Thursday 20 October 2011

BEASTWARS - B'BOOM

This figure is from 1997. He is a Maximal and a member of the pack. he did not appear in any American cartoons but features in the second series of beast wars in Japan. he first appeared i the comic series beast wars " The Gathering" episode 1. he also appeared in beast wars "The Ascending" part 7


From my own comic "The Ascending"

MOTTO; " Show me the wall...I'll bang my head against it"

FUNCTION; Guerrilla war expert

ALTERNATE MODE; Mandrill

TECH SPEC B'Boom is sheer fury unleashed. He has trouble containing himself when there are battles to be won. Ferocious in battle, but when he gets that savage fire in his eyes, look out. Like an explosion, he launches into battle with an unmatched fury. He is very unpredictable, but the other Maximals feel safe with him around. He is a good friend to all Maximals, but untrusting of outsiders. He is protective of his Maximal friends. He looks out for their well-being, especially taking care of the smaller or less experienced Maximals. Strong willed, he will speak his mind to commander or subordinate alike. B'Boom is unwavering under pressure, he could be a one-bot army or command a small team of soldiers. He is focused in battle, yet extremely clever. He may either out muscle or outwit his opponents in battle. Many unsuspecting Predacons have felt the incredible wrath that comes with standing in the way of his objective.

SPEC ?


B'Boom front


B'Boom side


Intermediate mode with missile


B'Boom with missile


Robot mode


Original box


Back of box detail

It also came with original instructions.

B'Boom is well detailed and is very comic accurate and true to life in his Mandrill form. he has lots of details. His intermediate mode uses his mutant face. This mode is a bit clumsy. His missile weapons can store in beast mode.

If you press the Mandrills right ear his eyes widen and his mouth opens to reveal a rocket launcher.

In robot mode there is no place for his shoulder panels to go and they can restrict his arm movements. His feet are weird and he walks on the back of his Mandrill feet. He has pointed ears and good face details. he has a Mahican hair style and was called Apache in Japan. His gun does not stay well in his hand. His hands should be articulated.







Thursday 13 October 2011

Commemorative Edition G1 Soundwave

COMMEMORATIVE ADDITION G1 SOUNDWAVE 2006

Soundwave is one of the most iconic characters ever. He has a metallic gravely voice and he has a whole army of Decepticon cassettes in his chest which he can eject at will.
This is the re issue and he was packaged with two of his cassettes Lazerbeak and Ravage. This re issue is the Tekara Soundblaster version of the mold  As the original 1984 mould was destroyed. The Soundblaster mold is good though as he can hold two cassettes rather than the one with the original mold.

Back Story

Soundwave is one of the most loyal to Megatron. The first time you saw him was in "More than meets the eye" part one when he transformed into a lamp post on Cybetron.. You also saw him on earth as a cassette player.
Soundwave is a bit of a spy and Megatrons right hand man. He is sent on many Covert missions for his master. His cassettes come in handy.
In part two he was sent to infiltrate the Arc and to learn more about Earth. They knew nothing about it. He was discovered by Spike who set off the alarm although Soundwave did escape.
Soundwave has the job of making Energon cubes. He makes them in his chest so they can then be filled with energon. He actually came up with the idea of Energon cubes.
Throughout the series  in "War of the Dinobots" he discovered the Dinobots weakness through a brain scan. When he is in cassette player mode he has probes (audio devices) which can be used to spy. They look like ear pnones
I  "SOS Dinobots" he was attached to Reflector. They were downloading pictures.
He is the communications officer and Megatron relies on him.

In the G1 Movie Soundwave had to keep his mouth shut when the injured Decepticons where thrown into space by Astrotrain. he has self preservation.

"Carnage in C minor" Soundwave was recording a musical weapon. A bit of a dodgy episode in my book.

The last time you saw him was in " Return of Optimus Prime. Ratback returned to Soundwave.

Blaster is his rival and in "Antartica they fought and killed each other. His cassettes survived and picked up all his parts. He was taken to The pklanet master where he was re built as Soundblaster. The same thing but with a black paint job.

When the first fought it was in " Autobop" Soundwave was using a hypno weapon to use on humans so they would become slaves for the Decepticons

Soundwave in the comic became the leader in one time line.



