toy reveiw time
while I wait for the unearthy polite sevice poerson at yahoo to fix my mailbox, here is quick reveiw of the bulk of the first wave of power core combiners... wick will probobly interest all of one poerson in my watchlist
SMOULDER/CHOPSTER
smoulder is a very simple toy to transform, the overal astetics of all three of it's modes are pretty characterful and balanced
the back of the truck mode is exposed but this is hardly an issue
robot mode seems a tad weak i the legs, and the shoulders are massive, but this also adds chr to it. the details on the face seem a tad muddled, but it seems that way for pretty much the whole line.power up mode is a hunched over hulk, with shoulders that strech to kingdom come,it's really nice how each power up mode looks so different
Chopster is alright, bot mode is bot mode, veichle weapon mode is acceptable, robot weapon mode is pretty good, armor mode seems a tad lacking, and the handle kind of gets in the way, He works REALLY well on huffer though
HUFFER/CALIBURST
another absurdly easy transformation,though in all honesty, if you don't check the directions, it's so easy that it's hard
bot mode seems a tad lacking, though the ches has a good deal of character, and power up mode looks surpisingly well,creating a bulky,power rangerish looking robot
Caliburst is another so so figure, bot mode is pretty much always acceptable with these guys it seems.Veichle weapons mode is acceptable, though it seems a tad to big, robot weapon is meh, turning into a giant sniper rifle i think, and seems like it would be too awkward for any other figure to handle due to how it pegs,Armor mode is great however,and gives that old school combiner chest plate feel spot on, the gun evenadds a nice touch, though, weirdly egnough, he looks better on smoulder....huh
SEARCHLIGHt/BACKWIND
ugh,generally not that pleased with this one, veichle mode is a clunky helicopter,bot mode looks awkward and kibble ridden
and commander mode hardly gets past looking like a jumbled mess of parts, the ultra magnus looking head is a nice touch
as are the folding out chest pannels for power up but still not egnought to really redeem this one
Backwind is pretty shitty too, but i still like him oddly,bot mode is monkeyish and kind of cute,veichle mode is barely acceptable, as a winch /searchlight combo,with a gattling gun (?????),weapon mode is a flat out awkard joke, armor mode looks alright though
BOMBSCHOCK/COMBATICONS
bombschock is an ok figure, bot mode seems a bit lacking and topheavy,and veichle mode is so so, but chances are you will be keeping him in power up mode, wich looks the best out of all of them so far,definately a hail to Bruticus,the biggest issue is there being no minicon tab on the chest to attach an armor minicon, but there is one on the back at least, and it is ver apparent as to why this would not work.over all this figure seems like it was mad with poer up mode in mind
the drones are all great,they peg in easily, stay in, and come off easily, and there hardly seems to be any issues with the mechanisisms at all, I am kind of surprised at how well that system works. the only artiiculatipn the figures have for the most part is the gun turrets,other than that ,they are reliant on the hinges of the figure they re put on, beyond that, the biggest issues witht he drones are the jeep being kind of weak as a support due to the hinges in the ankle, and the missle truck needing a bit of a nudge to lock itself in place in veichle mode
SMOULDER/CHOPSTER
smoulder is a very simple toy to transform, the overal astetics of all three of it's modes are pretty characterful and balanced
the back of the truck mode is exposed but this is hardly an issue
robot mode seems a tad weak i the legs, and the shoulders are massive, but this also adds chr to it. the details on the face seem a tad muddled, but it seems that way for pretty much the whole line.power up mode is a hunched over hulk, with shoulders that strech to kingdom come,it's really nice how each power up mode looks so different
Chopster is alright, bot mode is bot mode, veichle weapon mode is acceptable, robot weapon mode is pretty good, armor mode seems a tad lacking, and the handle kind of gets in the way, He works REALLY well on huffer though
HUFFER/CALIBURST
another absurdly easy transformation,though in all honesty, if you don't check the directions, it's so easy that it's hard
bot mode seems a tad lacking, though the ches has a good deal of character, and power up mode looks surpisingly well,creating a bulky,power rangerish looking robot
Caliburst is another so so figure, bot mode is pretty much always acceptable with these guys it seems.Veichle weapons mode is acceptable, though it seems a tad to big, robot weapon is meh, turning into a giant sniper rifle i think, and seems like it would be too awkward for any other figure to handle due to how it pegs,Armor mode is great however,and gives that old school combiner chest plate feel spot on, the gun evenadds a nice touch, though, weirdly egnough, he looks better on smoulder....huh
SEARCHLIGHt/BACKWIND
ugh,generally not that pleased with this one, veichle mode is a clunky helicopter,bot mode looks awkward and kibble ridden
and commander mode hardly gets past looking like a jumbled mess of parts, the ultra magnus looking head is a nice touch
as are the folding out chest pannels for power up but still not egnought to really redeem this one
Backwind is pretty shitty too, but i still like him oddly,bot mode is monkeyish and kind of cute,veichle mode is barely acceptable, as a winch /searchlight combo,with a gattling gun (?????),weapon mode is a flat out awkard joke, armor mode looks alright though
BOMBSCHOCK/COMBATICONS
bombschock is an ok figure, bot mode seems a bit lacking and topheavy,and veichle mode is so so, but chances are you will be keeping him in power up mode, wich looks the best out of all of them so far,definately a hail to Bruticus,the biggest issue is there being no minicon tab on the chest to attach an armor minicon, but there is one on the back at least, and it is ver apparent as to why this would not work.over all this figure seems like it was mad with poer up mode in mind
the drones are all great,they peg in easily, stay in, and come off easily, and there hardly seems to be any issues with the mechanisisms at all, I am kind of surprised at how well that system works. the only artiiculatipn the figures have for the most part is the gun turrets,other than that ,they are reliant on the hinges of the figure they re put on, beyond that, the biggest issues witht he drones are the jeep being kind of weak as a support due to the hinges in the ankle, and the missle truck needing a bit of a nudge to lock itself in place in veichle mode