The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[technoblue]

<snip>

Much ado about Scrapper

</snip>

I really like the balance of GT's Scraper compared with the other two in your pics, Mike. Not too big and not too small.

Edited September 8, 2016 by technoblue

[mikeszekely]

If you're not getting too Constructiconned out, I picked up Generation Toy's Dump Truck, their version of Long Haul.

As with their Scrapper, Dump Truck is obviously a pretty stylized take on Long Haul. Quite frankly, I dig it. Maybe because I'm a fan of the IDW comics, maybe it's because everyone else does specialized things but Long Haul just carries heavy stuff, but I'm totally on board with Long Haul being the team's muscle. GT gives Dump Truck a burly look, but manages to avoid giving him freakish proportions the way Combiner Wars Long Haul or Maketoys' Dump Truck does. And yet, unlike ToyWorld's Burden, GT's Dump Truck forms the waist, his, crotch, and thighs for their combiner. As long as we're comparing with TW's Burden, I greatly prefer Dump Truck's silver head, and he's also got big heel spurs with rubber bits on the bottom, so he gets the points for stability. I'm also a fan of the stairs across his torso; they kind of look like a bandolier across his chest. My biggest complaint, aesthetically speaking, is that he's got silver thighs and purple arms. That complaint goes for Burden and CW Long Haul, too, and as I noted when I reviewed Burden that's toy accurate, if not the cartoon accuracy I'd prefer.

In terms of accessories, Burden's still pretty sparse but he does come with a little more than Scraper did. There is, of course, his gun, but there's also the chest plate for combined mode, and an alternate black head that matches the box art. I think it's cool that they had their vision of what they wanted the characters to look like, but they also give you a more G1 option so you can decide which you prefer.

Dump Truck's head is on ball joint; he can rotate his head and look up and down a little, and he can tilt his head a little in apparent confusion. The chunk of the dump truck bed is hinged and can go all the way back (which it needs to for combined mode) or all the way forward like it is in truck mode. The instructions actually tell you to put it all the way forward, like a hood, but I don't associate Long Haul with a hood and usually position it somewhere in the middle. His shoulders are similar to Scraper's and can extend laterally about 90 degrees as well as rotate. His elbow is a single-joint hinge that gets you 90 degrees. He's got a bicep and wrist swivel, and due to his transformation he also has a swivel mid forearm. His waist can swivel, as long as you keep the obvious combined-mode pelvis folded up onto his butt. He's got thigh swivels and universal hips. He's got nice strong ratchets for lateral movement all the way into the splits (and enough clicks that he doesn't go from stock straight to super-wide A-stance). Disappointingly, his hips seem to just be friction joints forward and backward. They're capable of going all the way forward and backward, but you'll have to move the kibble on his butt to go backward. As for forward, his hip skirts don't move independently, and the hip armor is actually pegged in place. If you unpeg it the whole thing can hinge upward and give you the full range, but otherwise the hip armor severely hampers his forward range. His knees are friction hinges that get you 90 degrees. His feet are on ball joints and can get a good 45 degrees of inward ankle tilt, plus a fair amount of upward/downward tilt and even some ankle rotation. His hands have all the fingers molded together on a single hinge at the base so his hand can open and close. The trigger finger is molded out slightly further, which is nice. The handle on his gun doesn't have any pegs or tabs and is a little short, but if you push his fist closed around the handle he can hold his gun tightly enough.

My biggest complaints with Dump Truck's bot mode are mostly illustrated from behind. There are large cavities in his back. Flip down panels are meant to cover them, but there's still plenty of gap visible. Likewise, you can fold it up and try to minimize it but his butt is clearly the combiner pelvis. Less obvious in pictures but still annoying are the silver kibbles on his forearms and the folded up panels on the sides of his lower legs. They're not secured in any way and will rotate freely as you pose him. It's not the end of the world, but something a tab or two would have fixed.

I do like how neatly the rear wheels fold away into his legs, though. Do note that if you're having trouble getting the tires into his legs that you should check the position of the combiner ports. The instructions kind of gloss over this, but you really want them set so that they're pointing forward. That'll give you the room you need for the tires to fit under them.

All-in-all, while I acknowledge both that TW's Burden is more G1 accurate and that GT's Dump Truck isn't perfect, between the two I like Dump Truck for bot mode.

On to vehicle mode, where Dump Truck turns into a dump truck. Here' the little details like the safety railing, stairs, and ladders don't just help Dump Truck look detailed, they add realism and a sense of scale. You know he's not just a dump truck, he's the kind of huge dump truck capable of hauling 200+ tons, like something Komatsu makes.

When we look at the top, though, we see that Dump Truck has fallen into the same trouble that Maketoys' version did. His bed is full of kibble from both the combined-mode pelvis and his own feet. You can't really see it from the pictures, but if you were to look closer you'd see that he's also got gaps and generally look more like folded up robot bits than a truck bed. TW's Burden really takes the edge here.

