Toy Review: Bootleg TFA Activators

Bootleg Transformers
Animated Activators

On one hand, it’s sad that there are so many bootlegs of toys on the market. The stand of the toy companies is that it takes money away from them by giving people an option that is cheaper than the original. Most of the time I’d say that’s bunk, since normally boot egs are sub-standard, badly made junk that isn’t really worth the trouble. Under normal circumstances, the people buying bootlegs are the people who can’t afford the original suggested retail price of the authentic product. Essentially, the toy makers would never had gotten that money anyway.

That argument doesn’t hold water when you’re staring at something like these though.

I found these two lovely little knockoffs in St. Francis Square, the mecca for us poor souls who are too lazy to drag our asses to Divisoria, the source of all this plastic goodness. I was surprised that they were only p80, which means they’re probably p30 or p40 in Divi since the store I bought it at is known to jack up prices that high. Sometimes I don’t mind since it costs me several hundred to get to and from Divi anyway.

What really struck me was that these toys are of a material that feels as sturdy as the one used in the Hasbro version. Unlike most bootlegs I’ve encountered, the limbs dont’ feel as if they’re about to fall off. They’re also cast in colors similar to the originals (they may be a bit brighter). The biggest difference really is their lack of the copyrighted Autobot insignia. From what I’ve read online, they also have Starscream and Grimlock, and each mold comes in 2 variations. I’m hoping to find some of the others as well.

Articulation is pretty impressive for this scale. Both of them have working knees and elbows, though Bee’s is sort of blocked by the car doors he has on the back of his arms. Oh well. In robot mode, these two are a nice step up from the Legends Class Versions.

The transformation sequence for both is pretty impressive for something this size. There are some gaps and things since the designers didn’t have a whole lot of room to work with here and they needed to fit in an action feature somewhere. The end result is a vehicle form that’s got some compromises, but looks pretty good from a distance.

Bumblebee’s arm and shoulder construction is supported by a black frame that you can see sticking out his backside as a car. It ruins his aerodynamics, but it’s not too in obtrusive. Prime has more of the obvious gaps in his chassis and you’ll see some of those black support pieces on the back of his cab as well.

I wouldn’t normally recommend bootlegs, but since the Activator Class has been so scarce on the shelves (I saw Bumblebee ONCE when the Transformers Line was launched and then *poof*), many of us don’t have much of a choice. Right now, the only way you can get Bumblebee is to buy the exclusive Leader/Activator Class 2-pack that is currently on mark down at p1000.00. Since this box was brought in late, and most of us bought the single LC Bulkhead on sale at the same price (insert facepalm here), it makes little sense to shell out again.

In addition to being hard to find, the single cards of these toys were originally p500 or so suggested retail price. That is only a p200 ($4) price difference from a Deluxe Class toy. Despite the “pop-up” gimmick, which barely works and doesn’t exactly thrill (and note that the bootlegs have the same feature), their size should have dictated a better price.

If you missed out on Activator Prime and Bumblebee, here’s your chance.