Tag: ToyHax

BadCube OTS-3 Backland

Although Brawny was a little eclipsed by Huff, which arrived on the same day, it’s still a great figure. When I saw an opportunity to pick up Backland (aka Masterpiece Outback), which is sold out everywhere, I jumped at the chance.

The Box

Continuing their two tone style, the box is brown and beige to match the figure inside.

This is the original version so it does not include the spare face and TOE frisbee bomb accessory that were sold in the Quintesson Journal pack. The standard TOE Decepticon detector (which stores in the fuel can like Brawny’s pistol) and large roof-mounted cannon came with both releases.

Being the original release it also has an explanation that BadCube is the new version of Cubex.

The Figure

To differentiate him from Brawny, Backland has the truck grill over his head and faux window panels on his shoulders to evoke his G1 toy and cartoon appearances. Personally, I would have preferred that the grill fold away like Brawny’s does but this way, I guess, he doesn’t need to worry about the rain.

I really wish there was someplace to store the Decepticon detector in robot mode when not in use. It can’t just be left in the box since it’s the core of the fuel can in vehicle mode and the other two parts of the can fill in the robot calves. So you end up with a choice: spare part or gappy legs.

The Truck

I like that they gave Backland a detailed winch instead of the plain bumper on Brawny just like the G1 version had.

The biggest issue with the vehicle mode is the gap in the gas can where the Decepticon detector is hidden which is not a problem Brawny had.

The Comparison

Some comparison shots to really show off the differences between his mold-mate Brawny. He comes out a bit taller due to his head piece.

In the side view you can see the faux windows attached to the shoulders which make getting the arms properly positioned for vehicle mode much more challenging than with Brawny.

Vehicle mode complete with signature roof cannon.

Masterpiece

(Autobot symbols sold separately)

Just like Brawny, Backland fits in well with the rest of the Masterpiece line.

(Autobot symbols sold separately)

The Conclusion

(Autobot symbols sold separately)

This is the fifth BadCube MP mini-bot that I’ve purchased and leaves me with only Grump on my want list.

* “That One Episode” – the obligatory Masterpiece accessory that the character used once in the cartoon.

June 19, 2018
BadCube OTS-10 Slick

I had very good experiences with my first two BadCube mini-bots but their Grump (aka MP Gears) is only available at after-market prices so I thought I should take a look at his mold-mate Slick (aka Masterpiece Swerve) before plunking down any cash for it.

The Box

Continuing their two tone style, the box is red and white to match the figure inside.

As you can see in the photo above, it is also the smallest box that I’ve seen from BadCube so far.

Only two accessories for Slick, a pistol like the one they include with Grump but with no wings on the sides and a TOE (aka “That One Episode” – the obligatory Masterpiece accessory that the character used once in the cartoon) screaming face suitable for use while being trampled by your evil city-bot of choice.

The Figure

Certainly no complaints about this view, it’s clearly Swerve from the original cartoon.

Sadly, in the official transformation, the calves are hollow like on Brawny, except that here there is no gas can to fill the gaps.

Not a deal breaker but a flip out panel like on MP-12 would have been a nice touch.

Fortunately, if the gap bothers you you can borrow some steps from Grump’s transformation and fold the wheels into the calves. It’s nice to have a choice! I prefer the solid legs and plan to keep him in that mode.

Sharing a mold with Grump also gives you an access hatch on his chest with his own unique set of inner workings.

The chest panel is also where the most difficult part of the transformation lies. The two grey posts lock into the front wheels to hold them in place in vehicle mode. Those posts have to swing out to the position of the one on the right in the photo above but tend to either swing back in or swing out to the fully extended position of the one on the left.

The Truck

Never quite an exact match to a real-world vehicle it always looked like a 1950’s or 1960’s pick-up with a custom cargo bed cover to me. I get the same feel from this version, which is a success in my book.

Slick’s rifle stores at the rear of the vehicle mode as a slightly oddly shaped bumper.

The Masterpiece

(Autobot symbol sold separately)

Sad but true, third-party is still the only way to go for Masterpiece mini-bots.

(Autobot symbol sold separately)

The Conclusion

(Autobot symbols sold separately)

In hand this is a fun figure but not as fun as Huff but about the same as Brawny. The transformation is also less intuitive than either Huff or Brawny.