Just like Maketoys', GT's Dump Truck can carry the combined-mode chest plate, further adding to his junk-filled bed. One plus, though, is that the gun stores in alt mode like an exhaust pipe behind the truck and under the bed rather than pegging on the roof or the side.

I said before when I reviewed Maketoys' Dump Truck that Long Haul seems to be the trickiest Constructicon to do. Even ToyWorld, who used partsforming for so much of Constructor that they just had to make a good robot that turned into a good dump truck, had problems with Long Haul. Calling it between Burden and GT's Dump Truck is tougher because they're really close, and which you prefer will ultimately come down to which compromises you subjectively are better able to live with. Burden's greater G1 accuracy means nothing to me when it's still toy colors, and I actually dig Dump Truck's stylized look. By the same token, I'll take a few panels that don't lock down over difficulty standing up. I do think Burden has the cleaner alt mode, but I expect I'll have Long Haul as a robot or combined with the others far more than I'd display a dump truck. I think it's more important to have a better robot mode, and in this case I think that's Dump Truck, so I'll go ahead and recommend him with the same cautionary disclaimer that I'm saying he's purely a better Long Haul and you might want to wait to see how the rest of the set and combined mode goes.

[Dangard Ace]

Wouldn't you know it. Right after I placed an order for Mightron takara "reveals" their Megatron. All urge for Despotron gone.

[technoblue]

Wouldn't you know it. Right after I placed an order for Mightron takara "reveals" their Megatron. All urge for Despotron gone.

I have so many Primes, what's one more Megatron to pair off with them?

If the rumored images are accurate, that looks like a very early prototype and not something that Takara would normally put on display for the world to see. Anyway, the news did squash my interest in Mightron. I'm sticking with Despotron for a stylized Megs and waiting for more news on this official release. Unless Takara decides to do something odd with the colors like they did with Shockwave, this should be a good G1 Megatron. And with that, I'll only need to wait for GT's Stealth Bomber Megatron.

[mikeszekely]

It's going to take more than a gray prototype (especially one with a crooked barrel) to convince me that Takara will do any better than DX9 or Maketoys. When I'm paying $100+ for a toy I want the best one. Takara gets no special consideration just for being "official".

[technoblue]

Good point. Takara is just as capable of making a stinker as any of the third party manufacturers.

I think DX9 did a very good job making a comic-book style Megatron with the way the trigger transforms and molds the back in bot mode. I guess I shouldn't be in such a rush to yank it off my buy list. It's actually a nice looking version of the character.

[UN Spacy]

FINALLY...an official Megs.

[M'Kyuun]

I've been giving consideration to POing Despotron, as the clean chunky bot look really appeals to me, but with TT's announcement, I'm going to roost on the fence until more is revealed. As Mike mentioned, this looks like an early proto, a bit blocky and not as refined as I would expect the final version to be.

I recently got ToyWorld's Bulldozer, the first of my eventual unofficial Constructicon team. Lovely figure, but my copy's right heel will not rotate a full 90 degrees to sit flush behind the leg, and the right ankle tilt joint, to which the heel is attached, has a 4 mm crack. I contacted TFSource, who passed me over to ToyWorld. So I've sent my service request in, and hopefully they'll either fix or replace my Bulldozer without its costing me too much. I was hoping TFSource would just do a one for one swap, but they passed the buck. If anyone here has dealt with ToyWorld for a broken toy, what can I reasonably expect?

[SuperHobo]

I'll wait for the official announcement from takara for MP megs before passing judgement on these leaked photos. I love the quality that Maketoys delivers (most of the time), so I'm going for their Despotron. I love the bulky proportions and dynamic anime robot proportions.

[mikeszekely]

I recently got ToyWorld's Bulldozer, the first of my eventual unofficial Constructicon team. Lovely figure, but my copy's right heel will not rotate a full 90 degrees to sit flush behind the leg, and the right ankle tilt joint, to which the heel is attached, has a 4 mm crack. I contacted TFSource, who passed me over to ToyWorld. So I've sent my service request in, and hopefully they'll either fix or replace my Bulldozer without its costing me too much. I was hoping TFSource would just do a one for one swap, but they passed the buck. If anyone here has dealt with ToyWorld for a broken toy, what can I reasonably expect?

From what I understand, pretty much all the big retailers are referring you directly to ToyWorld now.

Anyway, I used their service site to submit a claim for the rear wheel hinges on Burden (Long Haul) within days of them opening the site. The site was a pain to navigate, required pics, and was too easy to fill out and save your claim without submitting it, but once I jumped through all the hurdles my experience was that I got zero communication. No emails confirming my request, no emails saying they were sending replacement parts, nothing. I just happened to log back in after a while and saw that the status of my claim was a tracking number. I wound up getting a small box, and inside was the outer green part for both legs, with new black hinges made of a noticeably different plastic and new wheels (but not the rubber tires). I'd estimate it was about three weeks from the time I submitted my request until the parts arrived.

