Preda-What?

I feel compelled to post this as never had I have as much doubt on choosing which version should I buy. For official figures, I just follow my CHURG-mold-only rule, simple as that.

Even for 3rd Party releases, I usually made my decision whenenver the product was revealed albeit a few impulse buy like PE Motobot for instance, sold my iGear Delicate Warrior for her. Deciding on TFC Hercules, TFC Uranos, Toyworld Hardbone and Brainwave, all of them were simple choices. But now, there are 3 companies that set to release 3 entirely different Not-Predaking

1 - Unique Toys War Lord

War Lord was never in my consideration. The fact that the individual bots are too small and they looked more like a custom of G1 toys (which they initially were) as opposed to a 'REAL' 3rd Party release

2 - MMC Feral Rex

 This guy is awesome! Had a chance of reviewing R-03 Bovis before and I must say, the quality is superb! The plastics are solid and the joints are tight. All the individual bots look great though not a fan of Not-Razorclaw.

3 - TFC Project Ares

Found the picture today, combining Nemean (Not-Razorclaw) with prototype limbs. There are much to be tweeked as these are only for test shots but i really like them, aesthetic wise. Saw a review of Nemean, clearly showed that the joints and plastics are getting better on him compared to Uranos and Hercules.

I've been back and forth on which is my 'ultimate' Predaking. After weighing a lot of factors like design, quality and price, I will opt with TFC Project Ares.

However, I'll make sure to do MMC Feral Rex review as I already started with Bovis and maybe one day, Unique Toys War Lord

Generations Calvin Johnson Exclusive IDW Megatron - Pictorial Review

First of all, I would like to say that there's not much info on this variant so even my post's title is likely to be wrong. Pictures of this figure surfaced on the internet months ago bearing that name and that's it, nothing else known about it (at least not to my recollection)

Did some googling about Calvin Johnson, he's actually an American football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the NFL, nicknamed 'Megatron'. I'm really interested to know how Hasbro will release this

Pic Credit : Web

Not much I can tell (since I know sooo little about him) and this will be a short review since the mold has been reviewed here

Generations IDW Deluxe Megatron

Fansproject [Causality] CA-12 Last Chance - Pictorial Review

It's been 3 months since I last reviewed Down Force and now Intimidator (Not-Menasor) is one step closer to finishing with CA-12 Last Chance (Not-Dead End)

The last limb of Menasor, Dead End of the Stunticons transform into Porsche 928, forming Menasor's left arm (although not exclusively). Along with the other Stunticons, Dead End was given life  by Vector Sigma in an attempt by Megatron to form a ground-based unit, rivaled by Autobots' Aerialbots

Released 27 years ago

Mastermind Creations R-03 Feral Rex Bovis - Pictorial Review

Gestalts are forces to reckon with, tipping the scale in whichever war or battle they participates in. However, there's one particular team, whose combined form feared even by the other combiners, the King of The Beast, Predaking of the Predacons.

Pic Credit : Web

Fusing Divebomb, Headstrong, Rampage, Tantrum and Razorclaw of the Predacons, Predaking is ferocious demon with extreme physical abilities and personality. The perfect hunter and predator, Predaking, despite being animalistic, differ from his kind of uncontrollable and stupid machine.

Pic Credit : Web

Forming Predaking's right leg (although not exclusively), Tantrum seems to have his patience replaced and all filled with violence. And if you count pointless fight, endless destruction and senseless violence as 'fun', then he's the most fun bot out there

Dr Wu DW-P15 Rain Storm - Pictorial Review

There are few categories of 3rd Party releases, from a full figure, add ons (armor, extensions), replacement (heads, etc) and also weapons.

Dr Wu is one of the companies that focused on the release of add on weapons and recently recently, IDW-inspired weapons for Generations Springer

EHobby Exclusive Generations Magnificus - Pictorial Review

Transformers revisiting their root is nothing new. Releasing a figure in pre-transformers color can be traced back even during G1 time till now, from Diaclone Ultra Magnus (Pre-Ultra Magnus) to TFTM All Spark Power Fracture (GoBots Crasher) and even Fansproject DIA Commander.

Pic Credit : Web

Another example of that is G1 Magnificus, an exclusive redeco of G1 Perceptor release by eHobby.

Pic Credit : Web

A former Mebion's Decepticon military counsul, he was ousted by his foes, surviving on instinct which later become powerful fighiting skills, as he was sent into pit-fighting arenas, teamed with Ga'mede. In Dreamwave Generation 1 continuity, Magnificus is part of the same cloning program, by Shockwave, that produced Sunstorm.

Takara United TG-20 Ratbat - Pictorial Review

Haven't been reviewing normal/mass release figures for quite some time now but I'll make an exception for him.

