Transformers Legacy United Dinoking review

The G1 Dinobots weren't the only representation of prehistoric beasts that are long extinct; Japan's Victory series, part of a Takara G1 sequel trilogy that included The Headmasters and Super God Masterforce, featured redecoes of the Pretender Monsters as the Dinoforce. Just as powerful yet even stupider, this team consisted of six robots with shells unique from the Hasbro versions, with techno-organic dinosaurs that predate the Beast Era concept. While the original toy was plagued with non-descript alt modes, Pretender Shells that deteriorate badly for both versions and gold plastic syndrome in the case of Monstructor, perhaps getting a CHUG version is only logical. That being said, we didn't get anything like this in Power of the Primes. I don't think fans would want to collect a niche combiner compared to the G1 cartoon locals like Legacy Menasor or the upcoming SS86 Devastator. Now Hasbro has a unique 6-pack that was redecoed from last year's Legacy Evolution Dinobots, so a question we should be asking ourselves is if the newly assigned characters and added accessories make this set better than Volcanicus?

Here we have the Dinoforce all together in their beast modes, each of which has their respective weapons integrated for anyone wanting to make these a little more distinct from the Dinobots. I say that because there are no major tooling differences between these and their heroic mold mates. Everything depends on the different color layouts associated with each character. But if you're someone who doesn't care about the original Volcanicus set and would stick with the SS86 Dinobots while getting this instead, you won't have much to complain about. At the very least, these dino modes are meant to be colored like the dinosaur shells.

Let's first cover the leader of the set with Goryu, a redeco of Grimlock. While the tooling between both figures is the same, the plastic and paint operation layout applied to the Dinoforce leader does try to make him more distinct from the traditional G1 Grimlock deco of gray and gold. I do appreciate that the paint apps on the dino head make for a decent attempt at giving a distinct appearance to the Dino head, almost giving the illusion of being newly tooled when you see the snout in green compared to the rest of the silver face, in addition to the narrow eyes unlike Grimlock's.. At least the teeth are painted in silver, with Grimloks stuck in the bare gray plastic like the rest of him.

Transformation is the same for every figure, and you'll still get some of the character-specific details associated with the G1 Dinobots, such as the chest design on Grimlock and the back kibble wings made from the T-Rex body. That being said, the different plastic color layout, combined with the addition of silver for the chest to break up the green from the torso, helps Goryu disassociate himself less from the Dinobot king. His head sculpt, combined with the new club accessory, are new additions to the figure. I don't like that the white plastic looks almost soapy in texture, with the sculpted details lost compared to the gray plastic on Grimlock, and the rest of the toy ends up looking cheap. If a wash were possible, then maybe that would help bring out the details better.

Up next is Kakuryu, a reuse of Slag. Slag's dino mode admittedly looks rather plain with how predominantly gray his dino mode looks, coloring-wise. The gold paint apps and the minor bits of red from the insignia and blue from the eyes try to keep it from looking like a prototype. Kakuryu appears to match some of the color scheme traits of his inner robot mode rather than the Pretender shell, though it does at least means he will match the torso of the combined robot mode better in his butterscotch mustard coloring. Even still, he has a bit of a similar prototype or bootleg look to his color scheme.

The robot mode still retains the same recognition as G1 Slag's design, but I am surprised that within that dino mouth is a new head sculpt with a visor and mouthplate to better match the Dinoforce goon rather than basically be Slag withan evil deco. I do appreciate that the Decepticon insignia is applied onto the chest, and the color-break-up for the forearms and the lower legs are greatly appreciative, especially since Slag's arms and legs only have black for the hands and gold for the toes. He has the new blaster as well as an axe with a twin turret gun attached to the top. Maybe so it can work a la Animated Optimus Prime's axe!

And this is Gairyu, a redeco of Scarr. I feel like this figure was waiting to be redecoed into a Dinoforce character the most out of the G1 Dinobots, especially when the olive green and gunmetal grey/black look great on this non-80s Dinobot character. He reminds me somewhat of those Dino Thunder Biozord decos where they were green before the Rangers purified them. His dino mode matches the deco of the inner robot toy.

