Toy Review: Warbot001 Defender

05/4/10

FansProject Warbot001 Defender

There have been several new start up companies putting out fan-made Transformer designs and aftermarket accessories lately. There’s iGear, who made the awesome Teletran 1 playset and the mini masterpiece Prime. Then there’s Mastermind Creations who created the nice, but cheap looking Knight Morpher based on the Heart of Steel designs, then there’s Perfect Effect Toys that made a God Sword for the Classic Prime mold. And who can forget TFClub’s Battle Rollar, a transformer version of Primes little buddy.

None of these hold a candle to the special guys at FansProject though. Since they came on the scene with their simple, but completely awesome Cliffjumper upgrade in 2008, these guys have been pumping out some quality stuff. There’s of course the unbelievably cool upgrade to the Classic Ultra Magnus called City Commander Add On Set, the recent upgrade to the re-issued Superion, and the G3 trailer set for the classics line, and the upcoming upgrades for the Bruticus combiner and Hot Rod.

Last month, FansProject released the first in what will hopefully be a long line of standalone robots to add to your Transformers collection. Dubbed the Warbot Defender, it’s an obvious homage to the triple-changer, Springer from the original cartoon’s second season. It’s a much truer rendition than anything Hasbro has done in the past (which were just green and yellow repaints of whatever molds they had available), and much closer to the way he was portrayed in the series. But more on that later.

The box it comes in is basic, like the other FansProject… projects. There aren’t any fancy origami folds or wordy blurbs on the back. Just a paperboard box with graphics and product photos, and a hard plastic box around that to protect it (which in turn was given to me in a plastic bag and wrapped in paper). It would take a direct blow from a sledgehammer to damage this thing.

On the inside is a plastic tray that holds the figure directly in the center of the box for maximum protection. It also lets you take the figure out rather easily. No twist ties, no rubber bands. I wish American toy manufacturers would get a clue and start doing it this way. Just cut the clear tape securing the two halves and pry them apart and the toy will fall right into your hands.

Instead of an instruction manual, Defender comes with a comic book that describes how to transform him step by step. Trust me when I say you are going to need this book, so don’t lose it. I pride myself on figuring out how to transform Transformers, but this thing is WAY over my head. And at Php 3,600.00 at the time of release, you don’t want to be snapping any parts on this sucker.

The comic is nicely done for a toss-in, and is far handier than any instruction sheet Hasbro has ever included in it’s toys. The areas that you need to change on the toy are convieniently highlighted so you don’t screw up. Why didn’t Hasbro think of that?

It’s a question I hear myself asking everytime I look at a FansProject toy. Just take a look at the weapons that Defender comes with. He’s got 2 pistols and a sword. I’m not sure where the pistols came from (maybe he used them in the comic), but the sword is definitley a nod to the G1 design. In the movie, Springer’s rotor blades became a sword when he was a robot. He could pull it out of his back just like a Robot Samurai. This figure can do the same, and the sword coverts to the helicopter’s rotor. Why didn’t you think of that Hasbro?

The figure has 2 alternate modes, just like any triple changer should. The original Springer (1986) could transform into a helicopter and jet car (albeit ones that looked nothing like the cartoon), but the three subsequent figures were just redecos of regular releases. This one changes from a Jet car to the helicopter, and both look close to the cartoon model, if not spot on.

The jet car is pretty fun, and is the easier of the two to transform him into. It has free-rolling wheels and you can store both guns and sword on the vehicle.

The helicopter is a little bit tricker to change him into and this is where I had to break out the instruction manual. There are a few steps that you need to do with the arms that aren’t immediately obvious. They have to be at a certain angle so everything fits in place. It’s a very elegant and tight design, but definitely not one for kids.

Again, there are places to store the pistols, and the blade becomes the rotor. Everything is part of the design, which makes this toy that much more satisfying. FansProject even included an extra piece that will allow you to attach the Defender to one of those Gundam Action Bases if you have an extra one lying around.

The robot mode is by far my favorite though.

Like the vehicles, he also has a place to store his gear when not in use. His pistols can be slotted into his “boots” while the sword can be pegged into his “backpack”. It’s all very nicely thought out and highly appreciated.

Articulation is aces. There are very few transformable robot toys that can boast the same level of articulation as figures in lines like DC Universe Classics or Marvel Legends. This is definitely one of them. With several balljoints and some combination joints at his hips, knees, shoulders, and elbows, the Warbot Defender can really move. It makes for great fun posing him.