However, I should mention that I'm hearing that some people are saying that they've had requests that they've submitted after I did that have gone four or more weeks without showing anything shipped. One member of TFW who was in regular communication with ToyWorld says he hasn't heard anything from them in quite awhile, like they've gone dark.

[M'Kyuun]

From what I understand, pretty much all the big retailers are referring you directly to ToyWorld now.

Anyway, I used their service site to submit a claim for the rear wheel hinges on Burden (Long Haul) within days of them opening the site. The site was a pain to navigate, required pics, and was too easy to fill out and save your claim without submitting it, but once I jumped through all the hurdles my experience was that I got zero communication. No emails confirming my request, no emails saying they were sending replacement parts, nothing. I just happened to log back in after a while and saw that the status of my claim was a tracking number. I wound up getting a small box, and inside was the outer green part for both legs, with new black hinges made of a noticeably different plastic and new wheels (but not the rubber tires). I'd estimate it was about three weeks from the time I submitted my request until the parts arrived.

However, I should mention that I'm hearing that some people are saying that they've had requests that they've submitted after I did that have gone four or more weeks without showing anything shipped. One member of TFW who was in regular communication with ToyWorld says he hasn't heard anything from them in quite awhile, like they've gone dark.

Great. I was on the TFW boards awhile back when they were communicating regularly and announced that they were setting up an after-market site to deal with issues, esp since Burden seemed to have the lion's share. It sounded promising, and I felt good about buying one of their products. Now this.

I'm still a bit let down that TFSource aren't handling it. At least then I'd have had a shot at getting a replacement and they could deal with ToyWorld. Well, if I hear anything back from TW, I'll post it so others here have an idea of what to expect.

Edited September 8, 2016 by M'Kyuun

[mikeszekely]

If TFSource doesn't get Cyberjaw in soon, I won't be able to ship my stack before I leave for vacation. That means this might be my last review until late October, so here's Maketoys' Striker Manus, the ultra-stylized Optimus Prime from their new Cross Dimension line.

When I first got Manus out of the box I was impressed by how big he was. It wasn't until I got him side-by-side with Classics Optimus and KBB's MP10-V that I realized that some of his size was just an illusion. He's got a lot of presence that makes him seem bigger than he really is.

Talking about aesthetics with Manus is difficult, because a lot of times I talk about how G1 a figure is, the ways it departs from G1 and why, or tell you whether or not I like a figures aesthetics. With the Cross Dimension line, though, Maketoys is taking their designers off their leashes and letting them run with their own alternate Transformers dimension. Manus even comes with a comic that basically shows Despotron (Megatron) ripping the Rubicon (Matrix) out of Manus' chest, Manus trying to grab it back and breaking it, and somehow rebooting the universe in the process. So Striker Manus is visibly Optimus Prime what with the red arms, chest windows, grill abs, face plate, antenna, vented blue legs, etc. But while Striker Manus is supposed to be Optimus, he's not G1 Optimus, and he's not trying to be.

Despite the licenses that Maketoys has taken with Optimus, he does seem to have taken a lot of inspiration from one particular version of Optimus... Classics Optimus Prime. And it's more than the flaps on his arms, the broad chest with the narrow waist, and the yellow squares on the knees.

Turn them around, and you can see how they both have a fake grill in their abdomen while the real grill hangs out on their backs. The big thing, though, is that Manus is less kibbly. The arm flaps are smaller and less obtrusive. The bumper and front tires actually tuck up inside his torso so his grill is resting against his back instead of jutting out from it.

Striker Manus' gun even seems to be largely inspired by Classics Optimus, and like Classic Optimus' it turns into a wind vane for alt mode.

The biggest selling point for Striker Manus is probably his articulation. His head is on a ball joint that can rotate, look down a bit, tilt his head laterally a fair amount, and look up about 45 degrees. His shoulders have hinges for 90 degrees of lateral movement, but the hinge is actually on a ball joint for rotation and even a bit of butterfly movement. He's got bicep and wrist swivels. His elbow is single jointed despite looking like it should be double jointed, but it gets better than 90 degrees of bend. Manus' fingers are hinged at the base, and his pointer is separate from the other three. There are grooves on his weapon handles that allow them to slide into small channels in his hands so he holds his weapons very securely. His waist swivels, and although he can't turn all the way around like a lot of transforming toys do he gets the full range of what I'd consider to be natural. He's got a very deep ab crunch, approaching 90 degrees of bend. His hip skirts and swivel up and down, but the joint is set back further so it looks like the hip skirts are sliding up and down. It's hard to describe and feels somewhat organic, but it means that his universal hips get a little under 90 forward and 90 degrees back. The fuel tanks on his hips prevent them from doing the full splits, but he gets close. His thighs have swivels. His knees are double jointed and he can bend them all the way back until his heel touches his butt. His ankles have a hinge for a little forward and backward tilt, plus his toes have second hinge that give them more upward tilt. He also has a dedicated swivel for inward ankle tilt, and his ankle tilt is pretty extreme.