FUNCTION; Communications

MOTTO; " Cries and screams are music to my ears"

TECH SPEC; It's said that Soundwave can hear a fly sneeze. It's also said that beneath his smooth-talking, affable surface beats the generator coil of a blackmailer. Those who know these facts about him are careful about what they say within earshot of him. Soundwave is the ultimate opportunist & will use anything he can to advance his status in the eyes of Megatron. He doesn't worry about what others think of him because he knows he's nearly indispensable. Although they all despise him, other Decepticons pretend to like him rather than get on his bad side. As Rumble explains, "Soundwave always has the last laugh."

SPEC; Strength 8. Intelligence 9, Speed 2, Endurance 6, Rank 8, Courage 5, Firepower 6, Skill 10


Soundwave robot mode


Soundwave cassette player mode


Cassette player showing missiles that turn into batteries in compartment in back


With laserbeak in cassette deck


With lazerbeak in cassette deck ejecting


Ravage in tape deck


Ravage being ejected


Ravage in panther mode with missiles


Ravage as cassette

 lazerbeak as bird mode



lazerbeak with cassette mode


cassettes in cassette boxes


Front of box


Back of box


Showing 3D picture of Soundwave inside box


RAVAGE

FUNCTION; Saboteur


MOTTO; "Today's Autobots are tomorrows scrap metal"


TECH SPEC; " Ravage operates best alone. A creature of the night. Craftiest of all Decepticons. Adept at devising deadly new strategies. Remains aloof of others, but his deeds command their respect. Can virtually escape detection- emits an electromagnetic emission shield, had a soundless walk, disappears in subdued light or shadow. Carries two powerful heat seeking missiles. Light sensitive. can be blinded"

SPEC; Strength 5, Intelligence 8, speed 5, Endurance 6, Rank 7, Courage 4, Firepower 7, Skill 10

Back Story

Ravage is used to capture humans. You first saw him in part one of "More than meets the eye" . When the Decepticons detected a vehicle coming towards them they thought it was an Autobot so they released Ravage  to see what was happening.
When Soundwave infiltrated the Arc he released Ravage who slotted into Teletran one and downloaded all the information  about earth into Soundwave. When they were discovered Soundwave escaped but Ravage was captured. He was a prisoner for a while. The Decepticons wanted to increase their supply of Energon and also build a ship to get them off earth and take over the universe . The autobots hatched a plan so Hound and Mirage talked in front of Ravage about their plans and dropped a key so he could escape and tell his master about it. That was the first and last time you hear him speak.

In the rest of the series he went back to capturing humans and worked as a tracker to capture the Insecticons.

He was the back up in battle with his firepower.

He was in the G1 movie along with the others.

Ravage in the comic spoke all the time and he was a lot more cunning. More than a snarling beast.

He made an appearance in Beast wars. Not as a re name but as the G1 ravage in a new form. megatron was trying to mess with time in prehistoric Earth. the Tripredicus council liked what he was doing but thought of him as a rogue  They sent Ravage but in a humanoid head but Jaguar head a dntail. He spoke with a Italian accent. He still transformed into a cassette.
  gave Ravage a prototype Transwarp cruiser to go to Prehistoric Earth and capture Megatron and bring him back to Cybertron. If he was still operating his agenda he was ordered to kill him.
Ravage teamed up with the Maximals to bring Megatron down. he did capture him but Megatron told Ravage about message from the original Megatron he found on the golden disc. He told him his plan to destroy the Autobots in the past. ravage agreed to help Megatron and betray the Maximals. Ravage ended up dying. The cruiser was blown up by Rattrap and Ravage died.

Ravage did appear in the IW Beast wars comic but not sure if it is the same form. I have to read the rest.

In Japan he is called Jaguar





LASERBEAK


FUNCTION; Interrogation


MOTTO; " The only point I like in Autobots: melting point."


TECH SPEC; " Laserbeak takes pleasure in hurting his pray - usually the straggling survivors of a battle. Noticeably not brave. Will run for safety if threatened. Flies at speeds up to 250mph. Uses two independently target-able laser cannons with extreme precision to get information from captives. Shortage of ruby crystals that powers the lasers can panic his systems into shutting down"


SPEC; Strength 5, Intelligence 6, Speed 8, Endurance 5, rank 6, Courage 2, Firepower 8, Skill 9

