mcdonalds transformers animated

mcdonalds tranformers animated is here


2008 us release


first up is prime


nice design & transformation


i can't believe it, but its finally here. 2 years after it was released in the us mcdonalds malaysia finally released the transformers animated toys. sadly only 4 figures are available as apposed to 6 in the us - prime, megatron, bumblebee & ratchet (starscream & lugnut are m.i.a).
`
robot mode


truck mode


side view


same toy as first release


the first to be released was prime & when i got mine last thursday they had just opened a box full of prime. from the stamp its clear that this is the same prime released on 2008, not a new figure. i'm actually pleased with the figure as it has a decent design & transformation process. it certainly doesn't feel cheap & is a nice addition to any collection. can't wait to get the next figure

fansprojec bruticus maximus upgrade

fansproject new project


looks like...


blast off!


last month fansproject announced that they will produce a new set of upgrades for bruticus maximus, like the ones they made for superion maximus...only this time bruticus will receive new robot members along with accessories. this is certainly a major step by fansproject giving new figures as upgrades instead of accessories only.
`
accessories for onslaught


new feature


nice, like omega supreme


the first figure announced was blast off which will be a shuttle (click me to read more). here he's called explorer and will be the right arm of bruticus. accompanying accessories meant for onslaught can be transformed into a launch pad for blast off. the accessories among others will be a new head & twin back cannons for bruticus.
`
swindle's next


next to a more detailed blast off


bruticus maximus with new accessories


recently fansproject released new info where swindle will be the next figure & he's called crossfire (click me to read more). as in the cartoon he'll be bruticus's new right leg. new accessories for bruticus will be a blaster, groin guard, fists & foots as well as a knife @ short sword.
`
looks more g1


"you want some?"


new twin back cannons


melee weapon for close combat


its very clear that fansproject want to make bruticus maximus more g1-like and i'm sure this is a welcome for g1 fans. now to hope the price will be in arms reach.

takara book reissue targetmaster kup & wheelie

targetmaster kup & wheelie takara book reissue


rear view


first page


this time i'm gonna write about targetmaster kup with wheelie, the takara book reissue version. this 2005 kup is a reissue of the 1987 targetmaster kup except this time he's paired with the witty wheelie and his normal handgun returned. recoil returns as his targetmaster partner. a takara book reissue refers to reissue transformers toys by takara (now known as takara tomy), mostly g1 figures in a book style casing.
`
second page


poster page


forth page


i got this piece early last year at a reasonable price from a seller in penang. & its still misb, what luck. its still misb but i have no intention to keep them that way, just waiting for the right time to unleash them into the world hehehe.
`
fifth page


sixth page


last one


still misb


being a takara book most of its contents are in japanese so i don't know what it says. there's images other available toys like the pretenders & junior headmasters (marketing purposes i think), g1 skywarp description and of course descriptions of kup & wheelie. i don't know why but here kup is refered to as chear.
`
kup, robot mode


truck mode


attack mode


recoil


standard gun


since kup & wheelie are still inside the book i'll refer to cliffbee's review on the figures (click me to read the full review). the robot images are taken from tfu.info (click me to see more). for kup cliffbee wrote :
- a futuristic trunk as alternate mode
- have rubber tyres
- mount for recoil available
- colour & design true to movie & cartoon appearance
- legs can't be moved but high articulation in arms : shoulders, elbows, wrists
- 7/10 rating
`
wheelie


car mode


as for wheelie :
- a futuristic car as alternate mode
- car mold matches his movie appearance
- bad robot design, doesn't match the movie appearance
- little articulation : arms, hips & feet
- 2/10 rating
`
from the images i guess wheelie is kinda a disappointment but with kup & recoil as a set it sure is a nice addition to any g1 collection. i'm actually looking forward to get my hands on them.

micromasters sixtrain

sixtrain, my 1st micromasters



they're sold separately


today's post is about the micromaster sixtrain from the micromasters sub group of transformers zone. he's a gestalt robot formed by the combination of six micromasters which take the form of various trains as alternate mode. zone was suppose to be the continuation of transformers victory but due to poor toy sales it was canceled - only the pilot episode was aired. micromasters are transformers who were created in small sizes for the purpose of energy saving. these smaller bodies were easier to maintain and uses less energy than larger bodies. the same nebulon technology seen in headmasters & powermasters were used.
`
figure indicator



manual on one side...



...comic on the other


actually i'm not a fan of small size transformers toys because its small, less detail, little to no accessories & very simple transformation process. what prompted me to buy this one is a review by cliffbee on sixturbo, another micromaster combiner that was rated very high - 9/10. cliffbee said that sixturbo is a very good gestalt and features interesting individual toy design & accessories (click me for details). sixtrain got a little lower rate - 8.5/10 (click me to for details) but still in the same league. i have aquired both but i'll review sixtrain first...
`
desire with right foot



atlan with upper legs


all six bots came in individual boxes so you can either slowly buy & build sixtrain one at a time or if have the resources can go in one shot. because i managed to get all six at a reasonable price so i opted for the latter. i'm not sure if there is a boxset like other normal size gelstalt but i guess there isn't any. even though each box has the same design there is an indicator at the bottom left of each box to differentiate who's who - 1 is desire, 2 is atlan, 3 is raise, 4 is san diego, 5 is windy & 6 is convertor. this will ensure collectors won't get 2 or more of the same figure. each box contains a bot, accessories to form sixtrain, a transformational manual & comic...since i don't read japanese i can't understand the comic.
`
raise with left foot



san diego with head & blaster


each figure is only 6 cm tall & share the same transformation process; fold back the rear part of the train to form the legs & push the arms forward, reverse to change back to train form. combining them to form sixtrain is a bit more complex but you can still do so without refering to the manual...that's why i don't like legend class. articulation is only limited to the arms.
`
windy with fists



convertor with torso


anyway the detail on the bots are better than what i expected, for example you can actually see their tiny faces clearly. like all legend class they don't come with weapons other than parts to form sixtrain & he has a blaster, which is nice. i also don't like transformers without weapons, makes them look weak. in train mode they cannot link together to form 1 train, a shame as it would really add up value to the set.
`
merge to form sixtrain



side view


as for sixtrain he looks good & much better than the small guys. at 17 cm he's about the same height as a deluxe class. however because all 6 bots are the same size its impossible to merge them together without the use of extensions, like the normal gestalts. aside from the normal gestalt head, feet & fists a torso & upper legs is needed. desire (chest), san diego (back), atlan (right arm) & raise (left arm) will attach to the torso part while windy (right leg) & convertor (left leg) attach to the upper legs. merge these two parts & you'll have sixtrain.
`
rear side



left view


he only looks nice from the front so as a display piece that's the only way to pose him. articulation is limited to the head, arms & fists only. the legs are fixed & the feet snap into position.
`
being my first micromasters figure & micromasters gestalt i can say that i'm quite please with sixtrain. though small each figure has a high degree of detail & the gestalt looks good. the colour choice for each figure is great making sixtrain looks unified and even.