This is the fourth BadCube MP mini-bot that I’ve purchased but the packages crossed in the mail and #3, Piper, should be here soon.

As for Grump, I’m undecided. Do I pay a premium to complete my 1984 mini-bot set or do I hope for a reissue?

June 8, 2018
BadCube OTS-01 Huff v2

I have to be honest, I ordered BadCube’s OTS-01 Huff (aka Masterpiece Huffer) just to see if it was any good. I fully expected to like it less than their Brawny, since that was a newer design. But, in hand, I love Huff! The transformation is simpler but just as effective!

The Box

The box is primarily two colors based on the toy inside.

After writing “Like every other Masterpiece, Brawny includes a special accessory to recreate that one moment from the cartoon” in my Brawny review I have to take those words back since this Masterpiece does not have one. BadCube, if you’re reading this: next reissue, you need to include a tiny version of Lorry that fits into the cab so that we can recreate the single most brain-bending scale issue of the entire series.

The Figure

One obvious flaw with this figure is that the paint on the die-cast parts is several shades darker than the orange plastic used on the rest of the figure.

So, that’s where the truck goes.

The Truck

Much longer than the original but still clearly Huffer.

Huff’s small pistol stores between his knees in vehicle mode, presumably to “leave room for the Holy Spirit“.

The Masterpiece

(Autobot symbols sold separately)

Bumblebee is finally getting some backup.

(Autobot symbols sold separately)

The Conclusion

(Autobot symbols sold separately)

This is my second BadCube figure and #3 is already on the way.

UPDATE: 360 Degree Turnaround

May 30, 2018
BadCube OTS-02 Brawny v2

I recently decided to stop waiting for official masterpiece mini-bots and start filling out the ranks with third-party equivalents. At first, I assumed that I had missed out on BadCube’s Brawny (aka Masterpiece Brawn) since the reissue was sold out everywhere. Fortunately for me, one appeared very briefly on Big Bad Toy Store while I was poking around so I grabbed it.

The Box

The box is a bit plain compared to some of the other third party releases but does emulate the color scheme of the figure inside which is nice.

What really matters is what’s inside the box: Since this is the second edition, it includes some bonus parts originally available only in BadCube’s Quint Journal accessory pack (on the left side of the photo) including a large cannon with roof mount, welder arm attachment and a G2-worthy rage face.

The Figure

The robot mode is very faithful to the original cartoon with both the vehicle cabin backpack and hood sticking up behind his head.

Brawny is no slouch in the weapons department with both a pistol and cannon.

Fully armed and dangerous!

Like every other Masterpiece, Brawny includes a special accessory to recreate that one moment from the cartoon.

Welder arm, only for use on sinking oil rigs

The Land Rover

Like the original G1 toy, Brawny is a modified Land Rover with a grill borrowed from a Jeep.

Brawny’s small pistol stores inside the fuel can that mounts on the back of the vehicle mode. This is probably the only “complaint” that I have, you cannot mount the fuel can without the pistol since that is what holds it together. Due to the “hinge” detail, you need to assemble the fuel can in the correct order, starting with the top half, labeled “L” which snaps onto the post on the front of the folded pistol then the bottom “R” part onto the back post.

Here he is fully tricked out with all of the vehicle mode accessories.

The Masterpiece

(Autobot symbol sold separately)

Brawny fits in well with other Masterpiece-styled figures and gets me one step closer to finishing off the 1984 team.

(Autobot symbol sold separately)

The Conclusion

Brawny, the quicker picker-upper!

This is my first BadCube product but it won’t be my last. In fact, Huff (aka Masterpiece Huffer) is already here. After that the only one of their mini-bots that I won’t be considering is Wardog (aka Masterpiece Warpath) which just doesn’t work for me aesthetically.

UPDATE: 360 Degree Turnaround

May 29, 2018
Bringing the Unexpected: Part Six – The Final Clones

The clone two pack has finally arrived at Junkion HQ and they saved the best for last. (If, like me, you are not lucky enough to have found one in your local Walgreens store, you can order your own on their site.)

Wingspan

The second Decepticon beast is just as fun as the first.

The Robot

Not surprisingly, the new clones look pretty much the same in robot mode.