The robot mode made up also works best for either character, though Gairyu's got a smirk sculpted in his new head. It's an extra bit of personality that I like seeing on some Transformers figures. You would think his weapons are not new, but what will become the left hand is a new accessory with a wrist swivel and hinge within the forearm part, and it is cast in gunmetal grey plastic without being light grey plastic painted black. Let's hope it stays on better.

 

Another character in the 6-pack, Yokuryu is made from the Swoop mold. He feels like one of those G2 repaints that leaves the toy looking ghastly, and doubly so with how cheap the white plastic looks. As I said before, having some parts in a wash would have helped make the sculpted details pop especially when Swoop looks mostly fine thanks to the addition of gold for the head and more bits of red and blue. He also has some missiles on the wings that were replaced by the new forearm piece on Yokuryu. The color scheme correlates with the inner robot toy.

Robot mode looks better this time around with the new color combo than in beast mode, with a layout almost like RID Ultra Magnus's. Hell, the new accessory could be a red herring to the Blue Bolts accessory from the car carrier. It may not seem like it, but Yokuryu's head is also retooled from Swoop's, though it's fairly subtle out of the whole set.

With two-thirds of the set covered, we now have Rairyu. He looks like a knockoff of Sludge when you consider they both have gold paint apps with almost identical shades to them, only the grey is replaced with soapy white plastic while some of the red details are replaced with black. The dino mode looks to match the Pretender shell this time around.

The robot mode still shares the wonky birthing hips and the dino shell wings etched on the arms, but they can be hidden somewhat with the giant arm cannons that go on Rairyu. They also distract from the cheap white plastic somewhat, even if you want to notice and appreciate the newly tooled head.

And finally, we have Doryu. He's the last in the set like Snarl was last year, and he, too, feels like a weird mix between G2 reject, knockoff, and prototype when you compare the prominent white and blue versus the traditional G1 colors on Snarl. That's because his deco matches the inner robot toy. I'd say the white and blue, combined with the roundness, probably makes me think of Homer Simpson, but the lack of yellow makes me think more of those really awful Aero Gear and Cop Gear knockoffs of Micromasters and Spy Changers Thew Adams trashed in 2012's Knockoff Beatdown. 

The robot mode still has the Snarl-specific details like the torso shape, leg transformation, and the tail half winglets, but at least it's better than having Aero Gear's complete hollowness, cheap nosecone, and rotting wheels. Same goes for Cop Gear's leprosy, aids, production grooves, uneven feet, and the laziest stickers of all time. His retooled head does look like he had his ears shaved off from Snarl's, though! On a side note, he retain's Snarl's dagger while also including a new scythe.

The Dinoforce line-up certainly changes things up from the more traditional and uniform Dinobot group, from the more distinct head sculpts that contrast the more familiar faces to the color break up different from the grey, gold, and black of the heroic moldmates. Anyone find it interesting how Japan usually sees dinosaur characters as villains unless it's tokusatsu? I mean, everyone in the rest of the world would take a look at some dinosaur characters and wonder who'd be good or evil, unless it's a group of dinos representing the Dinobots or four teams of the Power Rangers lineage.

Combining these figures into Dinoking is the same as it's been for the Volcanicus set, right down to the partsforming needed on the stego backplate as well as separating the Tricera rump into a stomach guard and the new head. You have the new forearms to attach to their respective owners' legs to add some needed combiner bulk lacking on Volcanicus. Finally, we have new feet to attach to the legs, which not only complete the look of Dinoking but also add an extra bit of height and articulation. Much like as a group, Dinoking looks better when combined rather than separate, especially when you have some of the cheaper-looking white areas ratio'd by the better-looking areas on the toy, coloring and plastic-finish wise. I also appreciate that Dinoking has a specific form of color asymmetry with the limbs, with the right side having blue and white with the left side having olive green. The butterscotch mustard coloring on Kakuryu doesn't look too cheap when the rest of the limbs are brought together, though I kind of wish Hasbro painted those parts in gold. Overall, a fairly good-looking set for a combiner we'd probably never get in a larger scale.

