Transformers Movie Part 14

Welcome to the second half of the FAST ACTION BATTLERS series! Yes yes the name sounds horribly corny. Oh well. I'm not responsible for Hasbro's marketing. But then after a while, you do gotta admit that the name does grow on you for a bit. Tee hee. Oh my gosh I went tee hee. Ah well.

Anyways, I wanted to do another wish list, but Christmas is over, so... meh. I'll do something else instead. Which is this, of course.

I really hope my Transformers blog doesn't go the way of my Dungeons & Dragons blog. I mean, not that I've abandoned it, far from it. But I play so little Dungeons & Dragons these days, and I hardly have time to catch up with the add-ons and supplements, and 4th edition is coming up, and I guess there's really no-one to talk to about D&D. I mean, no normal people to talk to. That's really important in a hobby - you've got to have at least a few people who share the same interest.

Anyways, on to the Fast Action Battlers! (cue drums)


Fusion Blast Megatron

Fusion Blast Megatron - Robot Mode

There's no lack of detail on Megatron. The only thing is... what detail is it, exactly? I'm not even sure what those lines and carvings are. Ice? Parts of his body? Bits of his Cybertronian plane form? (I don't consider Megatron to be a jet, jets are sleek and Megatron is just oddly shaped). I can see the effort that was put into him - he is the Decepticon leader, after all. It's just that... well the effort seems a little misguided.

In addition, he's got amputated hands which are actually guns. Yes, he does have hands, but they're so awkwardly placed that if he were a real robot, he'd be really irritated a lot of the time. At least he has hefty firepower, which makes up for the lack of appendages.

Fusion Blast Megatron - Vehicle Mode

I've said what needs to be said about a "Cybertronian jet" mode. It's... a cop out. As a Leader class toy... okay. As a Voyager size figure... all right. But when it comes down to Deluxe, man does his alternate mode look awful. It looks shapeless and... I don't know how do describe it. It looks literally like an alien plane, but it's not pretty. It's detailed but not pretty.

Fusion Blast Megatron - Packaging

Ah well I guess he's suitably fearsome enough, with Fusion Blasts, actually (since he's got two). Man, I don't know what to say. He's a great counterpart to Prime, but by himself... he's not bad. He's just really... odd, I guess. If you like offbeat toys, well, Fusion Blast Megatron is for you.


Battle Blade Starscream

Battle Blade Starscream - Robot Mode

I still don't agree with the idea to make the Transformers look so alien in the Movie. At least for the Autobots, it's still acceptably within limits. But the Decepticons stray far into the territory of ugly, with Megatron's mug being the ugliest of them all. I can see Starscream's fangs... but then again, I've reviewed him here, too.

Battle Blade Starscream - Vehicle Mode

As a vehicle... he looks way too kiddy. And what's with his crow's feet sticking out his exhaust pipes? He almost looks super deformed, Cartoon Network style... creepy.

Battle Blade Starscream - Packaging

Um. Well. the embarassment of realising that they were not Japanese exclusives still hangs over me, so I'll stop talking now. His packaging makes him look very, very kawaii. Not good for an evil backstabbing Decepticon.


Double Missile Brawl

Double Missile Brawl - Robot Mode

Well you can look at him in two ways. He's either a shellformer, or he's a homage to Fortress Maximus. It might be a stretch, but I do think the two panels that hang down his arms are sort of a homage to Fortress Maximus' own arms. Nevertheless, he does have all the necessary "Brawl" components - the claw, the turrent cannon, the forearm guns.

His "Double Missile" featur is rather disappointing, though. It's not spring-loaded in the traditional sense, meaning you press a button to launch. You have to pull it back, and then let go to fire it. That's okay... but the missiles don't stay in the launcher. Meaning, if you tip them with the payload end facing downards, the missiles fall out. And that happens a lot more often than apparent, especially if you move Brawl around too much. Meh. But there is a nice amount of detail on his robot mode.

Double Missile Brawl - Vehicle Mode

Now, his tank mode looks pretty good. It's got a good amount of detailing on the sculpt, and it looks almost realistic except for his "Double Missile". I'm not that big a fan of realism, but it just really sticks out in a very extraneous way. Also, his turret can't swivel, although the "Double Missile" can.

The transformation involves some use of intuitive Automorph Technology, although it doesn't say so anywhere on the card. Kudos to this excellent implementation of a rather hit or miss gimmick for the Movie toys.