A lot of people at TFW are complaining that they wished that Striker Manus came with a gun more like Optimus' G1 rifle, but personally I think it's fine. Like I said, he's not G1 Optimus.

If you prefer, though, you can remove Manus' smokestacks and he can wield them as axes with translucent orange edges.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any storage for his gun in bot mode short of holding it. So if you need to free up a hand, it's a good thing that Manus' axes can actually connect by putting their handles into peg holes under the blade.

Alt mode is Manus' weakest mode. I wouldn't say it's bad, but all the stylized angles and and ridges result in a truck that doesn't really look like anything on Earth, but it's not exactly Cybertronian either. Like a lot of Maketoys products, transforming him involves fitting a lot of tabs into a lot of slots. Once done, though, everything fits together securely.

My plan was to use Striker Manus in as the Optimus in my 3P display; since he's a bit taller than your average limb-bot I figured he'd be a good size. As I fill out my Autobots with guys like Bee, Invisible, and MP Prowl and Wheeljack, though, I can't help but think that MP10-V is the better fit. Ultimately, he might end up in a separate display with my Function-X guys.

And that's why recommending him is kind of tough. He's a really good toy who's very fun to pose, but I honestly don't feel like he's a good fit for either MP or CHUG. It makes it difficult to buy him without expecting to buy into more of the Cross Dimension line. I'm ok with that; I like the fresh look and even the fiction Maketoys is giving the characters, but if you're only going to buy one Optimus this year I still prefer MP10-V.

[Scyla]

I have to say body parts with integrated wheels are probably my favorite design element of a transforming robot. Wheels being heels, wheels being shoulders, wheels being abs are all excellent.

I really hope MT will repaint him in black and teal.

[mikeszekely]

I have to say body parts with integrated wheels are probably my favorite design element of a transforming robot. Wheels being heels, wheels being shoulders, wheels being abs are all excellent.

I really hope MT will repaint him in black and teal.

I like Manus, and I'm probably in for the whole Cross Dimension line (I already preordered Rioter Despotron), but I don't see myself doing repaints.

MP10-V, on the other hand, if buy in pretty much any color they choose. Ultra Magnus white, Powered Convoy blue, BAPE green, Nemesis black, Evangelion purple, Shining Ultra Magnus yellow... I'll even take a Pepsi Convoy.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Remember when Fansproject's City Commander kit drove up prices of the Classics Ultra Magnus/Skywarp pack? A similar thing might be happening with CW Optimus because of the S.N.D. Primo Vitalis kit. Prices of CW Optimus seem to climbing on Ebay. The kit makes a handsome IDW-based Prime out of a dumpy CW toy, and I think it looks even better than Beelzeboss' kit. It's really cool that the combining feature is still intact with the kit added on, and it doesn't look too bad as a torso at all. If you are considering getting one like I am, you might consider grabbing a CW Optimus fast.

Incidentally, S.N.D.'s kit for CW Megatron looks promising.

[sh9000]

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=MMC10052&mode=retail

Robot mode looks kind of cool.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=MMC10052&mode=retail

Robot mode looks kind of cool.

I think it'd look better if the lower legs were rotated 180 degrees so the feet would be bigger.

[mikeszekely]

I managed to get one more order in before I leave for China. We're going to continue looking at Constructicons tonight with Generation Toys' Mixer Truck, their version of Mixmaster.

At first glance, it looks like GT was looking more at Mixmaster's toy for inspiration than his animation model. The molded details on his chest are vaguely similar to the toy, and he's got the toy's mouth-plated head, silver thighs, and silver abs. He's even got some purple circles where the original toy had visible screws. It's really a shame that GT didn't give him green hands like they did with Scraper, because the black kind of sticks out. He's definitely got GT's stylized touch, though. It's most noticeable in his legs, which have the front of the cab at an angle on his shins in a manner very similar to Maketoys' Mixer, and in his hood, which is huge. At a glance, you'd want to say he's taller than Combiner Wars Mixmaster, but if you look at their heads Mixer Truck is shorter without the hood. Also, instead of green with large silver missiles like the G1 toy or green with little nozzles like the cartoon, Mixer Truck's got a black hood with painted silver vents and translucent purple missiles set in silver. Unlike ToyWorld's Concrete, the missiles are not removable but they are on a slider so you can extend or retract them within the hood.

Curiously, it seems a lot of 3P companies have trouble with Mixmaster's rear wheels in bot mode. The G1 toy had one tire around the shoulder and one behind its fist, and while the animation model lacked the tires he had bumps on his arms in those spots. CW Mixmaster tried to stuff both tires in the upper arm, giving him odd proportions. Both Mixer Truck and Concrete carry them as kibble hanging off their shoulders, but their approaches are different. Concrete's are pegged onto the back of his shoulders, kind of out-of-sight but also interfering with his arms' range of motion. Mixer Truck carries his on the sides of his shoulders. It's definitely more in-your-face, but I think it's a better approach.

