BEAST MACHINES ULTRA JETSTORM- 2000

Jetstorm is one of the Vehicon generals in the cartoon. He is the general of the aero drones. He was created along with Tankor and Thrust because the vehicon drones were being annihilated by the Maximals because they did not have a leader out in the field. Megatron created the Vehicon generals to tackle this problem. The Vehicon generals compared to the drones have sparks and individual minds.
Jetstorm personality wise likes to enjoy himself and is outgoing and talkative.
Jetstorm is also a nasty character as he removed Blackarachneas spark with a spark extractor but Nightscream got her spark back and brought her back on line. Jetstorm was in the cartoon for quite while from episode three in series one till around the middle of series two when he written out the series.
 When the Maximals found out that Megatron had used a Maximal spark to create the Vehicon generals. They found out that Rhinox's spark was inside Tankor but that is a different story. They where wandering who the other two were. Balckarachnea thought that Silverbolts spark was inside Thrust because Thrust started acting weird and saved her a couple of times but it was only when Balckarachnea used some Organic core on Thrust that she realised that it was Waspinators spark not Silverbolts. Jetstorm acedently got splattered by the Organic core and it turned out Silverbolts spark was in Jetstorm. Blackarachnea saved Silverbolt by dropping Jetstorm into an entire pool of Organic core. A modified DNA scanner was used to scan a fossilised eagle which reformatted Jetstorm into Silverbolt.

 

FUNCTION; Aero drone general

 

MOTTO; " I am not bound by the law of the land"

 

TECHSPEC; The appointed general of Megatrons Aero drones, Jetstorm is the hotshot lord of the skies over the enslaved planet of Cybertron. Quite a talker, tends to engage in tactics of verbal intimidation. headstrong attitude and less then modest personality often cause friction with the other generals- but impressive combat abilities speak for themselves. Outfitted with various types of energy blasters and plasma bombs. Extremely swift and manoeuvrable in vehicle mode, rather flighty- jetstorm never touches land- must convert to robot mode when he hovers over the ground.

 

SATS; Strength 8, Intelligence 8, Speed 10, Endurance 8, Rank 9, courage 7, Firepower 9, Skill 8

 

 

Jet mode front

 

 

Jet mode side

 

 

Jet mode with turret deployed

 

 

Self guided drones

 

 

Robot mode

 

 

Hover mode

 

In jet mode Jetstorm is more cartoon accurate than the Deluxe version.

The cockpit which also doubles as a head is nicely posable with a hinge up and down.

It also has a gimmick where you spring the turret up and turn it left and right which will turn the head with it.

There are also LEDs in the head and the turret. It is a fun gimmick to play around with .

The turret is deployed with a leaver and can be a bit fiddly to get back into place.

I wish you could turn his head left and right with out the turret.

He also has two firing missiles which you can also fire in normal jet mode without the turret.

Jetstorm is pretty well armed as he has two guns on the nose of the plane and he also has two self guiding drones which clip under the wings. It think they they would work like recon drones and look kind of  like Depthchargers shark drones and have light piping.

He has flip away landing gear and also the colours are very accurate to the cartoon

He has blue chrome on the top so you have to watch out for transmetal syndrome.

His robot head does kind of sit in the back and there are two panels that flip up to cover his face which is pretty nice which is good but you can still see his head. and I suppose his bunny ears could be extra tail fins

He is very nice in this mode and I like it a lot. It is sleek and is very cool.

His feet though do stick out the back and I wish they were hidden away. His robot legs are also at a weird angle but these are just nitpicks.

He is a really nice size, big but not too big.

 

In Robot mode again he looks good.

OK there are some problems as his arms  as they look quite weird. They are short and are quite kibbly. The kibble  sticks out of his wrist at weird angles out and a shame you cannot fold them flush as I think it would a lot better. He has three fingered claws. He has no thumb or little finger.

His face is not a perfect likeness to the cartoon but close enough and his bunny ears are not as long or flared as in the cartoon.

He has translucent plastic eyes but no light piping.

His gimmick is only for jet mode but  now the turret gives him cannons which he can fire from his shoulders which makes up for it. They worked the gimmick quite well as this is not too intrusive and does not effect the robot mode too much.

He has legs in robot mode so he can stand but if you want something that is more like the cartoon then transform him into hover mode.

Obviously he cannot stand in hover mode so balance him against something or better get a figure stand.

The recon drones have no where to go on this mode  as the ports for them are not accessible so attach them to screw holes his thighs. They then look like guns in holsters.

His articulation is OK but because he is top heavy because of the turret it is better to get him into a standing pose.