Pic Credit : Web

Ratbat, along with Lazerbeak, is one of Soundwave's main minions. With alt mode of the ancient where most newer generation of kids won't even have a clue, Ratbat transform into a cassette tap, fitting into Soundwave's cassette player alt mode

Obsessed with efficiency and self-surviving, Ratbat was featured during the Battle of The Autobot City when the Decepticons ambushed and later succeeded in killing Optimus Prime. Taking Lazerbeak's task, Ratbat act as spy and information gatherer to give the Decepticons advantage over the Autobots

TFCC 2013 Breakdown - Pictorial Review

It's been awhile since I went back to my hometown, took a day off on Monday just so that me and my wife could spend considerable amount of time at my parent's house. Comes back to the office today with a parcel awaiting me

There are 7 TFCC 2013 figures which are Scourge, Slipstream, Jackpot, Circuit, Breakdown and Ultra Mammoth with only 2 figures on my list, Scourge ( too expensive on secondary market nowaday) and Breakdown with Depthcharge being the freebie

Pic Credit : Web

First of all, this will just be a short review as the character had already been posted in Fansproject Causality CA-09 Car Crash and the figure is actually the 9th variant of the mold (Universe Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Generations Red Alert, Henkei Lambor, Sunstreaker, Red Alert, TFCC Punch-Counterpunch and G2 Breakdown from 2010's G2 Redux boxset)

In Package

Breakdown comes packaged in a box as opposed to simple baggie as most TFCC figures used to be.

Breakdown comes with a biocard/character card and an instruction sheet. Really like the phrase "If I'm so paranoid, then how come everyone IS watching me?"

Alt Mode

The first thing that I noticed was Breakdown is actually off white rather than white he was showed in stock pictures

I really like the color scheme though it does seems a bit...'minimal'. However, paint apps are nicely done with next-to-none smudges

Comes with a rubsign on top of the roof. This however, I think could've been applied better

Comparison Shots

Side by side comparison with G2 Breakdown from 2010's G2:Redux Boxset

Robot Mode

Honestly, there's a lot of repaint that failed. Lots and lots of them. But this Breakdown works, to me at least

Quality wise, Breakdown is tight and solid despite being the 9th variant of the mold.

In case you missed it, the head mold is a new mold, first used for G2 Breakdown in 2010.

Back in 2008, this mold was considered to be a great figure with awesome articulations compared to some of the Classics and Universe 2.0 releases. And it really this, even with today's standard

Comparison Shots

Having both side by side, suddenly fell in love with them, haha

I'm guessing Breakdown will be the only figure for TFCC 2013 that I will get for now considering how crazy Scourge's (and most RTS Laser Prime molds) price right now

Oh well!

Toyworld TW-T02 Aurora - Pictorial Review

I can't believe I missed this guy. Bought him sometime last year but postponed my review due to his color making white background unusable for photo-shoot. Experimented a bit with black background so I think I should give this a try

Searchlight is a member of the The Throttlebots, first appeared during the rescue attempt of Optimus Prime's body in G1's The Return Of Optimus Prime. A somewhat recurring characters, Searchlight and the Throttlebots came and went throughout the Headmasters series

Pic Credit : Web

Often mistaken as a lone ranger, Searchlight always find peace in silent and comfort in the night. Also mistaken is his keen senses of his surrounding, portraying him a paranoid loner.

Pic Credit : Web

1981's Searchlight transformed into a Ford RS200 rally car.

KFC E.A.V.I. Metal Mugen Scope - Pictorial Review

Now, for a somewhat famous recurring character of Transformers continuity, having to reappear in Transformers Victory, (a version of homaging him in) Transformers Animated and several other comic continuity, Perceptor. This review is made possible by a dear friend that lend me his piece. Thanks Bro!

Pic Credit : Web

One of the most brilliant mind of Cybertron, Perceptor is one of the most important character in G1 continuity, supporting the Autobots in countering the Decepticons' assault with his clever plans and strategies paired with his inventions. Despite his populartiy, Perceptor transformed from an obsecure character of Transformers past to a cool-and-slicker-than-hell character by IDW comic representation

Perceptor The Gunslinger
Pic Credit : Web

Badly injured and saved by a newcomer, Drift, Perceptor decided to become a warrior, instead of a mere scientist. With a new upgrade body, near-impervious breastplate, aiming arm stabilizer and targeting optic, Perceptor do more for the Autobots course in battle than he'd ever has in his life

As part of the 2011 Reveal the Shield/United line, Perceptor was released with a design that homage him to the core...but not his alt mode. Inspired by his Animated homage, Perceptor transformed into a half-track vehicle with almost-plausible fan mode of a Microscope.

Unexpected (at least by me), a 3rd Party Company decided to release a more IDW-accurate version of Perceptor. Here's a review of KFC (Keith Fantasy Toy) E.A.V.I. Metal Mugen Scope review

Toyworld TW-H02 Brainwave - Pictorial Review Part 2

Robot Mode

Brainwave, Head On!