Double Missile Brawl - Packaging

Sigh. The packaging takes away all of Brawl's menace. Brawl, by virtue of his face, should be evil and scary. But not in the cute little Hasbro packaging... ah well.

He also suffers a little from the Lego Transformer syndrome - you have to remove a piece of him (his Double Missile turret top) from vehicle mode, and then reattach it somewhere else on robot mode. To me, if you have to remove bits that are not guns and place them elsewhere to complete the transformation, that sort of smacks a little of poor design. Oh well.

One last thing - he has no light pipe eyes. So his eyes remain black, as opposed to the usual fearsome glowing red. It's a variation, I admit... but I prefer the red light pipe eyes.

Gyro Blade Blackout

Gyro Blade Blackout - Robot Mode

All Blackouts are afflicted with the Curse of Unbalance. Perhaps it's the stick thin feet, perhaps it's the fact that the rotors are by default, much heavier than the rest of the robot. Whatever the case, it makes Blackout really hard to pose in cool modes.

Add that to the fact that Blackout's head is way too large, almost cartoony large (like Battle Shield Barricade), and that his tail propeller bit keeps falling off, and he looks like his has breasts, and he suffers from too little detail... you get the idea. Not my top choice for a Fast Action Battler.

Gyro Blade Blackout - Vehicle Mode

His vehicle mode is a toy. A toy. With a tremendous gun sticking out in front. I must say I'm quite disappointed.

Gyro Blade Blackout - Packaging

Like I've said before, for a character who was supposed to be the largest, most powerful Decepticon... he's crappy as a toy. He's actually taller than his Voyager class counterpart, if you count height by the tops of the head. He looks more like a spoilt brat than a menacing icon of destruction. I guess that dubious honour goes to Brawl, who in Transformers: Legacy, will be one of the ancient Ambassadors of Destruction. I think.


Blade Shield Barricade

Blade Shield Barricade - Robot Mode

Barricade's knees are bent so badly below his knee that it's a little tough to balance him sometimes, by agaration. His head is too big too, following the Blackout syndrome. His "Blade Shield" is not a blade nor a shield, it's a spiked wheel. That spins.

I don't really like Barricade as a Fast Action Battler.

Blade Shield Barricade - Vehicle Mode

At least his vehicle mode is not that bad. That's the only saving grace of this figure.

Blade Shield Barricade - Packaging

He just looks so plain. His arms can only swivel at the shoulders and he cannot bend his elbows. Yeah his legs move and his knees move, but erm eh erh ah... he can't pose. Sigh. The most disappointing Fast Action Battler of the lot.


Disc Blast Frenzy

Disc Blast Frenzy - Robot Mode

Frenzy is cute. In a weird way. He resembles... well, in a way, he resembles his form in the Movie - which is formless. He looks all gangly and wiry with bits of things sticking out of him - just the way I like it.

He also shoots discs from his chest. A refreshing change from the usual missiles and stuff. The only weird thing is that he's as large as the other Fast Action Battlers... but hey, that just makes him all the more cute. He is a ball of spiky metal.

Disc Blast Frenzy - Alternate Mode

At least now the Decepticons have some entertainment. I love the Soundwave homages that are inherent in Frenzy. His name, of course, belongs to one of the original G1 cassettes, and although he doesn't turn into a cassette tape player, he becomes a CD player, which is the modern day equivalent. Then again, in 20 years he'll be obsolete and we'll have an MP3 player instead (wait, isn't there an MP3 Player that transforms into Soundwave?).

His antenna moves. So quaint!

Disc Blast Frenzy - Packaging

Well, this is one time that I actually like the Fast Action Battlers packaging. Or rather, that I feel it suits the item in question. Frenzy's cuteness has a large part to play in my endorsement of this marketing, and he may be a shelf-warmer... but he's a cute shelf-warmer. Dear little Frenzy.

And so ends this installment. Join me next time, as I showcase the last three Movie Transformers I'm going to get... I think.

On My Desk: Fusion Blast Megatron, Battle Blade Starscream, Double Missile Brawl, Gyro Blade Blackout, Blade Shield Barricade, Disc Blast Frenzy, Titanium War Within Optimus Prime, Titanium War Within Megatron, Energon Shockblast, Energon Inferno, Superlink Rodimus (yeah it's a bit crowded).


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