His spark crystal is behind a panel on his stomach

 

He is not perfect but I still like this figure and recommend him if you want a large accurately painted Jetstorm with an accurate Jet mode then you should get this.

 

This figure only saw one repaint to my knowledge and that re paint was Cyclonus who was a collectors club exclusive if I remember it correctly.

I can see why they re painted it as Cyclonus because Jetstorms jet mode is the same kind of design as him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TF PRIME RID KNOCK OUT- 2012

Knock out is the Decepticon medic in TF Prime. So at last the Decepticons have a medic. He is very vain and he does not like getting any scratches on his car mode. During battle he is always worried about damage to his paint and finish. He often  yells at the Autobots to "Watch his finish".
In his spare time he polishes up his paint but also he races with humans in car mode in street races.
until one guy keyed his car mode and Knock out rammed him off the road for it.
Knock out does not actually have a gun but he has a melee weapons instead. On his right arm he has a saw blade and on his left arm a drill. He also has an electrical spear which he uses to stun Autobots.
There is one case in which Knock out captures a human who he thinks is one of the Autobots human companions but he wasn't. The Autobtos still rescued him and Optimus Primes ripped Knock outs door off. He was not impressed with that.
At this time Megatron was in stasus and Starscream was leading the Decepticons. Starscream did not approve of Knock out street racing with humans.  So when he found out that he had been racing again and had lost a door he had his finish scratched off as a punishment.
Knock out was originally on earth and he was called to the Nemesis by Starscream. Knock out  had break down with him. Starscream wanted him to assess Megatrons condition as a medic.
When Megatron was in stasus Knock out was a little treacherous to him as him Starscream wanted to pull the plug on his life support machine but Soundwave would not let this happen.
Much later down the line when Megatron had the Phychic patch on Starscream to find out his true intentions for rejoining the Decepticons. Megatron found Starscreams memory on the  discussion with Knock out about pulling the plug on him so he knew of Knock outs treachery.
But for whatever reason Megatron decided to overlook this. Knock out knew that he had been discovered and was thinking about pulling the plug on the psychic patch and trapping Megatron inside Starscreams mind. but he was interrupted so he did not do it.
When the Decepticons capture Smokescreen for the Omega key inside him. Knock out used the faze shifter and used it to pull the Omega key out of Smokescreen. Megatron ordered Knock out to kill Smokescreen. Smokescreen  pulled himself free and grappled with Knock out using the power of the faze shifter and they walked through a wall but Smokescreen broke free and Knock out was left stuck in the wall.
Megatron knew Knock out had failed him he would not free him from the wall and he used him as an example to the other Decepticons. He did free him in the next episode.
When the hunt for the relics first begins Knock out is sent with a bunch of Vehicon drones and a Insecticon to an underground subway in New York. This was to find  a relic that turned out to be the faze shifter  but the Autobots got there first.
Knock out ends up getting hit in the face with a train which completely scratches up his entire front paintwork so he was not having a good day.
Knock out does not have a super huge role in the cartoon but I still enjoy his character..

 

FUNCTION; Medic

 

BIO; Knock out is oily slick; the ultimate salesman. Everyone knows his weapons are dangerous and prone to malfunction, and his instillation methods often leave Decepticons scarred or crippled. But who can resist having Quantum disintegration at his finger tips?

 

SATS; Strength 6, Intelligence 8, Speed 8, Endurance 5, Rank 7, Courage 4, Fireblast 5, Skill 5

 

 

 

car mode side

 

 

car mode front

 

 

Robot mode

 

His car mode is small for a Deluxe but is pretty sleek as it should be being Knock out.

There are some inaccurate paint apps though. He has this dark reddish brown which I don't remember at all on the show model.

His side racing stripes should be silver. There is some on there but it abruptly stops and looks like it has been sprayed on so untidy. Knock out would not put up with a shoddy paint job and I think  this is due to quality control on mine.

You could paint them yourself or there is the Japanese arms micron version of this which is red all over like the show model.

The reddish brown does make it look interesting though.

He does not have any tail lights but as they would have been red and he is red you would not really see them.

If you like you can attach the electric spear to the side of his car mode which does look kind of stupid. There is not a port on the roof so you can't put it there. The spear does split apart but there is only a peg on the rear piece so you are forced to have the spear on one side or just leave it off in this mode as I do.

I still like this mode though despite it's problems

His transformation is not too hard or complex but it does have a complex one. Don't look at the instructions as the way they have the arms makes it look horrible.

He has a reveal gimmick like all TF Prime RID Deluxe. When head springs up on a panel.