Head sculpt is the best part about the set, with a blue dome on a silver frowny face that almost looks like a bad guy Ultra Magnus. It's somewhat pinheaded, but it depends on some of the angles you see this mug in. Articulation consists of rotation at the 5mm ports for the neck, shoulders, and the rotation near the knees, hinges for the outward shoulder movement, elbows, and knees, universal joints for the hips, and a swivel for the waist. The feet include ankle pivots for some added stability missing on Volcanicus. Speaking of missing on Volcanicus, Hasbro provided Dinoking the ability to combine the weapons into a proper battle axe with an appropriately long handle and a blaster associated with the old toy. It puts some use to that little dagger 

For an idea on what some new parts and an entirely different color scheme can do to a toy, here is Dinoking next to Volcanicus. It's clear to see that the Core Class Dinobots, despite intended to be versions of the G1 characters, were secretly meant to be the Dinoforce group thanks to how they combine as a six-bot team in addition to the layout for each component. Power of the Primes gave us a version of Volcanicus that was, for its time, the best we'd get with CHUG-style Dinobots while having them combine for the line's gimmick. It made sense for Grimlock to be the leader and the torso of the set while everyone else would be a Deluxe, especially if it means planning ahead for retools later down the line. The Legacy Evolution version, meanwhile, features Volcanicus as an example of a planned pretool for Dinoking, yet with Hasbro already having the SS86 Dinobots undergoing completion at the time, it's easy to say that the Dinobots were just a test run to see how people would react to the molds before we'd have the Dinoforce proper. While the price you're paying for this set isn't fully justified compared to buying the individual Core Class figures, this feels like a great way to say goodbye to the Core Class line a la BBM Starscream. Not perfect but still with a good level of effort put into it regardless.

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

Power Rangers Dino Thunder Thundersaurus Megazord review

For anyone wanting to know what Power Rangers season got me into the series, it was Ninja Storm. However, I remember having Wild Force juice bottles, Time Force coloring books, a Lightspeed Rescue Pink Ranger from McDonalds, and a Lost Galaxy non-transforming That being said, Dino Thunder got me hooked even further. Between the history lessons from Ranger lore before 2004 (with the benefit of re-runs for older seasons) and the awesome mix of action, story, and humor that'd put modern tokusatsu media to shame, what's not to love? I didn't have many Dino Thunder toys at the time likely because my parents struggled to buy me expensive toys unless it was for a birthday or Christmas, so the closest I got to the Thundersaurus Megazord experience was a 5-inch non-transforming version amd later a Mega Bloks one that I don't know what happened to it. I did see the Deluxe one whenever I could, and I almost wanted to check it out after only witnessing this nostalgic blue box. 2 decades later, with a full-time job, an eBay account, and a gap to fill, I finally got my hands on this figure, so let's see if this 20-year-long wait is worth it.

Here we have the Biozords in-hand. I always loved the aesthetics of the Zords in Dino Thunder, from the perfect balance of mechanical designs and organic proportions, in addition to the higher variety we have rivaling almost that of Dino Charge and even Dino Fury's line-ups. Dino Thunder's Zords felt like proper Power Rangers designs, no doubt because they look badass and closer to actual dinosaurs compared to the more cartoony Dino Charge designs or the Dino Fury line-up having either decent Zord designs or blocks with shapes sculpted out of them. And as much as I respect PowerRangerTube/Gram, I disagree with his comment that these look too robotic when the MMPR designs, iconic as they are, felt blockier and man-made by comparison. While the Tricera and Pterazords are much smaller than the Tyrannozord, they still manage to stand out in their own right, between being 2/3rds of primary colors as well as the plethora of paint apps to match the design traits of the Tyrannozord. That being said, please excuse the chipped paint on some copies, notably the green diamonds that are supposed to be on the Pterazord. The scale also isn't as lopsided if you pair up the smaller Zords together compared to the Ninja Storm Hawk and Dolphin Zords. 