Also, take note that this is one of the few modern releases that sports die-cast parts. And it isn’t tiny pieces like a crossbar here or a support frame there. His entire chest, most of his legs, and some of the pieces on his back are metal. It makes for a pretty heavy figure.

The down side is he may be kind of hard to stand up with all that weight. However, if you have some patience, you can find that sweet spot. And all that extra articulation really does help.

Paint wise, he’s nothing to shake a stick at, but it’s decent. Since he’s a robot, fancy washes aren’t really required anyway. Mine didn’t really have any glaring paint defects, so I’m happy.

One thing you do have to watch out for is that sword. I guess because FansProject wanted everything to be as “realistic” as possible, they made it so that the sword is very thin, almost blade thin. This means that it is very, very delicate and will snap if you catch it on anything. I’d recommend removing it completely if you’re attempting to transform him. Thankfully, the rest of the parts on him seem to be of much strudier stuff.

All in all, I’d say that the figure is worth it to a collector. It’s expensive, sure, but with production runs that are no where close to what Hasbro is doing for their most unsellable toy line, it’s understandable. It’s a rare and high quality figure, with a wonderful sculpt, plus great articulation and accessories.

If you’re a fan of Transformers: The Movie (the original one, not Bay’s version), then this is a great choice for you’re four grand.

Toy Review: Ghost Battalion

05/1/10

Ghost Battalion

It’s funny how things work. This week has been all about Iron Man 2. The movie’s out here, and Playkit just brought in limited quantities of 10 new 3.75″ figures, and the two Walmart Exclusive 6″ers. My last two days have been spent running around Ortigas Center from toy store to toy store looking for them, and now I find that the toy find that’s giving me the most happiness right now isn’t the Hulkbuster or the War Machine, or the Titanium Man figures I found at Podium for Php 450.00 eacn, but these totally unknown skeleton astronauts I found on sale in unmarked plastic bags for Php 30.00.

Meet the Ghost Battalion.

Or the Bone Brigade. It really depends on the site you find it at. It took all my considerable skill at wiki-jutsu and copious amounts of google-fu to find out what these figures were called. The baggie that Toy Kingdom has them in is completely without labels or anything and there isn’t anything inside that can be used to identify them. All there is really is the price tag. That sweet Php 30.00 price tag. When was the last time you got a toy for less than a dollar?

Here’s what they looked like in the original packages:

If you got to FigureRealm.com You’ll find some nice information on these figures that came out in 1995. Our little skeletal astronauts were made in 1995 by a comany called Jasman, a Hong Kong toy manufacturer that started in 1991. In 2007 they had the Halo license, but it looks like they may have already gone out of business as their website (www.jasmantoys.com) is no longer functioning.

From what I can find, they look like a company that worked on proprietary product lines until they started expanding into the American markets when they won the Bungie Halo license. Chap Mei is another Hong Kong company that creates it’s own toys rather than buy licenses from the big names like Disney and Marvel. These Ghost Batallion figures are very much like the Police vs. Bad Guyz figures in that they are about the same height and have the basic 5 points of articulation and an assortment of accessories that don’t fit particularly well.

They are hella fun though.

This is what you get in one of these packages:

That’s four figures; Comet Kazi, Deep Fry, Cooker, and Asteroid. Don’t ask me which is which. According to blurbs on the packages, “It was their final mission… now they’re back looking for more!”

There are a bunch of sprue trees with two sets of 3 weapons and 2 different projectiles, as well as 2 stands and 2 weapons platforms (a cannon with shield and a jet pack). That’s a lot of stuff, and it’s way more than they can actually use all at once. There’s also a missle/rocket pack or something that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere I try it.

Sadly, they figures can’t seem to hold on to the pistols and rifles properly. I may need to do some shaving or something to get them to fit properly. No biggie. I’ll forgive just about anything for Php 30.00.

All together, they look like a great team and personally, I think they are excellent even if they’re an off-brand toy. Like I said, I’ve been playing with these a lot more than the new Neo Classic Iron Man I bought the other day. I haven’t even OPENED Hulkbuster yet.

They’re pretty small though, topping out at about 3.5″, smaller than a Marvel Universe figure like Piledriver there. The great thing though is, you can use the stands they come with for your Marvel Universe figures! That is a pretty good bonus since the old figures don’t come with stands and are a pain to try and pose.

I’ve already got 8 sets of these at the time of this writing. In about an hour, I’m on my way to the toy store to pick up as many more as I can carry. They’re just so striking I can’t resist army building them.