If you don't like the hood and don't mind a less traditional look, the whole assembly can be folded down onto Mixer Truck's back.

Speaking of backs, you have some options with Mixer Truck. The mixing drum splits in half, and each half is on sliding hinges to give you some control over how you position it. Personally, I like to open it just enough to reveal the double-barreled thing inside. I think of them as thrusters in this mode.

You may also splay the halves wide, which you'll need to do to accommodate the hood should you fold it back, or work them closed for a more classic look. Note that the closed bot mode position is still different from the way it sits in truck mode.

Another look at the Maketoys-inspired lower legs. From some angles they look like they sit kind of funny on him, but they're not as bulky as ToyWorld's.

Aesthetically-speaking, I think it's fair to say that ToyWorld is more G1-accurate. That being said, in hand I really like Mixer Truck. Even as I long for an alternate animation-style head with a mouth I have to admit that GT did a great job crafting a head for Mixer Truck that exudes menace with fewer facial features. And while some pictures I'd seen initially turned me off of GT's Mixmaster as being top heavy, in hand he just looks powerful.

Mixer Truck's head is on a ball joint with plenty of rotation, a small amount of up/down tilt, and fairly good lateral tilt. His hood is on a hinged swivel so it can be tilted back and aimed side-to-side. His shoulders can rotate, and there's a hinge for lateral movement that can technically get you better than 90 degrees, but in practice a little under that without moving his hood and playing with his wheel kibble. Speaking of, the kibble has it's own ratcheted swivel so it can rotate on his shoulder, as well as a hinge so it can be extended laterally a little under 90 degrees. He does have bicep and wrist swivels and a single-jointed elbow hinge that will get 90 degrees. His hands are the MP car-style with fingers molded together in a slight curve, hinged at the base knuckle so the hands can open and close. His waist does swivel, but care must be taken as there's very minimal clearance for the halves of the mixing drum to clear the silver cylinder jutting from his butt. His hip skirts don't move, so his hips get a little less than 90 degrees forward/backward on solid ratchets, as well as a little less than 90 degrees laterally on a friction joint. His thigh can swivel either above or below the gray part with the purple flap, which can rotate independently so the flaps can be on the sides, front, or back of his legs, whichever you prefer. Although his shins have sort of an odd shape be can bend his knees a little over 90 degrees. His ankles aren't that great. They're on a hinged ball joint, but the way it sits he's got very little inward ankle tilt and no upward tilt, but ankle rotation and more downward tilt than you could ever want. Oh, he's also got a little lateral bend in his waist.

His lone accessory is his gun, black with a gray handle and some silver paint on the barrel. Very par for the course.

Like Maketoys, GT is clearly trying to get realistic alt modes by including lots of molded and painted details. The ladders on the back, the side view mirrors, the smokestacks, and the safety rails between the front and rear tires are all nice touches that I've seen on real cement mixers. I'm also a fan of purple mixing drums on my Mixmasters (hence why I replaced the default green one on Concrete). There's something about the front of the truck that looks kind of off somehow, though. Almost cartoony, and by that I mean like a something the Warner Brothers (and sister) would use to get into hijinks with on Animaniacs, not like the G1 cartoon. I think I'd have preferred if the windows were painted purple instead of dark green, and I really miss the silver grill. Despite being less detailed, Concrete looks the most like Mixmaster here.

High marks to GT for hidden weapon storage in alt mode, though.

Mixer Truck's drum doesn't rotate like Concrete's, but it does open up. In truck mode, the double-barreled thing I imagine as a thruster in bot mode becomes something like a missile launcher. There's actually a peg hole for Mixer Truck's gun, too. Another thing you can open is the little flap where you pour the cement mix into the drum. And, in yet another thing that reminds me of Maketoys, the combiner port is visible on the back of the truck.

I do have my complaints about Mixer Truck, but none of them are deal breakers. The smokestacks spin too freely, and the front bumper doesn't really lock into place in robot mode. Neither, for that matter, do the flaps on the sides of his legs. They have tabs, and in truck mode they tab into grooves on the front of his thighs. Since his thigh can rotate above that part, I don't see why they couldn't peg into similar grooves on the sides of his thighs. And at the risk of nitpicking, I'll say again that I could have done with a smaller hood and animation-style head.

The worst thing I can say about him, though, are that the safety rails between the tires and the silver parts of the front bumper are just pegged on. They pop off pretty easy, just enough that if you're aware of them and careful transforming him that they won't come off but easy enough that I'm thinking about gluing them anyway.