Toyworld TW-H02 Brainwave - Pictorial Review Part 1

Now, it's time for the one who conceptualize the Headmasters project, the new brain of the new era of Transformers, Brainstorm. A genius, one of the brightest mind in Cybertron who doesn't really bow to constraint of society, safety and well...don't-start-an-apocalypse-things.

Pic Credit : Web

First appearing in the 3-parts finale of Transformers G1 Season 4, Brainstorm spelled out his new theory of dramatical improvement on Cybertronians fighting abilites through the integration with Human. Though was found as blaphemous at first, the idea was revisited in the event of retriving the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber and helping Nebulon's freedom fighter against their oppressor, The Hive.

Brainstorm appeared differently in the Transformers G1 Finale and Transformers Headmasters and his initial characteristics mostly change in the latter.

Brainstorm : Na ah, not you!
Pic Credit : Web

Toned down color with a more gentlemen-er expression
Pic Credit : Web

Unlike most of other Transformers characters, Brainstorm is a unique name only used to refer to him. Additionally, G1 is the only toy version that Brainstorm has, with not even simple repaint...until 2 (and possibly 3) 3rd Party companies decided to do it, namely Toyworld and Fansproject (with possability of 3rd from MMC)

Pic Credit : Web

TFC Uranos [Project Uranos] - Pictorial Review

The first of many, the Aerialbots, consist of Silverbolt, Skydive, Slingshot, Air Raid and Fireflight, formed the first Autobots combiners (in the G1 US Continuity), Superion.

Pic Credit : Web

Despite being one of the most popular Autobots combiner ever, Superion is far from perfect, really far. In theory, the combining process of gestalts often results in insanity and instability due to the meshing of disparate personalities into one mismatched whole.

Overcoming this issue, Superion chose not to meld it together, instead shutting all out, the conflicting personalities of the Aerialbots. Deprieved from all that, Superion was left with sole purpose of destroying the Decepticons,  with Menasor at the top of his list, other than protecting the earth and human.

Pic Credit : Web

Superion's design was depicted in the cartoon having a mouth plate however it wasn't the case for his G1 toy nor most of the media, comic etc

IDW's The Transformers:Robot In Disguise #9 Night and the City
Pic Credit : Web

Before we move on, below are the links for the previous Project Uranos's review

TFC Phantom
TFC Eagle
TFC Blackbird
TFC Harrier
TFC Falcon

TFC F-16 Falcon [Project Uranos] - Pictorial Review

Finally, nearing the end of Project Uranos however, despite the long wait, I dreaded the fact that it arrived simultaneously with ACG-HK Metroplex... I'm broke...

Let's continue, with the last member of TFC's Project Uranos (but not the last release, waiting for Wing Of Uranos), F-16 Falcon, Not-Skydive

Pic Credit : Web

Being the geek of the group, Skydive enjoys reading, a lot, before the hobby was destroyed with the release of Twilight Saga (LOL). However, foes are not to take him lightly, as he's capable of mimicking any flight patterns, any aerial tactics thanks to his filled up databank through his 'geeky' hobby. Just as his team members were, except for Silverbolt, Skydive was not, initially, bound to the whole Autobots cause.

TFC AV-8B Harrier II [Project Uranos] - Pictorial Review

It's been 4 months since the last update on Project Uranos. It might be old news already for some, I've just received the 4th member, AV-8B Harrier II (Not-Slingshot)

Pic Credit : Web

A selfish jerk! That pretty much summed him up. Slingshot, along with other members of the Aerialbots, was created as countermeasure and answer to The Stunticons threats. However, Slingshot made it clear that the safety of the earth, human and fellow Autobots are none of his concerns. Not to mention his zero respect to his commander, Silverbolt.

Despite having his opinion about the Autobots and protecting the innocence changed, Slingshot admired the Decepticons Jets and more, Megatron himself. It didn't last as Slingshot and the rest of the Aerialbots went back in time to Cybertron's pre-war era and watched with their own optics as past-Megatron casually destroy past-Orion Pax.

Pic Credit : Web

With that, he declared that Megatron will never be able to run from the Aerialbots ever again! Which Megatron did...over and over again...

Generations Hoist - Pictorial Review

Generations 3.0 continues, now with 2 additional Deluxes through the 2nd Wave release, Generations Hoist and Thundercracker. Sadly though, Thundercracker is FOC Starscream's repaint which by default, I won't buy it. So that left me with Hoist. Who is Hoist?

Pic Credit : Web

A familiar face to the fan (maybe because he looks like Trailbreaker), Hoist is one of the favorite recurring character in the G1 cartoon. Most notable episode would be "The Master Builder" where upon rejection, Hoist and his trouble-mate, Grapple, turns to the Constructicons for help so they could build the Solar Power Tower (which back then, was a big deal)

Although not apparent, Hoist was a doctor to the Autobots, almost as much as Ratchet was. Hoist never really played a big role throughout the series but he were there for the most of it. Before we move on, here's a blast from the past

G1 Hoist
Pic Credit : Web

Okay...moving on.....fast