Transformers Retro Headmasters Skullcruncher review

Crocodiles are fascinating creatures; they feel more like logical successors to dinosaurs than birds do, what with their predatory nature being on-par with the carnivores as well as how similar they feel as far as scaly appearances are concerned. As for Skullcruncher, there's not much else to say about his character apart from the only other major appearance of his being from Cyberverse. Maybe this figure will make me like the character more? We'll see if this or the Cyberverse one is worth getting.

Here we have Skullcruncher in his beast mode. It's a crocodile/alligator with hot pink in some parts! He's definitely got that late-80s color scheme look to him that G1 toys used, but it works in his favor despite the layout being funky. Tbe front is predominantly green while his abdomen and tail are pink (his limbs switching colors is a bit of variety I appreciate). I like how organic and mean this mode looks, from the sculpted details to the anatomy of the beast mode. The articulation is also good, as the jaw opens while the head moves around on a ball joint; the fore legs move up and down while they swivel on biceps and hinge on elbows. The waist swivels, and the hind legs move around on ball joints.

Opening the cockpit is pretty awkward, as it's not only made of a rubber material but it also doesn't feel easy to open and close. This should have been fixed for this release, and sitting inside the cockpit is Grax! He's green and black with a red visor and a faceplate on his back. Not much else to say.

Making the Trio Formation is super easy! All you need to do is have the other two Decepticons and balance them in this order! No tabs or third party pieces needed! Hell, let's make an even cooler combination with Snapdragon and Apeface!

Transforming Skullcruncher is fairly easy, and it is similar to the way Weirdwolf transforms with forelegs becoming arms, tail partsforming, and the head goes on the back. At least his legs transform differently, but that's about it. The robot mode itself is perfectly fine, though now he looks like he's wearing gloves and lower boots in hot pink. I suppose the design is accurate to the character, but the bigger issues come from the lack of heel spurs. Because of how hollow the lower legs are combined with the big crocogater head, he's not an easy guy to have standing up. Weirdwolf at least had heels that were good to keep him standing. Also, while the white on his chest looks fine, it looks cheap on his claws and waist/thighs. And I see some other hollow parts I don't like.

Head sculpt is that of the Headmasters anime depiction, with a red visor and a blockier head. At least the gold and red add a bit of color variety. For the new points of articulation, his head is on a ball joint, shoulders are on ball joints, hips move front and back, in and out, thigh swivels, and knee bends. He can hold his gun on one hand and mount his tail on his claw forearm.

If you want, you can combine the tail and sword so a Headmaster can pilot it and have a bit of mini artillery. 

Let's go over the prior versions of the mold; this is Titans Return Skullsmasher, with a more desaturated color scheme and a toy-accurate head without red eyes. He's not that different from the new one apart from the loose hips and knees.

Here we have Skull (yes, his name is shortened), with a color scheme much closer to the anime on top of having the same head the Retro Headmasters version has. Included with him is a vehicle accessory named Butla, repainted from Crashbash.

And here we have one of the only repaints for the Decepticons to be reused for a different character, that being Krok with Gatorface. Originally an Action Master, this guy gets a proper toy with an even cooler head and deco compared to Skullcruncher/smasher! Best of all, his legs aren't loose!

For a comparison, here he is with his fellow Decepticons from the Retro Headmasters line. They all look great when they're present together, much like the Autobots are now that Highbrow is with them. But should you get Skullcruncher? Honestly, apart from the design flaws, I'd mainly recommend him to completionists and those who never owned the prior versions of the mold. If you already have the Titans Return version you're good to go.

And let's round things out with Apeface and Snapdragon, both of which are from the War for Cybertron line (Siege and Earthrise, respectively). Honestly, it's neat that Hasbro went back and made Retro Headmaster versions of the prominent characters from the show, but if you own the original versions of the molds, you may want to skip them in spite of the nostalgia; some new features like ankle pivots would make them go well with the WFC display.

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

Transformers Retro Headmasters Weirdwolf review

Weirdwolf doesn't really have much of a wolf look to him and he really isn't that weird. Some apparently say that he talks like Yoda, but it varies in the fiction. His beast head does resemble Sixshot's beast head, but then again, Sixshot's the more famous of the two. I guess people remember him from Thew's review of the toy. Either that or the one time he had a repaint of Cybertron Snarl. It's alright if you have low expectations for who he is, but there's not much else to talk about. Honestly, I think a more interesting thing about him is his color scheme. Let's just review him.

