Toy Review: Autobot Skids & Mudflap

Ice Cream Truck Skids & Mudflap

Thanks to a fellow collector, I was able to score one of these babies despite the insane demand for them. After the movie was released, kids, collectors, and even grandmothers (seriously, there was one at a recent toy event looking for Transformers) are looking for this set. Understandably, I didn’t get them at retail price (p700.00), but considering bids on eBay are going up to p1600.00, I consider myself lucky. The way I figure it, the little extra I paid for these Twins is a lot less than what I would have spent riding up and down the MRT from SM North to Mall of Asia looking for them.

The big selling point of the Deluxe Class “Autobot Skids/Mudflap” is really right on the box; “2 ROBOTS COMBINE!”. When I saw that announcement sticker on the front of the package, I, like everyone else couldn’t wait to get one. How can you beat a two-for-one deal? Just look at the buying frenzy that ensued when Marvel Legends hit clearance here in the Philippines. It started an influx of new dilettantes that have turned into collectors and geeks in their own right. People love a sale.

According to the back of their card, these guys are equipped with “experimental combination technology”. Fuck if I know what that means. I do know that this version showed up in the movie (albeit in a weird and inexplicable scene I’m not at all sure was necessary), so I’m sure completists are going to want to add him to their displays. Kids are going to want him because let’s face it, their pure merchandising gold. As for me, I just couldn’t resist pink Transformers that turned into an ice cream truck. We all scream for ice cream.

But I want to make one think very clear before I get going; two-for-one isn’t necessarily the same as 50% off. Skids and Mudflap turn into a vehicle that is roughly the same size as a regular deluxe vehicle, but their robot forms are about the size of the Scout Class figures. I pretty much expected this since Hasbro’s got to make a profit, but if you were expecting to get a toy that replaced the red and green Twins that came out previously, you’ll want to keep hunting.

The package for these Revenge of the Fallen toys is alot easier to open than previous lines. Once you strip the tape off the back, the bubble seems to fall right off when you pull it. There are several twisties, but I’ve learned to keep a nail clipper handy while I open things. There are also some clear rubber bands that will have to be removed. The requisite useless instruction manual is included (which you can feel free to toss in the trash) as well a catalog of other Transformer toys available at your favorite toystore (or not).

Skids and Mudflap come in their separate half-vehicle forms and you are required to put them together. I really miss that old note on those 80’s toys that warned “some assembly required”, so this was a mini thrill for me. It’s a cinch really, since he’s got pegs and holes that are really very obvious. Really, an untrained monkey who just came in off a bender, has been blindfolded, and spun around 52 times in an office chair can put these two pieces together.

The vehicle form is just as great as I imagined it. It really reminds me of that Mickey/Optimus Prime import. It seems like something Disney would have put in one of his movies. Or Stephen King in one of his books. Really the only thing that it’s missing is a light and sound feature with the little ice cream truck song it had in the film and the “Decepticons suck my popsicle” painted along the side. I seriously want to ask one of our local customizers if they can paint that on one side, just so I can have him drive by my set of Masterpiece Seekers.

There is one thing that I find fiddly though. His hood tends to pop open fairly easily since the latch isn’t really that secure. The little hood ornament on the front acts as a lock to hold his spring loaded head down under the hood, but since it’s a small, pull out piece, it comes loose fairly easily. I’m afraid it might get pretty bad later on with a few months play wear.

Their robot forms are excellent little toys. I’m not really a stickler for size or scale, so the fact that they’re smaller than a G.I. Joe doesn’t really bother me. The colors are what you’d expect from the vehicle mode, though Skids seems to get more of the pink, while Mudflap gets the cream. Maybe Skids is more secure in his masculinity.

They’ve got pretty good articulation, though not as much as their single robot forms. Knees and elbows are hinge joints, while shoulder, hips and neck are all ball joints. Skids’ shoulders are hindered by his armor, however. There’s an additional hinge joint on the wrists of their oversized hands; right for Skids, left for Mudflap. Sculpt wise, I prefer Skids. He’s got a top heavy look that goes well with his face. It makes him look a little CRAZEH! Mudflap is all right, but his torso seems very long, like the Scout Class Roll Bar toy. His feet are also oversized.

As far as I can tell there aren’t any issues with paint. The register lines on the words were perfect on mine. Admittedly, there is no way for me to actually check, since these aren’t shelved so much as brought-out-of-the-box-and-given-to-people-waiting-in-a-long-ass-line.

So are the Ice Cream Twins worth the trouble? Probably not. It’ll be hard to find them at retail for the near future unless you’re unbelievably lucky and they’re smaller than your average Deluxe figure (even if there are 2 of them). On the other hand, given that Scout figures are now at p700.00 as well, the same price as these guys, and the quality of the toy is very good. The real kicker is availability. I would recommend waiting to see if the newer case assortments reach our shores. I’m sure with the demand that the movie has kicked up, we’ll be flush with Transformer product for a while yet.