The articulation of the Zords consist of opening jaws for the Tyranno and Tricerazords, two points at the tiny arms with specific indents for the Tyrannozord, three points at the legs for the larger zord, and a tail that can move up and down or rotate somewhat before it bumps into the rest of the dino parts. The Tricerazord's feet can hinge back halfway through if you want it to stand over a car for display options, though that's about it. The Pterazord has two points at the neck while the wings can swivel and hinge; the tiny feet can move back somewhat, though not all the way given the cheek guards are for the Megazord helmet.

For a brief moment in the show, the Thundersaurus Megazord functioned without the Pterazord, leaving it in an incomplete state without the helmet and chest plate. To compensate that, the tails of the two Zords can make a sword while the Tricerazord serves as a shield, not unlike the Mastodon Shield for the original Megazord. This happened only once, but you can tell that the designers did want to make the sword and shield configuration a thing as one of the many play features this Megazord can utilize. It could be argued that the MMPR homage is sort of there, but then again, the Elephant Zord from Wild Force did a similar trick (and Zyuranger, MMPR's Sentai counterpart, wasn't as impactful in Japan compared to the rest of the world). 

For the Megazord proper, it's quite a simple process of straightening out the Tyranno legs before hinging the hip panels down to the shins (in addition to opening them from the top). The legs can also move in unison with what will be the crotch, allowing them to have a clip meant for the Pterazord, You get a bit of rotation at the waist before attaching the Tyranno head in place. The Tricerazord's legs fold away while the Pterazord becomes more compact while attaching onto the chest. The helmet clips in place with some spring-loaded nubbins on the Megazord head's ears, though it does make it shift to either side with how it's engineered. The resulting Thundersaurus Megazord looks awesome even with a few proportion oddities. Some will comment that the legs are spread rather far apart at the hips (shaddap) while the torso appears rather short because of how the Tyrannozord transforms. It's common to see Megazords not include the most anatomical of proportions, especially on three-piece offerings, though it does look fairly close to the proportions in the show. The main concerns would be making the legs closer to each other while finding the right spot for an elbow joint on that left arm. Speaking of arms, I find the whole dino head and tail combo very reminiscent of Beast Wars Megatron.

The head sculpt is rather tiny, and it doesn't help how the helmet practically swallows the face combined with the ring that holds the Tyranno head in place. If it was a larger scale, it'd at least make the proportions fairly even. I have seen some other versions of this design with better proportioned heads, though a lot of them are non-transforming. The articulation is the opposite of most Hasbro and recent Sentai offerings, with only rotation at the shoulders, outward arm movement for the left arm thanks to it being the tail, and slight leg movement that is rather hindered thanks to the panel system and the hips clashing with the folded-up Tyranno arms. At least you can use the tail as a drill a la the finisher. This figure has it in On, Off, and Try Me modes, with the former being all the way in the back while the latter utilizes a newly tooled button near the left side of the chest while the toy is in the box, letting consumers try out the tail feature before buying it; it can still be accessed in this mode by pressing on the wing, believe it or not.

The Pterazord can be removed and reconfigured into its zord mode as a Pterarang, though it's only resting between the horns and was rarely used in the show. Same goes for Radar Mode, where the aforementioned sword configuration now serves as a spear of sorts. It does reveal the Megazords' rather stumpy arms.

For a comparison with the Bandai Japan version, the molds are identical beyond the try me feature, but Abarenoh features paint apps not featured in the US version, a greenish shade of gold for their Tricerazord horns and Pterazord, the shins having gold chrome instead of painting them, gold paint for the hip triangles and heel claws, silver paint for the helmet and Tricera legs, and more silver paint for the bumps on the Tricera head. The differences are nothing too severe, as the Thundersaurus Megazord still looks complete as it is while keeping some of the chrome on the shoulders. Of note, there was a multipack that featured the Cephalazord along with some vinyl figures of the three Abarangers. Yes, I am interchanging the names between PR and Sentai versions, deal with it. Though I can't deal with there being two opportunities at getting Cephala while the rest of the world never got it.