My first thought was that I could give them away as cheap gifts to my relatives and kids of friends, but skeletons in spacesuits doesn’t seem like an appropriate gift for a 4 year old. If you’ve seen the Dr. Who episode, “Silence in the Library”, you’ve got some idea how creepy they look, despite their cartoony proportions.

Did I meantion they glow in the dark? It’s been forever since I had a toy that glowed in the dark.

And all for only Php 30.00. Php 30.00!

Toy Review: Iron Man 2/ SM Cinema Tumbler Toppers

Iron Man 2 Tumbler Toppers

Since McDonald’s lost the Disney license, they’ve been putting out some crappy Happy Meal Toys. The thing I loved about the Disney toys was that they weren’t trying hard to be overly complicated. Most of them were little more than gashapons; little, cheap, statues that didn’t move, but looked great grouped together in a display. Now everything HAS to have an action feature and it makes most of the toys look awful.

I’m so glad that whoever is doing the Iron Man merchandising is keeping it simple. If you hurry, you can still get these great tumbler toppers at SM Cinemas now. They say stocks are limited, but they’ve had them since the start of the week and still had them yesterday night when I watched Iron Man 2

These things are pretty gorgeous; they’re almost like those mini-busts you’d find in a high end hobby store for thousands of pesos. Considering you’re only paying about Php 100.00 for them (a hotdog and large drink cost about Php 100.00 at SM cinemas which is a little over $2.00) these are worth every centavo.

They’re about 3 or 4 inches high (the toppers, not the tumblers) and made of some cheap rubbery plastic. They’re pretty solid though, not rotocast, so there’s little chance of them shattering. They are pretty soft though, so watch how you carry them or War Machine’s chain gun will need some viagra.

The sculpt is pretty good, looking decent enough and more detailed than you’d expect from one of these things. Even the back is pretty good.

I prefer War Machine to the Mark VI though, mainly because the Mark VI’s pose looks kind of off. It’s not extended enough, like they were trying to fit him in a specifically sized mold. The same is true of War Machine, but his pose is more neutral so it’s not as obvious.

Paint isn’t spectacular, but then nothing is at this price. You get some extra gray on the WM and some gold on the VI and a little white on both. That’s about it. It’s not particularly well applied either, but you can’t complain.

As movie swag goes, this is some of the best I’ve seen in awhile. I mean I love my Star Trek special edition DVD case, but I had to pay 2 grand for that thing. These things are cheaper than the price of my ticket (we only pay about $4.00 for a movie ticket which is frankly, one of the best things about living here)

If you want, you can skip the toppers and just get the tumblers, but they aren’t all that great. The prints are sometimes blurry, and the graphics aren’t the best images. Poor War Machine doesn’t even get his own cup. If you prefer, you can get plastic dog tags with Iron Man’s or War Machine’s head on it. Nice enough, but I don’t really want to pay Php 50.00 for them. Ditto with the LED keychain flashlight, but your mileage may vary.

Here’s a list of the menu:

Iron Man Tumbler with Topper
Php 199.00
You get a 24 oz drink with either a Junior Popcorn and Donut, or a Hotdog, or a Regular Popcorn plus a tumbler and topper

Iron Man Tumbler
Php 149.00
You get a 24 oz drink with either a Junior Popcorn and Donut, or a Hotdog, or a Regular Popcorn plus a tumbler

Iron Man Dog Tag
Php 149.00
You get a 24 oz drink with either a Junior Popcorn and Donut, or a Hotdog, or a Regular Popcorn plus one dog tag set

Iron Man LED Key Chain
Php 149.00
You get a 24 oz drink with either a Junior Popcorn and Donut, or a Hotdog, or a Regular Popcorn plus on dog tag plus a LED Key Chain

I really recommend you get a pair of these as soon as you can. A set of nice looking statues for your desk at work. If you have any skill with a brush, they’d probably be easy enough to repaint and some plaster/paper clay/epoxy and you can make a proper base for it. It won’t be a 7-11 Iron Man cup, but I’ll take what I can get.

Movie Review: Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2

Sequels seem to be something that Hollywood has never been too good at. Sure there are the exceptions (Empire Strikes Back, Spider-man), but once the studio heads have seen that franchise potential, they don’t want to risk anything. As a result, sequels become more of the same, but with MORE.

A case in point would be Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. More T&A, more big robots, more explosions. A second example woudl be Spider-Man 3; more villians. more fights. More damsels in distress.