So, do I recommend Mixer Truck? I do. I mean, I do think that Concrete is more G1 accurate, and if you're looking for MP-scale and G1 accuracy you might want to go with him instead. However, having both in hand I find myself preferring Mixer Truck. He's made of better plastics, I like his beefier, stylized appearance, and IMHO he's got more of that intangible "fun" factor. And I have to say, I find it quite curious that I initially went with ToyWorld's Constructicons because I thought they looked better in photos, but now that I have three of the GT's in hand I find myself preferring them over their ToyWorld counterparts. I don't know if that will continue... from pictures, GT's Bonecrusher REALLY doesn't look like Bonecrusher to me, so we'll see. I plan to pick up the last three when I get back to the States in late October, so be sure to tune in then to find out.

[mikeszekely]

Alright, absolute last one until late October, and not a Constructicon. Today it's Cyberjaw, TFC's version of Overbite (who was also Overbite in Japan).

Cyberjaw's your average 3P limb-bot in size. He's a little beefier, but almost identical in height to fellow land shark Alberich.

He's similar to teammate Big Bite in that he's a little stylized. His blockier elements are more curves and points, the single blue strip on his chest is a larger chest plate with a translucent yellow center, the big vented sides are replaced with much smaller molded details, the beast arms are on the side of his legs instead of dragging on the ground, etc. His colors are also a bit off, with the blue being more of a blue-green, the purple a bit lighter and redder, and the pink more of a magenta. Despite these changes, he's still fairly spot-on with a mostly blue (green) head, yellow eyes and mouth plate, purple torso with blue in the middle, blue shins and feet, magenta shoulders, and blue forearms. His beast legs are still his arms, and the tail is still on his back. The only changes I'd really have liked to see would be purple hands and thighs and magenta biceps, and for his feet to be a little less weird (although I guess weird feet was kind of a G1 toy detail, and there's not a lot of artwork of him in robot mode to go off of). Oh, and for his weirdly asymmetric left hand to match his right.

Cyberjaw comes with a ton of accessories. Unlike Big Bite, he's just got the one gun, but he's still got two swords, a handle for gun mode, the adapter piece that used for arm/leg/gun mode, and instead of a hand he's got a foot for combined mode. As with Big Bite, Cyberjaw's gun can open to reveal a barrel extension, and it's also got a cool flip out shark fin.

The foot is a complicated piece that could almost get a review on its own. It's big, bigger than Warbotron Bruticus or Feral Rex's feet even. This is because, rather than having separate stands for their gun modes, Poseidon's foot transforms into a stand for gun mode. The toes splay outward, and you can remove the two parts pegged onto the top of the heel. The sides of the foot untab and swing forward, and an armature folds out from underneath.

The gray sides of the armature swing upward to grab onto the gun handle part. The sides of the foot have armatures in them as well that fold outward. The sides of the foot can also rotate, so you can point them and their armatures however you like. The gray bits we removed have a 5mm peg on one end and a pair of peg holes on the other, so you can find a place to stick them. There are the two pegs on that we removed them from on the rotating part with molded missiles, and plenty of peg holes.

Indeed, even if you're not going to put Cyberjaw (or any of the other non-Seacons) into gun mode, you can use the peg holes to instead store Cyberjaw's guns and swords, which I like.

Of course, you can put his gun or swords into his hands, as well.

Like Big Bite, it's up to you if you want to use the gun as a smaller or larger rifle, and his tail can also be held as a melee weapon.

Cyberjaw also has similar articulation. His head is on a double ball joint with a pretty fantastic range of up/down and lateral tilt. He's got a tight friction waist swivel and tight friction hinges for lateral shoulder movement that'll get nearly 180 degrees before the top of his shoulders start colliding with the top of his torso. His shoulder rotation is ratcheted. His thighs and wrists swivel, and he's got a friction double-hinge elbow. Its set at a weird angle so that the top hinge can wiggle a little but not point straight down. The result looks a little weird but can still bend all the way so that he can touch his shoulders. His hips are universals with soft ratchets for forward and backward movement and harder ratchets for lateral movement. He can kick 90 degrees forward or backward, and he gets a little over 90 degrees laterally. His knees are hard ratchets that get 90 degrees, but you have to watch because he's also got a transformation joint that does nothing for bot mode, but it requires less force to move so it's going to want to bend instead of his actual knees. Finally, as I mentioned before, his feet are just weird. Like Big Bite, they bulk of them are made from alt-mode panels. Unlike Big Bite, they don't fold up into nice flat feet. They're set on a ball joint with a hinge, and by themselves they have pretty good articulation. You could, theoretically, get forward, backward, inward, and outward ankle tilt plus ankle rotation. In practice, though, the front of his foot that hides just how unlike feet his feet really are is a separate piece that rotates down from the end of his shin on a ball joint. It can spin on his joint to stay lined up with the rest of his foot and preserve the illusion of ankle tilt, but if you tilt the bulk of his foot up or down, or rotate his ankle, the toe piece doesn't stay with it.