Back story

He was a spy in the cartoon to see what the Autobots were doing in Iocon. On Cybertron he looked like a Frisbee with a birds head. he saw that the Auotbots going to blast off on the Arc
On earth he looks like a robotic bird resembling a condor.
When Cliffjumper and Hound were spying on the Decepticons. Sound wave sent laser beak to check them out . He caught up with them and blasted them with his lazer. They split up but Laserbeak had a weapon which could deploy a drone so he could follow both of them. Cliffjumper blasted the drone out of the air. Laserbeak shot Hound down the side of a cliff. Hound survived but laserbeak went off back to the Decepticons.
He has some key story roles as he was full of informtion.
When Optimus ws badly wounded laserbeak  was sent to discover his true condition. At first he did not want to go but Megatron threatened him. He recorded Optimus with his hidden camera so Megatron could see. Lazerbeak blasted Optimus. He was ordered to finish Optimus off.
Lazerbeak is pretty much loyal to the Decepticon leader in general whoever they are.
He speaks in the comics but not in the cartoon.
In the comics he did the same things as in the cartoon. He did not get any major story lines but what could you do with a robotic bird.
In the G1 movie he was spying on the Autobots and recorded Optimus Prime  telling Ironhide to make a special run to  Autobot city on Earth.
The final episode he appeared in was "Web World" the Decepticons where discussing what to do with Galvatron. You see him hovering overhead.

In Japan he is called Condor.




Soundwave

His tape player mode is a good representation of an old tape player  He has all the buttons like record, stop, play etc. he even had a wheel on the side which would be the sound. he also has the on and off switch which slides back and forth. 
You can see the back of his head in tape mode. You can overlook this.
His weapons slide into the back like batteries. In the original instructions this was missed out as to what to do with them. 
You press the silver button and the tape deck opens. He has some molding in there and nice chrome. 
The stickers are on the right buttons. 
The original had a insignia on his cassette door but this one is on the side of his shoulder and is pre applied
He has the code on the cassette door. and this will tell you Fortress Maximus's weak points. 
You can also make the street lamp mode from the cartoon. It is a little strange looking but it can be done which is nice and unofficial. 

Robot mode

One missile becomes his arm cannon and the other his rifle. It can fire a missile but mine cannot. 
His robot mode is very nice and accurate to G1 cartoon which makes a change.
He bends at the elbow and has decent articulation. His knees bend the wrong way though due to transformation.
His feet are die cast. The original was part of the Diaclone line so nice to add this.
This is a really good figure and one of the iconic ones. You can add to him with cassettes and is one of my favorites  the cassettes can be expensive especially is G1.
He should be part of any G1 collection

Highly recommended.

His shoulder cannon splits in half which is a little strange and the other extends.You can switch them about. 

You can store the cassettes weapons in Soundwaves back. 

Ravage

His cassette mode is not quite as good as Lazerbeaks in my opinion as you can see his Jaguar legs and head. 
He has something the original did not have in a map of Fortress Maximus and his weak points.
He has cassette details
He does not look that great in Jaguar mode as he is a little squashed and looks like he is run over. Once his weapons are attached though he does look a lot better. 
He can be tricky to stand at times. I lean him against Soundwaves leg.
He has decent articulation. 
I do recommend his though and you need him in your collection. 
he comes with a clear cassette case

Lazerbeak

His cassette mode is far cleaner than Ravages. He looks more dynamic and red and silver.
He has this weird gold window to represent the cassette reel.
He has a bit of kibble with his bird head. 
Lazerbeak is pretty good in bird mode and looks more 3D
he looks a little plain without his weapons but they finish him off.
He can sit on Soundwaves shoulder or arm.
I put him on his arm.
The molding is quite good and he does look like an eagle
On the side the panels that form his legs are made to look like mechanical bird talons.
lazerbeak is a must for your collection and a really good figure along with Ravage. 
He comes with a clear case

Try to get the G1 but if not re issues are fine. 
When  I got this I then saw a Universe 2.0 with Ratbat and Buzzsaw also included which was the same price as this set. Annoying but never mind. 



















Armada - Blur

This figure is from 2003. He is an Autobot. He is from the Unicorn trilogy part one Armada series. he first appeared in Armada TV series. It was a minor part. He also appeared in the comic Dreamwave Transformers Armada 14.


FUNCTION ?

MOTTO "Stand up,Keep fighting"!