As far as Japanese-exclusive reuses are concerned, there is the "Another" Abarenoh version representing the Biozords in their pre-tamed state, with a two-tone green deco and bronze combo adding a unique sense of uniformity that almost fits for a military camo. This was not used in the US toyline, but we did have a repaint for the 5-inch version known as the Triasaurus Megazord. I'll be honest and say that it felt like a vague memory given how rare it was while I stuck with my fully colored version...though I wish my brother and I each got a specific deco version of the 5-inch mold. Anyways, new to me after years of obsessing over this mold is a black and silver version of Abaranoh, likely included as part of a giveaway only in Japan or another Asian country that airs Sentai or renames it as Power Rangers.

Here is an interesting reuse that features actual retooling, consisting of Bakurenoh that was featured in a movie as well as one episode. We have a Carnotaur retooled from the Tyrannozord as well as a Chasmosaur from the Tricerazord, with a chilling dark blue, teal, purple, and white color combo that stands out from the primary colors of the original Thundersaurus tooling. Changing things even further are the retooled dino and Megazord heads, with frills that go into the sides of the Carnotaur head. Bakurenoh made a brief cameo in the show proper, which explains why we saw this so-called Replicantzord in Dino Thunder...though it doesn't explain why our Blizzard Force Megazord is redecoed inaccurately! It'd be one thing if we have fewer paint apps and no chrome whatsoever (despite the stock photos clearly showing chrome), but to replace any purple or teal with red while leaving the Carnotaur teeth in a decaying yellow? And what's the point of a green Pterazord if it was never included in the original version and has less to do with the arctic theme? There's nowhere for the helmet to go, and this would have been a great way to include the Cephalazord!

What is even stranger is that our Blizzard Force Megazord was accompanied by other versions of the design in smaller toy forms, with a non-transforming action figure that only had a sword and a light-up chest, while a Thunder Morphin version of the Red Ranger was retooled to turn into the Carnotaur, though it was called the G-Rex. What they meant by that, we'll never know. Same for why those toys have the proper colors and the Deluxe one couldn't. And as much as I'll love Dino Thunder as my favorite season ever, it's a shame the series never used the Abaranger movie or at least the Megazord fighr where the Tyrannodrill was briefly cut off and used by the evil retool for a double drill attack.

For a size comparison, here is the Thundersaurus Megazord with a Leader Class Transformer made 5 years after Dino Thunder ended (or 6 if you refer to Abaranger). Being a head shorter was a standard for some Megazords, though it depended on the season or year they came out. Some were taller than this design, others were not. But overall, these two have one thing in common, being part of my childhood as gaps that are now filled. The Thundersaurus Megazord may not have any alternatives such as ZAP or Soul of Chogokin, but the original version is worth getting for the arm-swapping gimmick, the chunkier plastics long lost through time, and the badass designs Dino Thunder was known for. I hope to get the other Auxiliary Zords as well as the Dino Stegazord and Mezodon Megazords. We'll see what can be done with the Brachio and Blizard Force offerings, though. Despite its limited articulation, the play features, especially that Tyranno drill, more than make up for it. That being said, make sure your copy has everything important included as well as there being no broken clips.

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

Marvel Legends Death's Head review

Hrn. Death's Head is a freelance peacekeeping agent, not a bounty hunter, yes? He was one of the many highlights of the Marvel Transformers run, hmm? Many would later find out he would encounter other characters either directly or loosely associated with Marvel Comics; Iron Man 2020, the Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man, as some examples, right? There is also his unique verbal. mannerisms that feel more creative than the usual quirks writers would come up with to be "funny", eh? Previously, Death's Head was handsomely immortalized in the Marvel Universe line, which had 3 3/4 inch figures, and later received a Legends figure in his second form, yes? Now why not look at the highly anticipated Marvel Legends version of the more classic design, you ask?