As I mentioned before, Cyberjaw turns into a land shark. I think he looks pretty great and more shark-like than the G1 toy. Unfortunately, he looses a lot of his purple in this mode. This seems to have been necessary to keep his lower legs and feet blue green, but I think it would have helped if the gray armature on his back had been molded in purple (and again, if his biceps were magenta). His lower jaw is also blue green instead of pink. This choice is purely an aesthetic decision to keep the whole head blue green by TFC, because the lower jaw is hidden in bot mode. There's no reason it couldn't have been pink, and if you can find a paint that matches the magenta parts on him you could certainly paint it yourself. His hind claws are also weirdly gray instead of purple and similarly hidden in bot mode.

In beast mode, his arms are his legs so he's got ratcheted hip rotation and friction knees that bend over 90 degrees. He can't move his hips laterally due to the way they're pegged in in this mode. His beast arms can rotate at the shoulders and extend laterally over 90 degrees, plus he's got elbows that can bend 90 degrees. His claws can open and close, but he doesn't have any sort of wrist or bicep swivel in beast mode. His jaw can open and close. His tail has five hinges for flexing his tail up and down but sadly he can't move his tail from side-to-side like a real shark. If you want, you can mount his gun onto his back by plugging it into one of two screw holes on his back behind his beast legs (not pictured).

I find it interesting that Cyberjaw was one of the first figures in this set to be show, but he was released after Big Bite. You might think that was because TFC wanted to tweak the design a little, but what they released is definitely a less-refined toy than Big Bite. His tail doesn't lock onto his torso the way Big Bite's does. His feet are less foot-like than Big Bite's. His beast arms don't peg down in bot mode, they just lie along the sides of his legs. Similarly, his shark fin halves don't tab together in shark mode the way Big Bite's do, and in robot mode they like along the inside of his lower leg but again don't tab anywhere. And, while his tail hinges give him greater up/down range on his tail segments than Big Bite's ball joints, he has none of the side-to-side motion in his tail that Big Bite does. I don't know about you, but I'd gladly trade some up/down motion if it got me some of the actual motion that actual sharks use to actually swim. It's hard not to feel a little let down because Cyberjaw is a very similar toy with a similar transformation to Big Bite, and every complaint I have seems not only like it could have been addressed but that it actually was addressed when they designed Big Bite.

I don't want to seem too down on Cyberjaw, though. Excluding Big Bite, he's the best TFC toy I've handled, easily beating out the Hades guys. He's still a good, fun toy, just not as great as Big Bite, or as great as he could have been. I still like the sculpt a lot in both modes. And I'd still say that I recommend him, but as always with a combiner you might want to wait to see how the whole team and their combined mode shakes out. This seems doubly true for a TFC combiner giving how much improvement we saw in the Hades team over previous TFC releases but how utterly disappointing Hades was combined. And while Mech Ideas announced their own Liokaiser when most people were already four or five out of six into Hades, an unknown company has announced that they're doing a Piranacon with enough time for most people to take a wait and see approach to Poseidon.

[sh9000]

Fansproject weekend sale

http://tfsource.com/sale/weekend-sale/

[David Hingtgen]

Yes, Cyberjaw would look a lot better/G1er/purpler if that big spine-armature was purple instead of grey. I've spent way too much time trying to figure out a possible repainting operation for him, but like with all transforming toys---there's very little you can do that will last more than a transformation or two. And that armature is certainly effectively unpaintable for that reason. There's a few spots I've identified that should work, but it's not worth it---I couldn't figure out a way to get a "mostly purple shark torso" like the G1 had, that'd actually last. I may paint his gun purple, as that will add a lot of purple in gun mode. (plastic-matching be damned, Tamiya makes a spray paint that is like dead-on G1 Overbite purple)

TFC sure does seem to like grey lately---they've put it on like every Seacon, when only 2 of the originals had any. And I still fear that Seawing and Nautilator have lost their black and gotten just grey.

[mikeszekely]

TFC sure does seem to like grey lately---they've put it on like every Seacon, when only 2 of the originals had any. And I still fear that Seawing and Nautilator have lost their black and gotten just grey.

There must be a reason that TFC likes that gray plastic so much. They used it for most of the joints and hands on the Hades guys, too.

[Scyla]

MMC is really killing it with all the releases around the end of the year. During all of 2016 I've bought three MMC toys: Jaguar, Backdraft and Seraphicus. Now in only three month there will be Carinfex, Kultur, Turben, Titanika and Terraegis. I hope some of the releases gonna be delayed till 2017.

Also what is up with preorder slots selling out for Titanika and Kultur. Never seen that happen with an MMC product. Oh well I was able to take advantage of the free shipping of PSX so it won't hurt as much getting him from one of my regular retailers.

Speaking of PSX they've shipped out a new crotch piece for Backdraft to me without me ever notifying them that I need one. A+ service I guess. Now if the toy would be a bit better maintainable so I can swap in the replacement parts. Instead everything is glued together.

[edit:] I have to revise my statement. After the post I took a look at the figure and was able to unscrew the torso and replace the arm with the huge chunk cut out of the forearm and the gap at the shoulder. During the operation I found some weird stuff. First the black detailing parts on his shoulder are actually red plastic that are painted black. Second there seems to be a running change in the wave because the original run had a rivet bolting the shoulder parts together while the replacement arm had a screw under the black detail piece.

