Fansproject LER-02 Cubrar w/ Tekour - Pictorial Review

Dinobots, Dinobots, Dinobots (after Combiners, Combiners, Combiners!!) !!

There are 2 versions of Generation-size Dinobots currently in the market, the first being Toyworld version and second is Fansproject. Both now are on their 2nd figure and here's the review of LER-02 Cubrar w/ Tekour (Normal Retail Version), Fansproject version of Dinobot Slag (Toyworld version of Sludge will be arriving maybe after Chinese New Year).

Another version of Dinobot Slag (by Fans Toys) and character background can be found here.

Review of LER-01 Columpio w/ Drepan can be found here.


In Package

Packaging for LER-02 has the same design as LER-01 Columpio w/ Drepan.

Cubrar's Artwork

Back View

The back of the box shows Cubrar and Tekour in both Robot Mode and Alt Mode.

Comparison

To my surprised, Cubrar comes in a rather small box compared to Columpio. Even more surprising, Cubrar's box has richer colors with glossy finishing, making Columpio looks like a knockoff.

Instruction Sheet

Other than the instruction sheet. Cubrar comes with an extra sheet, a detail instruction for a specific part during robot mode to alt mode transformation.

Cubrar comes with a Kilopulse Energy Sword and 2 Dual Hi-Volume Concussion Blasters.... I like how creative 3rd Party releases are, LOL.

Robot Mode [Tekour]

Before we proceed, let me make on thing clear. For those who don't know, I was really disappointed with how LER-01 Columpio turns out. The quality, to me, is below average, even more so considering it's a Fansproject's product. So, upon receiving Cubrar, I straight away took him out and for the first few minutes, am really happy with the improvment Fansproject made.

Then comes Tekour! Took him out of package, transform him into robot mode, attached his axes then...the handle of one of the axes BROKE OFF with the last segment of the handle stuck in his hand! No force, it didn't fall off, nothing.

Broke...not even 10 minutes...

Design of Tekour's robot mode is a lot more simpler compared to Drepan who had kibbles at the side of his legs.

As you can see, the axe's handle stuck into the right fist and can't be taken out. The only way to fix this is to drill the piece.

Side View

Just like Drepan, Tekour has a really annoying kibble on his back. However, after Drepan, I've already made my peace with it.

The neck of the axe can be used as Tekour's battle mask that resembles a triceratop (without the 2 brow horns).

Comparison

While Tekour has simpler design, he comes with better detailing than Drepan especially on the chest and shins.

Battle Mask On!

For those who didn't noticed, the battle masks actually resembles the Dinobots that they came with (which was not obvious to me back when I was reviewing Drepan).

Tekour comes with a tighter joints compared to Drepan which is a nice improvement. Althought, the right elbow of mine is a little bit loose.

Much like Drepan, Tekour has pretty decent articulations. He comes with double-jointed shoulders and elbows, ball-jointed hips and also knees. The only articulation that is not due for transformation is his head's swivel.

Alt Mode [Tekour]

Tekour transform into a 2-sided axe, using different approach then Drepan where the heads are detachable forming Tekour's weapons rather than becoming kibbles. The down side that I see is that the material used for them are really weak.

Aside from the battle mask, there's also a triceratop's head at the knob, representing the owner of the targetmaster.

Alt Mode [Cubrar]

One thing that I didn't expect is Fansproject direction in terms of the design of the Dinobots. Unlike Columpio that has more originality in the design, Cubrar's design resembles to much of Fall Of Cybertron version of Slag especially the frill

Side View

The alt mode's proportion is really well done, best I've seen so far for Slag in any lines.

Back View

Detailing

Just like Columpio, the detailing is quite minimal on the back of the alt mode. An improvement still considering Cubrar has lesser flow marks compared to Columpio.

The jaw can't be closed all the way making the blaster inside quite visible but not too much. Despite the nice head sculpt, the long toothless beak kind of making him look funny.

Cubrar's weapons can be attached to the side of his hind legs, just like Columpio. As always, I'm not really a fan of attaching guns on the alt mode.

Cubrar's head are on a ball joint that allow the head to be rotated and also tilted downward and upward. However, the frill does limit the movement a bit. The legs are on ball joints with hinges on the elbows.

The tail are segmented into 3, each connected with ball joints which allows certain degree of movement.

Size Comparison

Cubrar is a bit bigger than Columpio, sadly. Not saying that they should use real scale but I prefered Slag to be smaller than Sludge in both alt mode and robot mode. But this is nothing more than a personal preference.

Side View

Back View

With Tekour

There is no connector holding Tekour on top of Cubrar but with large surface area, Tekour has no problem doing great poses on top of his dino.

The Dino Rider

Robot Mode [Cubrar]

Transformation to robot mode is quite simple, but not as simple as Columpio which is a good thing. The transformation is involving enough without being too complex nor too lazy. The robot mode is quite solid but not as solid as the older Fansproject releases.

Side View

Back View

Cubrar might look too crowded with all the kibble but the the only one that might disrupt his articulations is the tail on his back.

Cubrar's weapons can be attached either on the wings or to the side of the legs.

As you can see, this one comes with a red head instead of a black, shown on the packaging. As far as I know, Fansproject had randomly put red-head Cubrar in small numbers and from what I've read online, not many were lucky enough to get it.

Detailing

Aside from the sculpt, Cubrar seems to be missing the metallic blue highlights (aside from small lines near the chest) which dominated Columpio's upper body and head.

This is the biggest design flaw that I found on Cubrar. The tail is attached to lower side of his body, below the waist. When the tail is pegged to the wings, the waist joint is basically pointless.

Comparison

I can't help but think that after Columpio, Fansproject went on a different route with Cubrar with more G1 characteristic added to him as opposed to the 'modern' style of Columpio. Cubrar is the same size as Columpio (minus the alt mode's head) but paired with his bulkiness, Cubrar looks significantly bigger.

In general, I'm quite happy with Cubrar's design and aesthetic. He comes with a ball-jointed head, ball-jointed shoulders, hinge on the elbows, wrists swivel, waist swivel, universal joint on the hips, double-jointed knees and ball-jointed feet.

However, the head range of movement is a bit limited due to the in-mouth blaster that flips from the front of his face to the back, restricting the movement.

Even worse, not only the locked-tail hinder his waist articulation, unlocking it will make Cubrar spins around as there's literally no friction on his waist swivel.

The hip joints on mine is quite loose on the right leg, so I can only do this on the left leg. Even worse, Cubrar's shoulders can only be moved to a certain degree before popping out of the sockets. This is quite frustrating as you can't really play much with him without the arms falling off 3 times out of 5 times.

The Gunslinger

Despite my complaints, Cubrar is way better than Columpio in terms of the quality of the joints. Unlike Columpio, Cubrar can be posed easily without falling of due to weak hip joints. However, Fansproject still failed to fix the problem of holding the weapons that Columpio had. Seriously FP?

Despite my frustration with what had happened, Tekour is a great weapon and Cubrar does look even better wielding him. The 2-sided Axe compliment Cubrar's rough and fierce aesthetic.

I tried contacting Fansproject after what happened to Tekour through Facebook (and several other channels), asking if maybe they can help me out but to this day, not a word back, no response, no nothing.

Cubrar in general is good figure, especially if compared to Columpio. But still the plastic issue is really surprising. The extra loose ball joint on the shoulders and the waist swivel is not something that should've happened.

Imagine if this isn't Fansproject's product...