The Problem with Magnus

For those who haven't seen Transformers Animated Season 3 and still want to catch it, spoilers ahead! :)

But who hasn't seen the final season of TFA yet, right? ;P

Weekend Swag!

First off, I finally managed to get my butt down to the post office to collect Batman:

Got him lose off Ebay from a seller in China. The Holy "Batman" Grail is DC Superheroes Black and Grey Bats, but this guy will do for now. ;)

So that was Thurday.

Friday night was the Toys 'R' Us midnight launch of the new Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen toy line

I only intended to go for a look see and perhaps meet some of the great guys that make up the fantastic tf.sg local Transformers community.

Then TRU had to give us each free $20 dollar coupons. Those buggers! Haha, well there was no way then I was gonna leave without getting something. So I picked up these two:

And the thing was that Melissa also was a card-holding member of TRU, so I got to use her voucher too. Props to you, Dear!

Why Sideswipe and Sideways? Well, cos I'm actually not a big fan of the movie design TFs, but these two go well together: both are silver sports cars, one's a Deceptican and the other an Autobot, and they haven't better than decent looking robot modes. :)

Oh yes, and TRU gave away a ton of free stuff, including posters, lanyards, guidebooks to the movie TFs, and these, my personal favourite:

Awwww damn. Guess who's riding in style now? :P

And Sunday of course came along, which is the traditional "Visit the toy flea markets at China Square Central" day, so I popped by thinking to get DC Superheroes Darkseid. And I did for a good price:

Fearsome figure, he is. He's huge and bulky, but if you turn the package to the side you'll see that they have him in there with his knees bent, so that he can fit into the standard-sized bubble on card. I can't wait to crack him open and see how much he'll tower over the rest of the DC Superheroes line. ;)

Then last but not least, I had to pick up another item I won on Ebay, which was one I'd been eyeing for a while now but simply put buying him off:

Animated Sunstorm (with Activator Rachet!)

Now I've got all the Seekers they've released in the Animated line: Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker & Dirge (who're both Activators), and finally, Sunstorm.

With the Hasbro's announcement that they'll be releasing Thundercracker as a Voyager later next year, I'll be looking to add him to the gang as well.

And as luck would have it, as I'm doing the deal with guy for Sunstorm, when Mel turns a facedown TF Universe 2-pack box lying on some boxes over, saying, "What's this?" and answering herself, "Oh, Ultra Magnus and Skywarp." (Level of enthusiasm on a scale of 10--about a 2.)

And I went, "Ultra Magnus and Skywarp?!?!?!" (Level of enthusiasm on a scale of 10--about an 11.) Well, what else could I do but snag the "Battle for Autobot City" 2-pack set? ;)

For you see, I'd been eyeing Ultra Magnus for the longest time, but he seemed like one of those figures you had to pay a premium price for even if he was loose, somewhere in the region of S$70 (US$46). And I did so here as well--except just for $14 more, I also got the very nice (and exclusive) Skywarp.

So all in all a brilliant toy hunting weekend. There was plenty of other stuff I wanted to pick up but had to hold off on, like DC Universe Classics Shazam! (Or DC's Captain Marvel), Green Lantern, and Flash. But not getting them over the weekend just makes for more thrill for the hunt for next time. And besides, with a haul like the one above, it would be such a waste if I didn't take the time to savour it.

Watch out for reviews of the haul over the next week! :)

Shock to the System

That's what Shockwave is! A Decepticon, a spy, and a fan favourite in G1 or Animated.

And we can't talk Shockwave without revealing a few secrets. But I'm sure if you're reading this, you probably have seen TF: Animated anyway, so I won't be spoling anything. ;)

So this is how we see him in most of Animated:

"That's not Shockwave," you say?

Well you're right. That's Longarm Prime. Check out his head/face and his Autobot symbol.

What I love about him by just looking at the figure is the colour. His body is a slight blue-grey, and his Autobot symbol is silver to match.

His silvery-grey eyes, and his white face match his colour scheme too.




"Well wot's this?" you ask in your best British accent.

This is the same guy, but now he's in his true form--Shockwave! (As Ultra Magnus found out, much to his detriment.)

His white face is gone, he's got the antennae up, and lookie here--a gold Decepticon symbol! And that's just his head! (and uh...symbol...)




Well, check him out in full robot mode--both of them:

Woah there, Shockwave, no need to go pointing that gun everywhere...

Spot the differences!

Shoulders are red instead of black, Longarm's crane pack is Shcokwave's Laser Cannon, and of course the hands!

Overall Shockwave is taller than Longarm.

Oh and his lower legs spin around when he's an Autobot spy. :)


















And the best part is, he's got two vehicle modes!

Autobot Crane, or a Decepticon Tank!

The crane head is Spring loaded, so when you slide down on its switch, the gun snap-folds out with a pop. Cool feature that Hasbro once again didn't really have to include. They've done a lot of these hidden/bonus features for the Animated line and I'm glad that they went out of the way to please fanboys like myself. ;)










So with 4 modes, just how poseable is Shockwave?