Here we have Weirdwolf in his beast mode, which is a wolf with a weird color scheme. He's quite the mechanized design, yet nowhere near as overly robotic as the beast mode of Sixshot or the boxy lame mode of Pounce. He has a bit of a Zoids vibe to his design, what with the anatomy, sculpted details, and the missile pods on the shoulders. The deco is decent though it is fairly minimal, and the main colors come from the white of the head and tail, the yellow of the upper torso and limbs, and the lower legs. Its articulation is pretty good, with a head that can turn, tilt, and open its jaw, forelegs that move front and back, in and out, swivel, bend, and even have paws on ball joints; the hind legs move front and back, in and out, bend at the knees, and even use some articulation at the ankles. You can store the cannon on his back (it's also possible with a 5mm peg underneath him but he'll have a doggy dick.

The cockpit can open up to reveal Monzo! There's some empty space inside but we'll get to that in a bit. It should be worth mentioning the cockpit may have the same fragility issues present with prior versions.

Here he is up-close, with two different colors and a red face. Not much else to say about him beyond he's got the same colors on his faceplate. 

Transformation is typical straighten-limbs-remove-tail-replace-head technique. Sure, it does some new things like rearrange the shins and shorten the torso, but that's literally it. Skullcruncher's transformation is similar but at least it knows how to avoid being that basic. The robot mode looks fine overall, and while he looks fine from the front, his wolf head sticking out and his cockpit hanging low are both dumb.

Head sculpt looks fine, and while the helmet may look a bit like Fort Max, the face and visor being the same color does look kind of weak (I know it's supposed to be like that). His articulation is the same as before, but with a new kind of head movement and a waist swivel. His sword can be held in his hands, while his gun can be held on the hands or (better) stored on the other 5mm ports.

The gun can allow a Titan Master to hitch a ride if you want more play pattern features. Maybe get some other Titan Master vehicles if you want.

As far as prior uses are concerned, this is the Titans Return version. This version has more paint apps added on it as well as a toy-accurate faceplate. He was also named Wolfwire in this release.

And this is the Takara version, representing his colors in the Headmasters anime. He has a redeco of Apeface's vehicle now named Rarigo. Yeah the name is dumb.

For a comparison with Mindwipe, they're about the same height. As far as figures are concerned, if we ignore the possibility that Mindwipe's wings won't be fixed, he's a stronger figure than Weirdwolf is due to his unique transformation and more interesting design. Weirdwolf's an average Deluxe at best, and the changes here are not enough to convince me that he is worth getting if you got the Titans Return version. Only get him if you never owned a copy.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Retro Headmasters Highbrow review

We're back to reviewing the Retro Headmasters once more! Now, Highbrow is one of those characters who doesn't quite get as much attention as the other guys do. Chromedome's obviously a major protagonist in The Headmasters show on top of having status as the boyfriend of Rewind in IDW's comics. Brainstorm, on the other hand, was given some spotlight in the IDW series for his unique character attributes and was the only one of the original four to receive a faithful toy before Titans Return (Chromedome and Hardhead were repaints of pre-existing figures while Highbrow instead had a Hunt for the Decepticons mold), and Hardhead's pretty much great for the tank design and his role as the strong one. That doesn't mean that there are no interesting things to say about Highbrow, though. Let's see how he turned out in this review!

Here we have Highbrow in his vehicle mode, a twin-propellor helicopter of made-up design. As far as design choices are concerned, it does look like the weakest of the Autobot Headmasters. The bulk of the vehicle mode is too clunky and unrefined, the wings look too small, and I don't think the propellers are long enough to give it the flight capability it's known for. The coloring of the vehicle is pretty simple, but it doesn't feel as uniform as it should be. I do appreciate that some paint apps are on the fuselage as well as parts of the wings, but that's about it. If you notice how my copy's guns are placed, they're using the rectangular slots to make use of the faux landing gear. The cockpit opens up to reveal our Head/Titanmaster buddy, Xort!

The Headmaster himself is cast in 3 different colors of plastic, with some paint apps for the gray and silver on the head. He's about the same as with every other Titans Return toy. That being said, I noticed that the hips aren't attached with a pin like with the other figurines are, and they use friction instead. Were they like that in Titans Return?

Transforming him is pretty simple, with the only really interesting thing being how the spine goes up the chest. It's nothing all that special, but it does what it needs to if you're not as picky over a toy's basic transformation as I am. The robot mode of this guy does feel the least altered from the G1 toy if I'm being honest; while Chromedome was given a similar skeleton to Dead End, at least he as well as Brainstorm and Hardhead look refined by comparison. He's quite basic by comparison, and while that won't make him the worst toy ever, he's still pretty lacking as far as the robot mode is concerned. I also don't like how the cockpit is slapped on his back as well as his propellers just being left unattended at the back of his shoulders. Pretty dumb if you ask me.

Head sculpt looks very nice, especially with this being the Takara Legends face plate instead of the Hasbro one (which is more toy-accurate while this is more accurate to the Headmasters show). The differences between this head and the Hasbro one are not that prominent, to be honest. His articulation is not too shabby, with the same head movement as with every figure in the line he originates; the shoulders move around on ball joints, the elbows swivel as well as bend, and the hips move front and back as well as in and out. The thighs swivel and the knees bend. He can hold his guns as a Transformer with 5mm hands would normally do.