The Bird

The transformation on these are more satisfying than the first two clones since they include a few more steps. Wingspan’s arms have an extra little piece attached to the shoulder that links the wings to the body and locks everything into place. We can also finally see the reason for the second hinge int he robot hips since it is required for the transformation of the final two clones.

Comparison

Here is Wingspan with his G1 self: shorter but better articulation.

Sadly, my G1 Wingspan can only be called “span” since he no longer has any wings but here they are together in beast mode anyways.

Evil Decepticon Span transforms into a vicious cyber-turkey

And with his updated pal Pounce, he’s the one on the… he’s one of these two.

They’re easier to tell apart in beast mode.

Titan/Prime Master Integration

You can put a Titan or Prime Master onto his back and finally recreate those Lord of the Rings scenes with Transformers like you know you’ve always wanted to.

Cloudraker

Although his jet mode is no more convincing than the original, I still enjoy the air-based Autobot clone.

The Robot

Again, not a radical new look for the robot mode, as expected.

The Plane

Here is where all of the new comes in.

Titan/Prime Master Integration

Like Fastclash before him, Cloudraker includes a flip up panel on his chest that becomes a cockpit in alt mode.

This is a totally natural way to ride a jet

Comparison

Sadly, my G1 Cloudraker has gone missing so here he is in robot mode with G1 Fastlane.

The clone look is really broken by the large spoiler and wheels on Fastclash’s shoulders.

Air and Land attack!

These are totally real vehicles!

Extra: Weapons

Thanks to ToyHax’s Black Friday sale I picked up several of their label and parts sets including the missing weapons for the Autobot clones. Fastclash’s weapons are included in ToyHax’s Chaos on Velocitron set and Cloudraker’s are in their own set.

Cloudraker’s weapons really work well with the jet mode and help give the “arms pointed backwards” fuselage a bit more purpose.

360 Degree Turnaround Videos

Along with the new year, I’m introducing a new feature 360 degree turnaround videos. With these you’ll be able to see front, back and side views of each figure in each mode.

Cloudraker

Wingspan

January 1, 2018
LG-44 Sharkticon

Recent releases from both Hasbro and TakaraTomy have been a celebration of the original animated movie, the latest example of this is LG-44 Sharkticon & Sweeps.

Sharkticon

The Sharkticon mold is a great little ball of terror!

To transform; remove the mace and fold the fin back. Disconnect the top half of the beast mode, split it apart and fold it back to make the robot legs. Fold the beast head halves back to become the robot heels. Move the beast hip joints up until they snap into place to become the robot solders. Spin the beast feet around to become the robot forearms. Fold the beast lower jaw down to become the robot chest then rotate the robot head up out of the torso. Spin the head to face forward then fold up the fin against the robot back.

There’s something almost lovable about this rotund little bot.

Gnaw

This mold was originally released in the US as Titans Return Gnaw.

Takara’s version is mostly grey with purple and blue accents. The fin, beast arms, upper legs and mace are all molded in the same grey as the lower-half of the beast mode. The fists and robot thighs are now in purple to match the beast mode’s mouth.

Sweeps

I skipped LG-26 Scourge the first time around but picked one up specifically to go with Sharkticon’s Sweeps Head Master. There are no differences between the two Head Masters

Sweeps Head Master mustache goes upwards over his cheeks instead of down like Scourge’s.

The Swarm

I’m not usually a troop builder but something about this figure made me want a swarm.

I might have managed with just the one if not for ToyHax and their label upgrade set. The set includes enough labels to customize three figures in their own color scheme. After seeing this, I immediately pictured Gnaw with three squad leaders each backed up with half a dozen color coordinated drones. Sadly, reality and budgetary limitations forced me to scale this back a bit. Now, with the Legends version, my swarm is a quintet – rather appropriate for servants of the Quintessons, I think.

QC Punishment

After greedily ordering three additional Gnaws Karma decided to punish me a bit. Although my first Gnaw is perfect, none of the others can keep their tails in place in beast mode. It was so bad that I even labeled each tail/mace to make sure it gets back to the figure it originally came with.

Conclusion

Despite a few loose tails I’ve really enjoyed these figures and wanted to end with a scene inspired by the movie.

October 29, 2017
Fans Toys FT-27 Spindrift

The Seaspray inspired masterpiece-style Spindrift from Fans Toys has arrived at Junkion HQ.