He's Staying Alive poseable! Ah ah ah ah Staying Aliiiiiii--iiiiii--ii-iiiiiive....










He's in your face, poseable...



















And he's for sure light piping poseable! Check out the classic cyclops eye!

Here's how I rate him:

Show Accuracy: 9/10 - He looks like the Animated character in not one but 2 robot modes. He's transformed into a crane once or at the most twice as far as I can rememeber. We haven't seen his tank mode yet, though. But 3 outta 4 ain't bad at all--and it still very likely might be 4/4. ;)

Aesthetic: 8.7/10 - He looks great as Longarm, and even better as Shockwave. I love the grey and white base, with metallic grey and metallic red bits. Gotta love the three-fingers hands as well. Paint apps are very very solid. One thing I dislike though, is that his laser cannon fits on his forearm to look like he's holding it. This makes him look like he's toting a mini spaceship in his claws. Looks unbalanced. I wished they could've allowed his gun to be mounted on the top/outside of his forearm like Megatron. I think he'd look cooler that way.

Poseability: 9.3/10 - Well this guy passes the "Down on bended knee" test. You see, with every figure I own, at one point or another, I like to pose it so that he/she/it is kneeling on one knee and firing/swinging their weapons. Well, not many figures can do this, Transformers or otherwise. Shockwave, though, can do this easily. I guess it helps that he has 4 modes, so his joints can bend almost every which way. His feet also bend all the way forward and back and his claws on his hand ar also individually articulated. He can point. Awesome! :)

Overall: 9/10 - Many rate this guy as the best TFA figure. But while I think he's awesome, he isn't Optimus Prime (uh-huh, betcha saw that coming. :P). So great figure, wonderful tranformations, and excellent paint job and articulation. Oh and as an aside, after getting this guy and seeing the purple Shockwave, I kinda not want to get purple anymore. This guy's colour scheme is definitely better. Oh and it's also show accuarate. :)

I guess Shockwave agrees. (Cos he's not pointing his gun elsewhere and not at me anymore! :P)

A Prime Replacement

Well, not quite. At least not this version.



The original Ultra Magnus was the ultimate soldier as well, but he was not supreme commander material. Oh no, not him. We all know who became the "new" Prime.

Well, during the Transformers Animated Movie when Optimus Prime died, Magnus was the ready made replacement for our fave Autobot leader. Heck, Prime even gave him the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.

But it was not to be. Not even with a cool design and colour scheme, and a seriously "Ultra" name to match.

The original Magnus did go on to "guide" Rodimus Prime as a mentor-like figure. And I suppose he got his revenge on Rodimus for opening his Matrix by lecturing him many a time in the post-movie episodes.

This Magnus, though, is perhaps the most fearsome warrior in the Animated continuity (even fiercer then Megatron, I think).

I mean, check out all his guns (And I don't mean biceps):

Dual shoulder launchers with retractable lasers on top of them, coupled with twin triple shoulder machine guns (Which hide nicely in the front of his shoulders. When he wants to play nice).

And that hammer of his? Controls local weather. Yep. So he's like Thor on Earth. Except he could also make it hot and sunny if he felt like a barbecue or something.

But if he were on a planet that, oh say, rained cats and dogs literally, there'd be a whole bunch of stray animals left around after a big Decepticon servo-kinking. (The SPCA wouldn't be too thrilled either. For non-Singaporeans, SPCA = Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)

Oh yeah. And that hammer of his also pops out to expand into a great(er) hammer when you push the head up. Nice.

One thing I like about these leader figures: They have really cool sound features. From the voice in robot mode to the laser sfx in vehicle mode. And they light up brilliantly too. But I mainly like the sfx done by the original voice actors. It really serves as a reminder of Magnus' character as well as brings you back to certain pivotal points in the series.

"Don't be a hero, Optimus, It's not in your programming."

Ouch, burn.



Gotta love how he owns Optimus, in fact all of the Autobots, in Transformers Animated. (In fact most of the Decepticons as well. Except Shockwave, perhaps.)

But I suspect his character in the series has (if you'll pardon the pun) more to him than meets the eye.

He's relatively cold and aloof, and is suppose to kick ass and take names for breakfast. Yet he's somehow ambushed and almost destroyed by Shockwave. I suspect he might end up a turncoat as well. Not like Shockwave though, but rather more in a "too righteous" sense, and it'll be up to Optimus and Sentinel to take him down together. Oh well, we'll just have to wait and see.

So here's how I rate the toy:

Show Accuracy: 10/10 - Wonderful! Right from his face sculpt to his moving brow ridge when he talks, the great Elite Guard symbol on his chest and his alt mode, his sheer bulk and his hammer(!) - holding this guy in your hand will always make you forget the shortcomings of the G1 character and think of his badass Animated self.

Poseability: 8/10 - Here's where the figure suffers--and I think all of the Leader Class figures have the same problem as well, at least the Animated ones do.

Magnus is pretty flexible, except that he's got no waist rotation. His knees also don't bend all that far, but the leg does rotate below the knee.

But then again, this is Ultra Magnus. And he looks very dignified and stoic in the series, so he doesn't really need to bend like Prowl. ;P

Aesthetic: 9/10 - I have to be honest, I kinda like more red in him, like the G1 colour scheme. But this way he does look more like he's wearing a uniform, which works out fine 'cos he is Supreme Commander of the Elite Guard. ;)

Love his shoulder molds, which form the front of his alt mode. His face too is suitably distinguished and stern looking. Very in-line with his character!

And Magnus always seems to have the best overall face design anyhow.

Overall: 9/10 - Gotta love the Magnus! And I think besides the exclusive City Commander (G1) molds, which are, well, exclusive, this is the best one out there in retail. So what if one of his famous lines (when his fellow Autobots are being blown to shreds) is not the super funny, "I can't deal with that right now..."? This version is Ultra! And has the rank of Magnus! And can eat Sentinel Prime for breakfast!

Also not forgetting to mention, I got this guy as a Valentine's Day present! :) So that makes him Ultra Special as well.

7 Faces of Optimus Prime (Part 5)

You just gotta love re-boots. And in this case, the re-booting and re-adaptation of G1 Transformers (and most of the Transformers continuity) into Transformers Animated.

So here he is, the 7th Optimus Prime I own: TFA Voyager Class Prime!


I wasn't initially planning on getting this guy, let alone any other of the Animated line. I had my 2 Deluxe Class Prime figures (from Part 3 below) and I was more than happy. But I had to turn 30 and whaddaya know? My girlfriend, Melissa, surprises me with everyone's favourite Autobot leader.

Ok, so I kinda guessed she'd gotten it for me--she's not very good at hiding her surprise when I guess her gifts correctly. :P But tell me I'm not the luckiest guy on the planet. First the Henkei Prime, now the TFA Voyager! Woohoo!

I have to confess, I didn't think I'd like Voyager Prime as much as Deluxe Cybertron mode. But here's the thing: the Voyager Class TFA figures have nice tight alt modes and pretty show accurate robot modes, on top of being pretty darn poseable.

Granted, this guy maybe a little chunkier (in the chest) than how he appears in the show, but we like our Primes buff!

He's got great paint apps all over, especially the red, and light piping for his eyes. Now he doesn't come with the axe in the pic. That weapon belongs to Battle Begins Deluxe Prime. But it fits his hands perfectly and makes him show accurate.

One of the simple but most fun features he has is his sliding chin guard--Slide up for battle mode, slide down for his face in regular mode. He's the only TFA Prime so far that can do this. :)





The other feature involves his transformation:



Ok I lied, nothing there but fancy pictures :P However, when he transforms back from truck mode, there's a little switch located on his back that lets Prime's legs and waist spin down into place under his upper torso. That's quite a feature--you sorta get to see your Prime transform at least partly by himself. Awesome. :)

Now the axe that comes with him may seem a little big. It also seems a weird colour for an axe, and completely not show accurate. Also if you remove the water cannon from it, there's a big hole in the weapon.







But the beauty of it is that it transforms to Prime's "trailer" and fits nicely on the back in truck mode. And it can also double up as Optimus' backpack/jetpack when he's in robot mode--it fits snugly on his back.






His final feature is sort of an Easter Egg. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it. It's not on the back of the box or in the instructions.

Prime's cannon that can also be held in his hand can shoot water by depressing the nozzle. Just fill 'er up via the rubber stopper at the bottom of the cannon and then fire away!



And size-wise, this guy fits perfectly with the other TFA Voyagers. Check it out:


So here's how I rate TFA Optimus Prime:

Show Accuaracy: 9/10 - Spot on in robot mode, right down to the moveable chin guard. Less sleek than in the show, but Prime can be as buff as he wants as leader of the Autobots. ;) His axe is way too big, but swapping in with the Battle Begins Prime's axe works.

Poseability: 9/10 - His waist and head rotate 360 degrees as do his knees. His shoulders too, but they have 2 more hinge joints there (primarily for transformation) that give him even more flexibility with the arms. Elbows can bend up to 90 degrees but wrists are fixed. His lower body, though, is a little disappointing. Legs bend less than 90 deg at the knees, but hyper extend. His feet can point and "flex." The upper thigh can move forward and back less than 180 deg but they move out to the side pretty much all the way.

But I was still surprised how poseable he was! :)

Aesthetic: 9.5/10 - Great looking robot mode. Nice clear blue windows with circuitry. Vehicle mode is nice and seamless, and pieces snap together to make the truck mode tight. Paint apps are applied realy well, and his red is a smooth matte. He doesn't have an Autobot sign in any mode though!

Overall: 9.2/10 - It's a must have for any TFA or Optimus Prime fan! :) (You can now get him for $29.90 at any of the major department stores--if you can find him. ;])