TECH SPEC  Subject tends to push himself beyond the limits of his design.This can be as simple as neglecting to refuel while in the middle of a mission to taking on more than he can handle on the battlefield. Nothing sickens Blur ~ more than the sight of Autobot warriors who care more about personal glory than getting the mission accomplished—and don't ask him how he feels about cowards unless you want an extended speech on the importance of courage. Blur's a tough, quick thinking warrior who casually dismisses the accolades he's earned from his numerous victories. He acts without hesitation for the sake of the job, and he's always willing to put 110% into the most thankless task as long as it helps achieve the Autobots' goals. His calm demeanor and absolute unwillingness to accept defeat have made him one of the most respected warriors in the army.With his nose-to-the­ grindstone work ethic, it's no surprise that Blurr finds himself at odds with younger Autobots like Hot Shot. Although the rivalry between these two remains on friendly terms, Blurr considers Hot Shot a bit of a slacker and constantly pushes him to excel.

SPEC ?


Blur car mode front


Blur mode car mode side


Blur robot mode


Robot mode with weapons

Blur is fairly easy to transform but can be a bit confusing when putting him back into robot mode. He can join with the minicon Incinerator.  As a power link.  When he does power link he has flight mode like G1 Tracks. In car mode you can see his feet but they are discreet as look like the front of the car. The cockpit opens up with a spring loaded hinge but Incinerator is too large for him to sit in. The engine is in the cockpit. His missile launchers store on his back in robot mode.

Incinerator

He appeared in Dreamwave Transformers comic Armada 1. This was before he was teamed with Blur as his minicon. He is from 2003.


FUNCTION; ?

MOTTO; " Not even gravity can slow me down"

TECH SPEC; Incinerator is all about speed; he lives it, talks about it, and always pushes himself to go just a little bit faster. Insecure because of his frail physique, Incinerator struggled to find something else to make himself useful. Finally, he turned his talent for high-speed travel into his claim to fame by working to become one of the fastest Mini-Cons ever, built. His bragging and overcompensating can get on everyone's nerves, even Blurr's, but Incinerator knows that no one can deny his skills. On land, he runs rings around all ground­ bound Decepticons, and even some of their airborne comrades have a hard time keeping up with him. Blurr wishes Incinerator would tone down his self-praise, but he's extremely proud of how hard his partner worked to achieve his goals


Robot mode


Race car mode

He transforms into some kind of formula one car. In robot mode the front of the car becomes a weird shield on one arm. He fits into Blur as car mode into the back of his car mode. he is easy to transform but the ball joint on the shield can wear down after repeated transformation.





Thursday 6 October 2011

ARMADA - MEGATRON

ARMADA MEGATRON 2002

Megatron in Armada is like he is in every series, a tyrant, ruthless and evil. He wants the minicons as weapons to destroy the Autobots and conquer the Universe.
When the first Minicon Highwire was activated on earth both the Autobots and the Decepticons raced to earth to answer the signal. Megatron was the first to arrive from the warp gate. Megatron went to persuade Highwire to join the Decepticons. Most were enslaved to do there bidding. Highwire had made friends with some human kids and knew who Megatron was so did not want to follow him.
Optimus arrived on his warp gate so this stopped Megatron. Demolisher and Starscream arrived also and Hotshot and red Alert for the Autobots so there was a stand off. The Decepticons retreated.
Megatron and the others took to their vehicle forms. Megatron becoming a tank. After another failed attempt to Highwire he found his own minicon on the moon called Leader 1. The Decepticon base is on the moon. leader 1 was his old Minicon from the war so he was pleased to find him but he was annoyed that Cyclonus did not detect him when he was just outside the base.
The other Decepticons apart from Starscream are very loyal to megatron. The would follow him to hell and back. megatron got hold of the Star Saber which is made up of the tree air defence minicons. He also got the Skyboom shield. I think this is made up of the Race team minicons. These are very powerful minicon weapons. the third being the Retrium Blaster which is the space team minicons. he eventually got all three and made the legendary Hydra cannon. they nearly destroyed earth but Optimus used his own body to save it and was disintegrated in the process.
When Opitmus dies Megatron falls into a deep depression. He wants to kill Optimus but he misses the challenge of killing him. He eventually came back as the minicons resurrected him and Megatron admitted it was good to have him back so he could kill him again.
The mincons reformatted Megatron into Galvatron when he was badly damaged by Nemesis Prime.


FUNCTION; Decepticon Leader

MOTTO; ?