Here we have Death's Head in hand. Sculpt-wise, this figure is incredible, as it perfectly captures the larger-than-life physique associated with the character. I love that the armor has some battle damage applied to it, befitting the character's role as a freelance peacekeeping agent, though that is used to the shoulder pads while the skirt armor is relatively intact. I find it amusing that said shoulder pads are held together by a tiny like what you'd see in some bra designs. I greatly appreciate that the paint apps we have going on are plentiful and applied properly overall, with no transparency that plagues some of the cheaper Legends Hasbro usually pumps out. That said, the reused parts here are miniscule but they appear to originally come from Colossus according to some sources. I do wish Hasbro could paint the metallic body parts as they have with Colossus, especially at the price we're getting for a figure like this. Not only that, but the cape, as nice as it looks with its textures and the slight damage implemented for the bottom section, is rigid as is the case with many plastic capes on Legends figures. With the higher price tag, I would have at least appreciated either a wash to go with it OR a wired cape to let Hasbro get some form of added competition against McFarlane and other companies. They could get some respect back after stumbling with the poor decisions they made of late. So to summarize, I love the design and the effort put into the new tooling, but the lack of silver paint and the missed opportunities of the cape do knock some points off.

His head sculpt is marvelously demonic, what with the furrowed eyebrows, the piercing eyes, and the blood-red horns, and that's not to mention the tusks and yellow "teeth" on the mouth region! I just wish there was a coat of silver paint applied to make him pop more. His articulation consists of a ball and neck hinge combo, rotation at the shoulders, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, single-jointed elbows, wrist rotation (with said wrists popping off too easily), inward wrist hinges, a diaphragm joint, waist rotation, ball jointed wrists, thigh rotation, double-jointed knees, boot rotation, ankle hinges, and rockers.

After removing the barely-stable hands from the wrist sockets, you are free to give Death's Head clenched fists or one of three weapons. The axe or spike ball can be placed in the right arm, while the left hand can be shown holding the shield, albeit with the grip in addition to the small size.

The other display options include what may be a missile launcher or a punch dildo, and the left hand can still hold the spike ball if you really want. Interesting how there is no right hand to hold weapons. At least you can put all three weapons onto the shield for proper storage.

If you recall my Studio Series reviews, I normally haven't commented on their backdrops in so long because I lost interest in constantly repeating the same scenes that were included...in addition to never including them back in the first two years' worth of reviews, but you can use the backdrop from the box for the figure if you're not going to throw it away. Compared to the Marvel Universe version, I am happy to report that this is more than just an upscale of the 3 3/4 inch figure, though I wish he was painted silver in some areas like that figure. Marbleized plastic doesn't do the sculpt justice.

For a size comparison, here he is in between two of the characters he interacted with, such as Spider-Man and Shockwave. The latter was known for getting killed by him. I find the scale to fit fairly well for either collection, though neither Marvel Superheroes nor Transformers can be put together simultaneously (in addition to Death's Head shrinking after an encounter with Doctor Who). Overall, Death's Head is close to being a perfect figure. I feel this dude has a whole lot more passion put into him compared to the other larger, more Deluxe figures we've had in the same year, whether it's Deluxe Jean Grey's overpriced set that'd make Toy Biz purists laugh, Odin having all marbleized plastic, and Hulkbuster Iron Man being taller more poseable, and including numerous display options than the Select version yet having a weak deco. Death's Head generally looks great, has plenty of fun display options, and represents a great bit of value for money sorely lacking in Legends, but some issues are holding him back right now. I do hope that my copies hands are the only ones that come off too easily, so in case it's a one-off issue, I'll keep this at a slightly higher rank. Let's hope we get a Transformers redeco, yes?

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of five ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