In robot mode he is cartoon accurate although his chest pieces are not as high.

His face sculpture is pretty good and he has a cocky smirk and some nice red light piping which does work well.

You attach the electric spear to his hand by splitting the spear in half then sliding one piece of the spear into his hand and reattaching the two pieces

 The spear is well detailed but it is blue on the box art but unpainted on the actual figure which is a shame.

There are various ways you can have his chest pieces but the way I see it is that they are suppose to go is to clip onto his main torso unit.

He has decent posability and you can get him into some good poses.

You have to be careful though as when you transform him the waist pieces can drop off so don't loose them and no matter what piece you lose it will ruin one of his modes.

 

The electric spear can attach to two ports on his back but it sticks up and looks stupid.

He has ports on his legs as well.

One thing which is a shame is that he does not come with his saw blade and drill. He used these far more than the spear. I am hoping a third party will make and add on kit for this guy that will give him his saw blade and drill. I would like that.

This figure is not without its problems and I highly recommend him.

If you don't like these colours then you have the for mentioned Tekara arms micron who comes with a micron crab which transforms into his electric spear

There is also a Japanese exclusive Smokesreeen out of this mold w. I can see why they did that and repainted him as Smokescreen as they do look similar in the cartoon.

There is also a translucent green version of this that was part of the BBTS Exclusive dark Energon series.

Not matter which version you get it is a mold worth getting.

You need him in your collection and he is a fun character.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BEAST MACHINES TANK DRONE ( Tankor) - 2001

This is the tank drone but it is also the most cartoon accurate Tankor that came out. So he can also double as Tankor. This is why this toy is sought after as he is so accurate as Tankor unlike the official Tankor toy.
In the Beast Machines cartoon the tank drones did not do that much but go around and blow things up so this back story is mostly about Tankor because he had a mind of his own so will be a more interesting read.
Back Story

Megatron conquers Cybertron with a transformation freezing virus and he also captured other transformers removing thier sparks and converts their bodies into Vehicon drones. Rather like in Dr who with the Cybermen
They were designed to hunt down and destroy the survivors of the virus. There were three main classes of drone. The tank drones which were ground assault. The Ariel drones were air assault, The Cycle drones were motorbikes and were high speed assault. There were also the Mole drones which were underground assault. They were were like big tubes with blades attached and a big gun.
When the Maximals landed on Cybertron they were effected by the virus and that took away their Transmetal forms returning them to  their series 1 Beast Wars forms but unable to transform out of their beast modes. On top of that they also had a form of amnesea so they could remember nothing and the virus would also be fatal in time.
While they were running around confused the Tank drones were after them. Optimus Primal was called by the Oracle of Cybertron which is part of Vecta Sigma and the Matrix. The Oracle lead them to the rest of the Maximals and down deep into the depth of Cybertron to the Oracle itself. The Oracle reformatted them into Techno Organics to save them from the virus.
Once they had mastered their techno Organic forms they absolutely annihilated the Vehicon Drones as they are telepathically controlled by Megatron and  are therefore all mindless. Megatron came up with the idea that if he created a Vihicon with individual minds they would be able to outsmart the Maximals. He built the Vehicon generals. Jetstorm was the general of the Ariel drones. , Thrust was the general of the cycle drones and Tankor general of the tank drones. For a while they were a lot more formidable with a tank general to command them in the field.
Tankor is basically a dimwit and it not bright. He runs around shouting "Tankor smash"! He is slow in more ways than one but is powerful in strength and firepower.
When the Maximals realised that two members of their team were missing being Silverbolt and Rhinox they set out to find them . At the same time Megatron sent out the generals to hunt down the Mamimals. It was Tankor who found them. He managed to capture the Maximals and brought them to Megatron in the Citadel.
Optimus Primal convinced Tankor to let them go as he entered Tankors mind using the oracle to make hhim change his mind. Tankor helped them escape the Ciidel. He did but Megatron thought he had a good idea by targeting the mind so he erased Tankors memory from the last twenty minutes so he went back to trying to capture the maximals . Optimus tried to reconnect to Tankors mind but Megatron would not let him. Optimus said he sensed a familiar spark in Tankor. It continues on like this until the episode "Revolution".
The Maximals discovered that Megatron had used the sparks that he had captured to make the Vihicon generals including Silverbolt and Rhinox. Megatron had used Rhinox's spark to create Tankor. They managed to bring Rhinox's spark to the service and he took over Tankor. Rhinox , when in limbo had become evil so he thought that all organics should be destroyed and Cybertron would remain totally technological. Cybertron was once  an organic planet and still had the organic core. