BOB SHARE

Its been too damn long since I last reviewed a Transformer.

No, it isnt because I like them any less, nor is it the because theres been too much great stuff from Marvel and DC. (There has been but thats not the reason: a toy that gets me excited will get me raring to review it no matter what.)

The real reason is that Im a real G1 fan.  Dont get me wrong, Im not staunchly "only G1 toys."  In fact, I think those toys are dated.  But I think their designs are timeless.  Clean lines, very human-like faces, yet on the whole very much robot.  And I love it when they take it back to the drawing board and give us a brand new toy with all the bells and whistle but with and update on the classic look.

Thats why I love my Henkei Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Cliff Jumper, Generations Hot Rod, etc.

And thats why I love Hot Spot.

This guy and me go a long way back.  After Optimus Prime died in the Animated Movie, Hot Spot was my new favourite.  He kinda looked like Prime, was the leader of the Protectobots, and had a posse that would have his back no matter what.  If things got rough, they could even merge and form Defensor!  Needless to say he was my favourite combiner.

So when I saw thins guy n the shelf, I didnt hesitate.  I knew he was in short supply, since I saw one of him to every three Megatron and Power Dive.  To find out they are all part of an Asian exclusive line just make me think how lucky I am to be living in this part of the world!

Like: Hot Spots blue.  I know, its probably the most annoying shade of blue a Transformer can be, but its the exact same blue the original toy was (or at least I remember it to be).  Theyve cast it just the right shade to make your eyes hurt under bright light. Lol.

Like: The little details on the sculpt--metal pipes here, pistons and complicated machinery there.  His thighs have this "robot" detail, and his forearms have the exhaust pipes from when hes in vehicle mode.  These are hidden by panels which fold down when hes in robot mode.  The tops of his feet have nicely silvered double pistons--those are my favourite detail!

Like: The tampographed details like the the "hot spots" on the side of his torso/on his doors.  Those look just like his classic toy but somehow even better here!  (Well, for one, their not stickers put tampos.  Lol.)  I like the black wind shields, which is something different from the G1 toy, which has a chest panel that hinges upward to add to his pecs.  Hot Spots black opaque glass windshield are different from his buck-mates Inferno and Grapple--clear wind shields are for the less cool Bots. ;)

Also, hes got two Autobot symbols on either side behind the fiery hot spots, the sirens up top are also very cleanly applied, as is the silver of his front grille and lights, and his aforementioned pipes above his middle wheel.

The eyes are also tampoed on a nice, dark red, like the old school toy.  The bad thing about this is that the eyes dont get the full effect of the light piping, which is there because the back of his head is translucent but cant filter the light all the way through because of the coloured eyes.



Dislike: That he cant combine with the rest of the Protectobots to form Defensor.  Worse still: they didnt/havent released the rest of the gang as re-imagined G1 toys yet. :(

Wouldnt it be awesome if Hasbro did something like this? (Drool...)

Top View

Like: That his forearm blaster is part of his transformation.  It swivels to fit nicely on the under part of his forearm and swivels again to fit perfectly as his water cannon when in fire truck mode.  Its also a very nicely detailed sculpt that does the one thing every little boy loves and fires a projectile.

Dislike: That he doesnt come with any other guns.  His classic figure come with two giant blasters, which could be also used in Gestalt mode.  Then again, the old toy also came with Defensors chest piece, hand and feet.  Its a real shame about the guns though, because hes got two gripping hands and nothing to hold in them!

Bottom View

Like: His size.  He may be a Voyager Class figure but stands taller than my Henkei Prime.  Of course, the scale of characters in the G1 cartoon wasnt always consistent, but Id like to think of my combiner leaders as being fairly large.  So slightly larger than the greatest Autobot leader is fine by me.  After all, when the Protectobots or any other Gestalts combine, they should be larger than almost everyone else!

Dislike: That Hot Spots missing his classic extendable ladder!  That thing was a huge hit with everyone I knew back in the day because it could really extend to something like double the old toys height!  And whats a fire truck without a ladder, anyways?  Lol.

Also, when combined as Defensor, the ladder hung down his back like it was the coolest (and largest) robot pony tail.  And since he was the only one who had it, Defensor was the Mack Daddy of combiners everywhere and they all gave him envious looks every where he went.

They were jealous of his strength, good looks, intelligence, and that full head of hair (that of course ended in that bitchin and yet usable pony tail.)  He could also use it to smack them in the face when in brawl between Gestalts, making him the ultimate fighter among his brethren.

Like: That the kibble that forms over his arms in robot mode can be swivelled round to the back to give his shoulders and forearms maximum movement.  I also think its looks better hanging behind his arm than at is side.

Dislike: That the back of the figure is literally missing.  From the front, he looks great.  from the side, he looks like his missing the back half of his torso.  From the back, he looks completely naked.  This is the one drawback of this sculpt that prevented me from getting Inferno and then Grapple when they were initially released.  But this is Hot Spot!  And with his release, Hasbro got me in my soft spot.

Like: That modern day Transformers toys continue to have magnificent articulation.  Gone are the days when limbs were only articulated when it served the transformation of the figure.  Now, it seems every limb has swivels and hinges all over the place, hidden so well that you actually have to play with the toy several times to discover them.  Hot Spot is no different!

Dislike: That hes missing a torso swivel.  Its tough to give robots chest pivots like in superhero/human/organic figures.  A hinge might be better but would serve no purpose, really.  But a hinge would go a long way towards helping Hot Spot out in many a pose and making him look less like he had  giant paunch (which he doesnt!  Its all mechanical muscle, I tell you.  And with space for the Matrix of Leadership.  Just in case.)  A torso hinge would make this great figure even better.

HIs cannon also has a hinge!  Doh!

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 9/10 - Beautiful!  the more I look at it, the more I smile.  I talked about liking new, updated takes on G1 figures and well, this is one of them.  Its a look that is probably better than the original and has lines that look cleaner than the G1 design too.  And of course, his head design is still kinda like Optimus Primes!  In fact, it could be that they are long lost brothers... ;P

Poseability: 8/10 - As all modern transformers toys are, Hot Spot is superbly articulated.  Also, being a Voyager Class size figure, hes got the bulk and weight to be stable in most any pose.  Add to that the many straight edges of a TFs robot form and hell balance in just about any pose you can put him in.

Hot Spots joints are also nice and tight, which is a testament to the quality control the Bro has on Transformers. The only issue I have with this sculpt is the missing torso swivel.  If he had that, wed be looking at at least a 9 in this department.

Fun: 9/10 - All about the nostalgia for me.  Optimus Prime needs his best ever Second-in-Command/successor, after all.

The fire truck mode is nice and tight and clips together very well, not to mentions rolls smoothly too.  Though I do miss the classic ladder and the twin guns he used to wield because he is smarter than any Autobot or Decepticon, this guy is still very much a joy to play with.  It would be even better if he could actually combine to form Defensor, but that might be wishing a little to much of this sculpt.  Then again, if you saw those pics in the link above, you might think weve asked too little! ;P

Value: 8/10 - At the standard retail of $54.90 a pop, hes par for the course.  But at 20% off I got him on, it put him down to $43.90.  Thats decent.  Its a steal for me though because Hot Spots not just an Asian exclusive, but a shorter packed one and not to mention, one of my favourite Autobots of all time!

He could do better in the accessories (guns) department for sure, though.

Overall: 8.8/10 - Hot Spot is heavy in the memories department for me, so there are some bonus points here. The surprising thing is that I didnt realize how different the G1 toy looked from this version.  But I welcome an update, a cleaning up, and an improvement on the design, which this definitely is--I just love the new yet classic look!

Hot Spot isnt for everyone but for those of you, like me, who love this guy, hes a must-have.  Just like those who love Grapple and/or Inferno, I wouldnt miss out on getting him while hes still available in retail.  And like those who love the latter duo, I now understand why I dont see any more of them on the shelves--you guys simply had to have them! ;)

I also might just now have to go out and buy the recently released Combaticons!  Sure, they arent in G1 style, but theyre the closest Ive seen in recent times and are all Deluxe class figures, meaning theyll form a pretty large combiner!  Its probably the first time in along time that theyve released a combiner that size--none of that movie Constructicons fiasco where only the Legends size figures combine.  Hooray to Hasbro for listening to the fans and giving us some "real-sized" combiners!  Its time now to break some new ground and give us Voyagers who can combine with Deluxes and surely itll be too much of a stretch to ask that of Hot Spot.   But one can always hope!

**State of the Toy Union: My display rooms a mess!  Its made me really not want to open up any of my recent purchases until I get it cleaned up.  Im making progress with the packing/tidying up though.  So in the meantime, Im very sorry for the long pause between reviews.  Enjoy this one though--he couldnt wait! ;)**

Call him an SDCC, a Botcon or a (insert your preferred)Con Exclusive, but for us here in Singapore, hes our Transformers Con 2012 Exclusive Kre-On! (Thats what they call a Kre-O figure btw).

Messy room--enter at own peril!

Thats right, in a months time from March 11th to 14th, the bi-annual event is hitting our tiny island nation.  So the awesome people in charge sent over this little fella just to whet my appetite!

Now the idea of building a Transformer out of Legos or any other building blocks is hardly a new one because anyone whos ever laid hands on such toys will have at one point or another tried to do it.  But never has there been an official toy company whos gone out a produced a whole range of them--until now.

And while I have to admit that I was pleasantly when I saw Kre-Os on the shelves in stores, I was less than impressed by the sets.  First up, the robot modes arent all that accurate to the G1 TF forms they were trying to mimic (and neither are their vehicles modes for that matter).  Second, they came with Kre-On (minifig) versions of themselves.  And that doesnt really make sense, if you catch my drift.  Third: the price. At US$30 a pop for the bigger sets, it was kinda hard to go out on a limb and trust the quality of a new building lock brand.

Still, those Kre-Ons looked pretty darn cute.  And they do have a whole range of them out right now--Optimus, Bumblebee, Mirage, Sideswipe, Megatron, Shockwave, and Prowl, just to name a few off the top of my head.  I had even told the Rangerlord what many have expressed online--if they sold the Kre-Ons separately, Id grab em.  He agreed too.

So you can imagine my delight when the organizers of Transformers Con 2012 sent me this little package.  Now I cant wait for the Con to come.   So I guess Ill just have to settle for filling the time with a review of Kre-On Optimus Prime! ;)


Like: Improved articulation from your "standard minifig."  First up theres an added waist joint, then theres the limbs, which are all ball joints!  Because of the way the figure is though, the joints are restricted, which is just as well since I hear the joints get lose after some play--but so far so good for lil Prime here.

Like: Customizable parts.  Smokestacks, helmet, legs, torso.  If you get more Kre-Ons you can swap out the parts for sure.

Dislike: That the right leg joint and the right smokestack are a tad looser than the left sides


Like: That the parts are compatible with Legos!  Prime stands well on Lego pieces but cant quite sit because of the wheels on the side of his legs.  I the wheels werent in the way hed fit perfectly.  Accessories clip well into his hands and his gun does the same with Lego minfigs.  But while his helmet fits snugly on a minifig head, the headgear from Legos tends to be a little loose on Primes bare head.

Unfortunately, thats where the minifig/Kre-On compatibility ends.  Their legs are not interchangeable, nor are their hands.  And though I didnt pop them off for a try, I suspect their are wont fit on each others torsos either. :(

Dislike: Any Transformer worth anything can transform--this Kre-On obviously cant.  But I can forgive this because hes quite the cute lil fella.  However the bigger counterparts of Prime and the other characters are quite another matter--sure, they come apart and you can build the vehicle form, but thats cheating. ;P

Thats about as close as it gets...

Like: Really sharp tampography.  And what makes Exclusive Prime special is the sweetly rendered Autobot Matrix of Leadership on his chest.


Like: That his ion cannon is customized to look like the one from the cartoon series.  This is probably a more important detail than most care to admit.  I know one of the first few things I look for in any good Optimus figure is his gun and this one does a greatly satisfying job of providing a great likeness.

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 9/10 - Theres no mistaking it, this is definitely Optimus Prime--except in Kre-On form.  And when you can recognize a character instantly without having to have a closer look then you know the toy-makers have done a decent job.  But when you dont even have to look closely to realize that its the matrix in his chest then theyve done an excellent job.  From the classic look of the helmet, to the ion cannon, to the wheels on his legs and the tampographed designs, this Kre-On is done superbly!

Poseability: 8/10 - Simply delightful!  Even though I thought the ball joints were severely limited, upon playing around with the fig I realized what a big difference even the smallest range of motion can make, especially in this scale.  Optimus can twist at the waist, stand with his feet wide, pose looking like hes in mid stride, point his gun somewhat sideways, and have his arms look like theyre really swinging.  Id say Primes poseability is the one feature of his that surprised me the most!

Fun: 7/10 - Even with just 8 points of articulation, I really enjoyed what I could get out of this guy.  The customizability of the figure will also prove to be lots of fun once you can get your hands on more accessories. (Im thinking a gold ax-hand at least...)  Itll also be more fun if you could get your hands on just the Kre-Ons instead of buying whole sets.  Thats in the works, I hear.  But for now this is a 7 because you cant.


What saves Kre-Ons and Kre-Os right now is their compatibility with other "leading brick-building brands," as they claim on the packaging of this here figure.  I can gather all my loose Lego and start building a Teletran-1 or an Ark or even an Omega Supreme for all my TF Kre-Ons.  But eventually, Id like to see an Omega Supreme set, or a Metroplex Set, or the awesomeness that would be a Unicron set.  Better yet if these and any new sets can transform without first coming apart.  Aw yeah.

Value: 7/10 - Its okay if you like the large Kre-O "figure" that comes with the Kre-Ons (or is that vice versa? ;P) But until they offer the little guys without the sets or with a set that is the Ark or Metroplex or Unicron, I wont be spending too much money on these guys.  But once they get the sets right and start to release the individual Kre-Ons, then it should be worth your while.

Overall: 7.75/10 - Kre-O sets dont look that appetizing for now but Kre-Ons like Optimus look so good I cant wait for Hasbro to sell them individually.  Heck, I would even get them if they were sold blind-bagged.  Thats how good the Kre-Ons are--just like a minifig but with better articulation and about as pretty to look at. Sure, they might have some problems like loose joints, weird set selection, and the not-so-pretty-as-yet big-block characters, but Im sure things can only get better, especially if theyve done so great with the mini Kre-Ons right out of the blocks. (Ooh, a pun! :P)

Owned by (the) Force!

Youd think a Legend class would be HUGE, bigger than a Voyager and a Deluxe for sure, and beating out the Supreme Class for size.  But in actual fact, a Legends class figure is smaller! How much smaller?  Try the whole way!

Yes, that was one of the things that really appealed to me when I spotted this single Optimus Prime in a sea of Legend Class Megatrons.  Hes so tiny, he just had to be full of surprises!  The other thing was that Id never seen this class of Prime (nor knew that they produced this G1 version) and Im an Optimus addict--I just gotta catch em all! (That phrase is eerily familiar...;P)

But from the get go, this figure turned out to be full of surprises, the biggest one of which wasnt at all good.  Hit it to find out more!
Dislike: That my lil Prime broke apart when I first swiveled his waist to tray and transform him.  The first rotation loosened the ribbed metal "screw," and the second created a separation between the chest and the lower torso. Try as I might, I couldnt press it back in.  So I thought instead of forcing it and breaking itty bitty Optimus, Id slowly remove the top half from the bottom half and re-screw it in.  Alas, this wasnt to be because:


1) The metal screw that I thought was a screw was actually a ribbed metal "nail" that had been hammered into the plastic of the lower torso.

2) The "screw" hadnt been hammered in straight.  That meant that while I could fit it back in the hole, the upper body wouldnt swivel correctly, instead rotating at an angle that would cause the top half of the figure to spill over itself.

What I dislike about this the most is that its gonna take a helluva lot of work to fix this! How, you ask me?  Well, Im clueless too! :(

Like: That its a really tiny Prime that can transform and has some itty bitty articulation.  The upper body is actually pretty decent, with Shoulder hinges, a ball joint, and elbow balls. These facilitate the transformation, but they also really give this tiny guy some serious motion.

The gap you see is due to the screw.  Argh!

Like: That his vehicle mode is pretty tight!  Yeah, his legs clip together well, his arms and forearms tuck into and under his chest well.  Its good enough that you wouldnt be able to tell it could transform (If you didnt know about Transformers and couldnt identify with Primes iconic red and blue coloring.)

Dislike: That he doesnt have leg articulation below the hip/leg joints.  while I know it had to be cheaper to mold the whole leg with no joint, couldnt they have included just a basic knee hinge? It doesnt have to be a fantastically flexible joint, but as long as it bend, Ill take it.  As a result, his straight-leg syndrome severely restricts his stances and takes away from the potential of his great arm PoAs.

Also, his leg joints are limited.  This quite a waste because theyre actually balls but have been severely blocked by the leg sculpt.  You get about 45 degrees out to the side, which isnt too bad.  You get about 30 degrees backwards, but only about half of that out front.  Yup, this means no sitting or front kicking.  Even stepping forward is tough because Prime just looks like hes strolling in the park when you put one leg forward and another back.  Better to leave him in a heroic wide stance. Heh.

Like: The sculpt is very well detailed for a figure only 3 inches high.  Hes got great detail on his face, legs and abs, although the paint is pretty basic.  I guess its ideal if youre up for some paint customizing!

I also love the Reveal the Shield sticker on his left forearm.  Its tinnier than any Ive seen before and works just as well--you dont even have to rub/press it--just breathe on it. ;)

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 7/10 - Great sculpt for its size and aside from his "missing back" and the forearm kibble, he could rival some of the newer Optimus Primes out there.  Hes surely better looking than the G1 release of Prime from way back.

His painted parts are: the red head panel, the blue helmet and silver eyes and mouth.  The smokestacks are also painted silver, while the lower front half of the truck mode below the window is cast in silver and painted red.  His thighs and fuel tanks are silver over a dark blue cast plastic and his chest windows are stickers.  All in all its a decent amount of paint on the smallest class of Hasbro TF, so good effort.
Poseability: 5/10 - Its just tough to get lil Prime here in any decent action poses because of his
straight leg problem.  Besides wide-legged and normal stances, the only other thing he can do is a walking stance.  Hm.  Mores the pity that hes got good upper body articulation that cant be fully exploited because of the stiff legs.
Fun: 8/10 (5/10 if it breaks like mine) - Hey its Prime! (Hey he broke right out of the package!)

But in all seriousness, theres something fun about these pocket-sized Transformers.  Its just more than cool that they are so small and yet can transform better than those G1 figures we used to play with in the 80s.  Or at least this lil Prime is better than his 80s counterpart.  This is a toy thats simple enough that I would transform him again and again.

But in order for that to work the toy has got to be sturdier than what it was.  And Im not even a rough little rug rat who tore apart his Prime because he was too eager to read the instructions (though I feel like it.) Some quality control is in order here, especially for a figure as rare as this.  How rare?  Well, hes the only one Ive ever seen in the wild, the wild which is flooded with Megatrons and Starscreams.

 Value: 6/10 - I paid S$11.90 ($US 9.15) and breakages aside, it has no accessories.  Primes clearly got two hands to hold stuff with so wheres his iconic laser cannon?  What is Optimus without that sweet armament that always seems so full of Decepticon decimation potential but never seems to injure them that much?  Kinda naked, thats what.  Oh well, at least hes got some paint on him and a good sculpt.  Add to that a tight vehicle mode and Prime is more or less satisfactory.

Overall: 6.5/10 - I really never thought this fella would turn out to the be-all-and-end-all of Optimus Primes.  I did indeed expect him to fall far short of Deluxe and Voyager figures.  He did surprise me in many good ways but there was one major nasty surprise that just really ruined the enjoyment for me.  Hed probably get bumped to a full 7/10 if he didnt break and if I took that fully into account, hed be less than a 5.

But I have to stay objective--Prime is as good as any Legends you can find.  The fact that hes our old fave G1 Autobot leader just makes him worth having.  I cant say that youll have to be careful when selecting your Primes, because in this instance, its impossible--you cant just bust open the package to check all his joints.  I guess its just my luck.  Heres hoping that you have better if you find him! :)