Still my assessment of the figure stays the same:it is not up to MMCs usual standards they set with their previous releases. They have to step up their game on the next Ocular Max releases. One thing would be to have better assembly workers that don't cut huge chunks out of visible plastic pieces. Another would be to supervise the mold creations better so that the gate marks are not on visible parts of the toy. Almost all the parts on Backdraft have the gate marks on visible spots. Also the seam lines where the plastic molds meet should not be on prominently visible parts. Third refine the design a bit more. Like not having painted parts that are used as pegs during transformation (e.g. the black fake missile triggers on Backdrafts forearms).

However with the new crotch piece coming and the replaced arm I'm much more satisfied with the toy. Still he could be much better.

Edited September 20, 2016 by Scyla

[mikeszekely]

Most of MMC's new releases just aren't doing it for me. Turben was close, but I want MTMTE Whirl, not Stormbringer Whirl.

Disappointed that I didn't act quickly enough on Kultur, though.

[technoblue]

Backdraft cooled me off to MMC's Ocular Max line. I do like Jaguar and Sphinx, though.

With the Reformatted releases, there's more that I like, although I'm trying to be picky and focus on specific teams. Kultur will be a nice addition to my DJD. Turben and Dicamus will be nice additions to my Wreckers. And the blatant repaints aren't bad either, so I pre-ordered them too. Carnifex...I was sorely tempted by this giant, but I have to draw the line until my space situation changes. And that line is Hexatron.

I will enjoy the pictures.

Oh! I'm also looking forward to MMC's Reformatted Hot Rodimus, which was teased back in July.

Edited September 21, 2016 by technoblue

[Scyla]

Most of MMC's new releases just aren't doing it for me. Turben was close, but I want MTMTE Whirl, not Stormbringer Whirl.

Disappointed that I didn't act quickly enough on Kultur, though.

The PSX one with free shipping does nothing for you?

Backdraft cooled me off to MMC's Ocular Max line. I do like Jaguar and Sphinx, though.

With the Reformatted releases, there's more that I like, although I'm trying to be picky and focus on specific teams. Kultur will be a nice addition to my DJD. Turben and Dicamus will be nice additions to my Wreckers. And the blatant repaints aren't bad either, so I pre-ordered them too. Carnifex...I was sorely tempted by this giant, but I have to draw the line until my space situation changes. And that line is Hexatron.

I will enjoy the pictures.

Oh! I'm also looking forward to MMC's Reformatted Hot Rodimus, which was teased back in July.

Backdraft did the same to me which is a shame because Sphinx was 99% there what a Masterpiece Transformer should be in my opinion. What Jaguar and Backdraft are missing is paint application. If Jaguar had the paint detailing painted on that the MP version has and Backdraft would sport the pin stripes and the Fire Department logo they would be much higher quality toys imho.

[valhary]

anyone could tell me

how good is the quality of the kfc toys?

[Scyla]

People who own them say they have been getting better lately.

[mikeszekely]

anyone could tell me

how good is the quality of the kfc toys?

All over the place, but the consensus is that they're getting better.

The PSX one with free shipping does nothing for you?

I've never ordered from them before, not really comfortable starting with a preorder on a figure that's supposed to be a limited release.

[dizman]

anyone could tell me

how good is the quality of the kfc toys?

I think Bobby Skullface explained KFC pretty well in this video, jump to the 25 minute mark.

[technoblue]

FYI: Some feedback for planet steel express.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/planet-steel-express-reliable-any-experience.1051782/

Seems to be safe, especially if you are looking for an alternate source of MMC bots.

[valhary]

thanks guys!

I already have some but simba will be my first KFC

my personal rating according that I have it is this:

1 Wei Jiang

2 TFC

3 Fansproject

4 Xovergen

5 Unique toys

6 Mastermind

but assuming what mentioned in the video KFC right now is among the top three

[mikeszekely]

thanks guys!

I already have some but simba will be my first KFC

my personal rating according that I have it is this:

1 Wei Jiang

2 TFC

3 Fansproject

4 Xovergen

5 Unique toys

6 Mastermind

but assuming what mentioned in the video KFC right now is among the top three

Shouldn't be hard to crack your top three when you have TFC that high...

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Maketoys has finally shown off their Jazz. Looking real clean so far.

[Scyla]

Today I received the replacement crotch piece for my MMC Backdraft and now the piece tabs securely in place. Oddly enough now that I removed the crotch pieces from the toy the skirt piece tabs safely into the tab where it wouldn't when assembled.

The replacement kit came with two chromed screws which are meant to attach the hip skirts to the new crotch piece I think because they have a smaller diameter. What also came with the set where a piece of replacement shoulder blocks.

The parts where sent to me free of charge by PSX without even noticing them which is a nice touch. Not the toy is passable.