator. I don't know if Constructicon Maximus was a character they had in mind back when they had the choice of 2-teams-with-5-molds-each or 3-teams-with-3 molds-and-a repaint-per-limb-bot, but it felt like HasTak wanted to homage Devastator yet were probably trying not to use the exact same vehicles we saw from RID01 Landfill and Armada Scavenger.

His head sculpt is almost like a Bionicle mask mixed with a generic robo head design, but it's sadly embedded within the canopy like the back of G1 Megatron's head. The articulation is not too great, either, with there being no elbows, limited neck movement, hips that barely move forwards because of how the waist clashes with the lower legs now as thighs, and rotation near the knees. There are unofficial ways to give him elbow joints, but as it stands, not adding them yet keeping the knees feels strange.

As far as other uses are concerned, this is the original Constructicon Maximus on the left of this segment, with more color variety for the limbs as well as clear blue plastic instead of purple. TFKenkon also showcases alternate transformations that provide the arms proper elbow articulation, which is especially helpful for anyone who isn't a fan of having fewer points of articulation than is accepted even at the time. None of the molds were reused for any other combiners, such as Nexus Prime, which instead uses Barricade, the Destruction Team's helicopter and tank molds, and the Air Team's A-10 Thunderbolt and sorta-kinda F-22 Raptor molds. Also on the right is a pic representing Storm Jet using the limbs as he did near the end of the Energon series while trying to kill Bruticus Maximus.

Here he is with Superion Maximus, both of them being in their alternate fan configurations. I have Scrapper and Bonecrusher as the arms because their claws work best as hands in addition to the cranes being more proportionate as legs. I should have added the elbow joints on Devastator, but keep in mind that this photo was taken before I looked up more reviews from other fans who have looked at this set long before I have. Overall, Classics Devastator is not going to be anyone's definitive version of the character given the better representation we have from Hasbro and especially third-party interpretations with the G1 design, but I don't think that automatically means this set is trash. It doesn't hold up that great, but if you want a more Geewun version of Constructicon Maximus, then get this by all means. That being said, G1 Devastator did have this design in the Classics comics set after issue #80 of the original Marvel G1 run, so maybe he will fit in with that display with no problem. That being said, understanding that is something the average Geewunner wouldn't get if they never read the comics and only saw the cartoon without growing more brain cells.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Masterpiece Grimlock review

Grimlock declaring himself as "king" is hard to argue with. He's the leader of the Dinobots, he's the strongest amongst the Autobots, he would refuse to go with Optimus Prime's orders, and would remain the one Dinobots to be frequently prominent in numerous other iterations. Hell, he's so great he can provide fans with two different personalities between the cartoon's dumb brute with limited grammar and the Marvel Comics' more fluent and ruthless replacement for Optimus. Hell, he didn't even need the Matrix in the latter as he was instead given a crown! His regal attire was barely recreated in plastic form, but the Masterpiece was the first toy to recreate his unique accessory. As the toy turns 15, let's see how well it holds up!

Here we have Masterpiece Grimlock in his dinosaur mode, representing the upright stance a Tyrannosaurus Rex used to have. This figure has all the usual G1 details carried over for this figure, from the clear neck with gold chrome insert to the hinges that hold the neck and what will be the wing kibble for the robot mode. In addition to the chrome within the clear neck and belly, you have die-cast gold talons for the dino feet as well as silver chrome for the tip of the tail, the claws, and the teeth. The sculpted details are astounding as always for an earlier Masterpiece, something lacking from the 2016-now MPs that I hope we see return for the MPG line, especially with the paint apps in the sides of the torso as well as the silver paint on the dino arms. Grimlock's articulation consists of the jaw, neck rotation that moves when you wag his tail (which is a bit unneeded given how better the neck movement would be), ball joints at the dino arms AND hips, elbows that bend 90 degrees, very stiff articulation for the individual claws, rotation below the hips, and knee bends on the lower joints. You could see a little flamethrower in his jaws!

The dino eyes can switch color if you want them to be toy-accurate red or cartoon-accurate blue. There is a button on the left cheek that lets the lower jaw snap in place, a bit redundant if you can do it yourself but at least it's not something older fans would complain about like with AOE Voyager Grimlock's jaw gimmick. Of note is a s seat that may or may not be a call back to the Diaclone pilot seats. I don't know how many people notice that.