THE STORY;
While Cybertron flourished as a dual race society, home to both Cybertronians and Minicons, another faction plotted and schemed in secret, a faction of malcontents bent on conquest and tyranny. The peaceful nature of Cybertronian society felt like shackles to Megatron, and others like him who craved conflict and conquest above all else. But ironically the very liberties he despised allowed Megatron the freedom he needed to stockpile weaponry and upgrade his own offencive capability, recruiting others who shared his dreams of universal domination.

SPEC; Intelligence 10, Endurance 10, Speed 10, Skill 10, Strength 10, Courage 10, Rank 10, Fireblast 10.


Megatron robot mode


Megatron in power link mode


Close up of power link mode and leader 1


All fire mode close up


Minicon jail cell


Minicon trap




Megatron with dagger


tank mode


Tank weapons mode

LEADER 1 MINICON

He first appeared in transformers Armada cartoon episode 2?

MOTTO; "Sometimes the least likely can be the most dangerous"

BIO; Truth be told there's part of Leader one that relishes his new role as bad guy. Though enslaved and faced with the daunting task of power linking  with Megatron himself. leader one more than rises to the occasion. Its as if some dark hidden aspect of his personality has been let loose.

SPEC; Intelligence 10, Endurance 10, Speed 10, Skill 10, Strength 10, Courage 10, Rank 10, Fireblast 10.


leader 1 robot mode


Assault vehicle


Leader 1 gun mode


Megatron is quite a big figure. The front of the tank has spring loaded claws to crush things. In robot mode they become horns. There are a lot of weapons in his tank mode but not sure of the function of some. Panels open up but don't know what for? It is a shame that a minicon will not fit into the jail cell. The trap has jaws on it. He has electronic lights and sounds. When you turn the turret he shouts "Decepticons attack!" in a squeaky voice which can get annoying. He makes firing noises like battle noises.  A panel with the Decepticon insignia  lights up. if you fire the main gun on the turret by pushing it back and it will fire with firing noise and the same panel lights up. If you connect leader 1 to a switch and pull back a set of rocket launchers will flip up and make firing noise. Once again the same panel with light up.

He is easy to transform. He can also combine with Tidalwave

Leader 1 is one of the smaller minicons and he has good detail on him especially his face. He has three modes one of which is one of Megatrons guns.
 
I highly recommend him although he does not have a great deal of articulation and he can be a bit gimmicky



















Wednesday 5 October 2011

BEASTWARS - MAGNABOSS

This combiner figure is from 1997. He is a Maximal. He sadly had no comic or cartoon appearances as far as I know.in USA but Japan brought out their own version and he appeared in the second series of Beastwars. Although there was toy in the universe toy line he did appear in the Transformers Universe comic book 3. He was head of the maximal High Council.



From the Japanese Cartoon Beastwars second series

FUNCTION; Combat Leader

MOTTO; " May wisdom nourish my spirit and courage guide my sword"

TECH SPEC;
A new breed of super robot blasts its way to the head of the Maximal battle lines with three times the fighting force! Prowl's ferocity, Silverbolt's swiftness, and Ironhide's strength team up to form Magnaboss -a triple power threat capable of annihilating any Predacon enemy, even the ultra combative Tripredacus. Magnaboss owns the battlefield, arming itself with a massive, megaton battle sword composed of Silverbolt's razor-tipped wing swords and Ironhide's blunt force battle clubs mounted on Prowl's cyber tail claw. If two heads are better than one, Magnaboss is way ahead of that game ...times three!



Ironhide in Elephant mode


Ironhide side view


Ironhide robot mode with clubs


Prowl side view


Prowl front view


Prowl in robot mode


Silverbolt in Eagle mode


Silverbolt in robot mode with weapons


Silverbolt weapons mode


The combined robot Magnaboss with weapon

He is quite a big impressive figure. He is complicated to combine but he does hold together well once he is together. he is made up of three animals. On Ironhide there is quite a lot of detail on the elephant skin. he can be tricky to convert to elephant mode and back as the tusks can come off ball joints. There is no ball joint on Silverbolts legs which make his legs look back to front which is a shame. prowl is the easiest of the tree but there are still visible robot bits on his figure. It is a shame that there weapons are not part of there beast mode but good that they combine to make magnaboss's weapon. Only prowls weapon is part of his beast mode which forms his tail and back. Ironhide is a bit unsteady on his feet.The plastic on silverbolt is delicate but with lots of detail. This figure can be fragile so care must be taken. For collectors.