The weapons can be combined to form a seat cannon that a Titan Master can sit on, and while you may open the chest for a bit of a Tech Spec Easter Egg, it won't really be anything special.

As far as prior uses are concerned, they were only used for Highbrow and no one else. This is the Hasbro version, which doesn't look that different apart from the added paint apps for the cockpit trim and his Hasbro toy-accurate head. Stuff like the paint not being used on the tail propellor is odd as hell, though.

And this is the Takara version of Highbrow, which has different colors that are even closer to The Headmasters as well as the head we have here. The vehicle accessory that came with Loudmouth is named Cargot, a trend of included incentives to justify paying more for a Deluxe.

For a size comparison, here he is with all of the other Autobots included in the line. They look great as a team, especially considering how prominent they were in the Headmasters show, despite not being a fan of it. Weirdly, they remind me of King of the Hill's Hank (Chromedome), Dale (Brainstorm), Bill (Hardhead), and Boomhauer (Highbrow). Maybe it's because I crosswired two interests of mine. As for Highbrow himself, he is by no means a bad toy, though he does feel a little lacking compared to the other guys, especially Brainstorm and Hardhead impressing me the most of them all. If you got the Hasbro version, you probably don't need him since there's no major difference between that and what we have here.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Star Wars: The Black Series Boba Fett (Deluxe) review

Many love Boba Fett solely for his appearance, voice, and involvement in the original Star Wars trilogy. Generally speaking, he is a fan favorite though he does have the typical aspect of not doing as much. Honestly, Jango Fett's a better character in my opinion since he was both a better bounty hunter, had a less-embarrassing defeat and is generally seen as one of the most important aspects of The Clone Wars. Either way, Boba Fett is a cool character to have nonetheless, and he'll make for the obvious yet neat pop-culture fame that people would still go for (even I would love that despite preferring Jango Fett). Now let's take a look at another Deluxe figure review in this line!

Here is Boba Fett in hand, capturing the look his suit has in the movies overall. This is meant to replicate his appearance from Return of the Jedi, but as far as the details are concerned, the sculpting is great and the paint apps are generally good. There are scratches on the armor while the spandex parts of the suit are left untouched but are given a wrinkly look as far as sculpting is concerned. Some nice things I like about the figure are the insignias on the shoulder pads as well as the flamethrower piece on the left arm. His right arm notably has some wires on the elbows, and I like that the knee guards have some silver to represent some secret ammo. The jetpack, however, is a weird one if you ask me. While it has some nice paint apps to make it look warn, I think the colors on it look a little too vibrant if you ask me. Not like a Playskool toy, mind you, but it is kind of distracting and it actually reminds me more of what a ROTJ jetpack toy would look like back then. And yes, the missile can be attached on there. The cape is made out of a PVC material, though it is nicely sculpted (the hole is a safety thing, but it could pass off as a small bullet hole).

Head sculpt (or in this case, helmet sculpt) looks very nicely done as far as the proportions, paint apps, and accuracy is concerned. IF anything, the only annoyance is that the antenna could be a little less crooked. Some say it's a little misshapen out of the box, but it otherwise looks fine to me. His articulation consists of two ball joints on the head and neck, shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, swivels at the elbows as well as bends for them, hands that can swivel as well as hinge up and down for the right hand or in and out for the left hand. There is a diaphragm joint (and the belt doesn't get in the way). The hips move front and back, in and out, they swivel at the thighs, bend at two points for the knees, and the feet swivel as well as hinge and pivot. He has a traditional laser rifle that he can hold in his right hand as well as dual-wield with his left hand. 

Boba Fett's also got a hook that can clip onto his right arm and can be used to sort of lasso up someone like Luke, but attaching it on the forearm is annoying as hell since it doesn't really stay on too well and is probably short. Also included are both the same gun but sliced in half (it can be pegged on but it'll still looked damaged) and a flame effect piece that goes on the left arm! I especially love the fade from yellow into the burning orange.

The jetpack has two small thrusters that can let the jetpack use the flame effect pieces that help it give off the impression that the character is flying, and it's perfectly aided with a flight stand! As we have him go against Mace Windu and Ahsoka Tano, you can see how much I love making my own what-if situations involving Star Wars characters. But is Boba Fett a good toy? I think he might be the best version of the figure in Black Series form, but he's not 100% perfect; I do wish he had more alternate hands, and both the jetpack as well as the hook clip don't stay on that well. Either way, the price for the guy is a wee bit too steep for a regular figure, and unless he had a flight stand, I don't think you should pay more than $29.99 for him.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