It’s this mentality that really annoys me when it comes to movies, especially genre films. I was especially aprehensive about Iron Man 2, since I think Favreau’s first Iron Man was probably the best adaptation of a comic book EVER. It is one of the few original DVDs I own and one I re-watch on a regular basis.

Trailers of the sequel were very… flashy. They had that WOW! TOTALLY AWESOME thing going for them. Usually when that happens, the film itself falls flat for me. All the pre-release hype ups that level of expectation and when you finally see the film, it can’t possibly live up to what you pictured in your head.

Thankfully, I surround myself with people who are much geekier and more obsessed than I am. These guys went and watched the premiere and told me that it wasn’t all that. My inner awesome-o-meter went from TOTTALLY AWESOME! to REALLY? NO WAY? just like that. That effectively killed the hype. When I went to see it, I was going in as a normal person who hadn’t been jacked into the months and months of news and reports about the movie. Just some fan of the first one, wanting to see if the second one was any good.

This is what it must have been like back when they had drive-in movie theaters.

While Iron Man 2 isn’t the unbelievably great flick that Iron Man 1 was, it is a great way to kill 2 hours. I think Favreau was able to keep that studio mentality at bay for the most part, since much of this chapter is focused on dialogue. I mean, it’s a whole 40 or 50 minutes before Iron Man sees any action.

The movie’s mainly about Tony Stark’s life after reavealing that he’s Iron Man, how it affects his relationships with the government, with his assistant, Pepper Potts, and with his best friend, James Rhodes. Naturally, he’s even more of a celebrity than he was as the CEO of Stark Industries. His high profile lifestyle begins to irk the government and enemies start to surface.

The main ones here are Justin Hammer, the CEO of a rival Arms Manufacturer, and Ivan Vanko, son of Tony’s father’s former partner, who is also a brilliant physicist.

Even though that’s a lot to set up, The cast and crew did a great job of keeping you engaged. Personally, I could watch Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow for hours. Both of them bring that conviction to their roles that makes you believe that they’re real people, not just 1-dementional cut-outs from a comic. Put them together with Mickey Rourke (Vanko), Sam Rockwell (Hammer), and Don Cheadle (Rhodes) and I was convinced that this is going to be added to that DVD collection as soon as they can throw together some extras and commentary.

The only low points for me were Samuel L. Jackson as SHEILD Director, Nick Fury, and Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow). While Jackson is a fine actor, he didn’t do a lot to really distinguish Fury as a character seperate from any of the other dozens of badass mofos that he’s played in the other dozens of films he’s been in. He’s the same guy you saw in Die Hard With a Vengeance or Pulp Fiction… just not as glib. Now if they had given him a scene like he had in Deep Blue Sea, that would have rocked.

Johansson… what can I say? She looks great in that black skin tight suit. All the shots of her butt and cleavage? Two thumbs up! I was glued to my seat watching her kick the ass of an entire building’s security force, but whenever she has dialogue in her scenes, it falls flat. She is protraying a superhero whose codename is Black Widow. You’d expect her to have some kind of screen presence. That said, I’d still totally pay to see a Black Widow movie with her in the title role.

I am a shallow bastard, I know.

In the end, I feel that Iron Man 2 is really a bridging movie. The first really was a powerful introduction to the Iron Man universe, and this second is more about establishing the character and the supporting cast. There’s a lot less action in this one (contrary to what you see in the trailer), but you know it’s building to something (either a third movie or the eventual Avengers movie).

Besides Johansson, the thing that really stole the show was the armor. We get 4 more Iron Man armors from the film, the Mark IV which Tony built after the Mark III was totalled at the end of the first movie, the Mark V, which is that suitcase you see in the trailer (how cool is that by the way?), and the Mark VI, which naturally comes after the Mark V. Aside from that, there’s also the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit, which Rhodey finally gets to wear. It is a thing of beauty. I want to have this suit’s children.

I sincerely hope this isn’t the end of the Iron Man franchise since it is my second favorite comic movie franchise (the first is Hellboy). Jon Favreau is fast becoming one of my favorite directors, right up there with Del Torro, Jackson, Proyas, etc. He’s the right blend of funny and serious, and he knows how to be reverent to the source material without corrupting it.

Here’s hoping Joss Whedon’s Avengers and Kenneth Branagh Thor turns out just as great. After all, more of the same is pretty great when the original is totally, stupefyingly cool.

 

 

Related Reviews:

12″ Invincible Iron Man
Comic Series War Machine
Movie Series Mark I
Advanced Tactical Armor Boxset