For a size comparison, here he is next to the SS86 version, seen here being shorter than the MP version by comparison. The newer toy manages to look blockier and more in line with the Sunbow aesthetics, something the Masterpiece version deviates from to maintain toy details. I prefer how the MP version uses a white outline for the Autobot insignia in addition to the arms not looking super cheap, but the Leader Class is still not a bad toy.

Transformation is what you'd expect from a Grimlock, dino legs become arms, belly becomes upper body, tails become legs, wing and T-Rex head kibble on the back, though there are some differences to make it more like a proper Masterpiece, such as the rotating assembly that keeps the shoulders up as well as a slightly different lower leg transformation that involves a joint that bends inwards within the shins so it can hinge the feet in place. This was one of the first G1 Grimlock's to place the tail halves within the legs, though they don't really tab in anywhere. There isn't much else to talk about with the robot mode given how, you know, this is Grimlock we're talking about; that being said, this one does feel a bit more stylized in some areas while still feeling accurate. The proportions lean more on an anime side with how thin the legs are in addition to how they flare slightly as we go down the knees. Meanwhile, the arms are huge in contrast to the torso, with the shoulders positioned slightly higher than they normally would be. The chrome chest looks rad as hell, but I hate how the Autobot insignia is almost positioned in the gap where it should be. Love the jet black for the hands and thighs, along with the red waist being a rich shade. The best part would have to be the clear plastic for the red and green bits on the lower shins, with the blue bits painted on. The wing kibble, essential for his silhouette, is articulated for a more dynamic look with ratchet joints to boot.

Head sculpt is sharp and manages to feel the most like a G1 Grimlock head, and I like how the mouth plate is in a gunmetal shade of gray to contrast the black from the rest of the helmet. His visor is in blue chrome reminiscent MP-01 Optimus Prime and the RID 2001 Transformers. His articulation gives him a neck swivel and neck hinge combo, the same leg articulation from dino mode now serving as the arms, with double-jointed elbows, wrist articulation, and ball-jointed thumbs, an individual finger joint, and the rest of the fingers conjoined for the left hand joining along. There is a waist swivel, hips that move front and back as well as in and out, thigh rotation, knee articulation, and slight foot movement.

For his accessories, he has his signature sword in clear plastic and a chrome red hilt. The blade is colorless but is done as such for a good reason.

The gun is mostly painted black with only the handle and twin barrels left in unpainted clear plastic. The more articulated left hand can hold these weapons by using a small peg near the wrist to keep them in place better given how the handles are 5mm ports.

They both light up when they're held in the right hand, something I wished to show on my RID 2001 Scourge/Car Robots Black Convoy if it weren't for the light up gimmick being removed. Seeing the sword blade and the gun barrels light up is cool, though they, along with the light-up Matrix from MP-01 Prime and the LED in MP-05 Megatron's fusion cannon are a reminder of how Masterpiece gimmicks used to be.

And what is a king without his crown? The one included with Grimlock is astounding on him, making his head stand out even more. Combine that with the optional chrome red visor by flicking the switch up on the back with his head, and it screams Marvel Comics.

As far as reuses are concerned, this is the original MP Grimlock that was from TakaraTomy. He came with the IQ transfer helmet used on Computron and plenty of water accessories, both of which are associated with Season 3. This version is more or less similar to the one I have and the 2014 Hasbro reissue thing in with Age of Extinction.

All other releases came without the butler and helmet accessories, starting with King Grimlock, colored to resemble the Marvel Comics with blue replacing the black, an orange-bladed sword, silver paint applied on the gray plastic, a bluish silver for the arms, and gold dino talons for the feet. I was so close to getting this but at least I still got the mold.

And finally, this is the 2010 version Hasbro put out. The colors appear to lean more towards toy-accuracy, and his hips, thighs, and biceps have additional paint apps to further push the homage. He comes with the crown rather than the butler gear and helmet which is fine if you got this one. Him Grimlock no butler, him king.

For a size comparison, here he is next to the SS86 version once again. The Leader Class version definitely favors cartoon-accuracy more, but I still feel the older toy is still a great figure to get if you don't care that he isn't the same size as the other Dinobots. Seriously, the Masterpiece version is somehow easier to get than any version of the Leader Class mold. Whether it's regular Takara, King Grimlock, this version, or the Hasbro version, you can't go wrong with a standalone Grimlock that may or may not fit with your current MP display given how short he is compared to any version of Optimus. That and how Takara never made the other Dinobots.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