The Box

The first surprise with Spindrift is that it comes in a very small box for a masterpiece-class figure.

Along with the styrafoam insert Spindrift comes with full-color instructions, trading card, three weapons and a spare head with a more boxy design.

The Robot

One thing that is immediately obvious is that this is a post-diet version of the character. Spindrift is very thin, especially when viewed beside TR Seaspray.

Spindrift includes a pistol in the G1 cartoon generic handgun style as well as two small blasters that can mount on the forearms.

The Hovercraft

A word of warning, the white side pieces lock into the arms very tightly making it difficult to disconnect them when transforming back to robot mode.

The two blasters can be mounted on the hovercraft deck with the pistol between them for a “fully armed and operational” hovercraft.

The Comparisons

As mentioned earlier, Spindrift has a much flatter chest than the G1 inspiration.

The hovercraft mode is shaped much like G1 Seaspray with a pointed bow.

The Conclusion

Although I like the figure, the proportions seem a bit off, with the very thin chest and the trademark oversized feet it looks extremely bottom heavy.

It’s just a bot without a Badge

October 5, 2017
Titans Return Tripplechangers

After much waiting and anticipation the last two Tripplechangers from Titans Return have finally arrived at Junkion HQ.

I hate to say it, but I’m disappointed.

I enjoyed Laser Optimus Prime from Chaos On Velocitron so much that I purchased the original Diac & Optimus Prime to go with it.

I especially liked how the Rodimus Prime head looks on this mold.

But, right out of the box, Blitzwing and Octone both have mangled Decepticon badges. I was able to smooth out the one on Octone but Blitzwing’s was unrecoverable.

I don’t have the pre-mold Megatron version so I was really looking forward to Blitzwing but the stickers are just so poor that it sucks the fun out of the figure. I wasn’t happy with the stickers on Laser Optimus Prime’s trailer, but they’re mostly out of the way, especially in robot mode.

Another disappointment is that one of my Octone’s wings is extremely loose and rarely stays in place. The only good thing about this is that is that, while looking for more stable configurations, I stumbled on a fun Shockwave mode.

The good news here is for ToyHax who will probably be selling two more sets of labels to clean up my sad Tripplechangers very soon.

September 12, 2017
Brawns

Titans Return Brawn arrived today so:

1984 Minibots

I went with preferred molds here rather than consistent scale. (If I can remember where my Botcon Huffer is I could complete the set.) Both Bumblebee and my custom Cliffjumper are sporting Renderform weapon upgrades (not that Bee’s is really visible in this shot).

Two Heads Are Better Than One

“And this is Spare-Head #1, we only let him out on weekends…”

Brawns

The modern Brawns – they get better every time. The Henkei version is decked out with a ToyHax upgrade set.

Another great addition to the Titans Return line.

May 15, 2017
Rewind’s Dewbot Cosplay

The 2007 Transformers movie introduced many things to the franchise including several AllSpark powered robots created from common appliances. One of the more persistent was a Mountain Dew vending machine called Dispensor, aka Dewbot. You’ll note that I prefer the name Dewbot and will obstinately use that for the remainder of this post.

When Titan Returns’ tablet-based Rewind figure was released it inspired several of the more creative members of the Transformers community to create their own Dewbot.

ToyHax’s Contribution

ToyHax, formerly known as Reprolabels, released a decal set to convert Rewind into Dewbot, or as they call it TR Spensor. Both modes get the full Mountain Dew treatment but the alt mode is where the set really shines.

The TR Spensor label set will allow you to convert Rewind without making any physical changes to the figure. However, if you don’t mind some minor alterations, there’s a solution for that too…

Prize Inside’s Contribution

Prize Inside by The Octavirate Forge on Shapways has created a new head and 6-pack shooter weapon (you can also get them both as a kit) to complete the transformation. Swapping out the head is simple; the original pulls out easily and the new one snaps right in.

If you look closely at the barrels of the weapon and the back of the head you’ll notice that they include a cool soda can top detail.

I ordered mine in Green Strong & Flexible Polished which came out a little grainy as you can see in the photos. I mainly display my Dewbot in vending machine mode so I haven’t gotten around to painting the 3D printed parts quite yet. Some silver detailing should really bring out some of the finer details.

Before and After

Some comparison shots of the fully-dewed Rewind compared to the standard version.

May 11, 2017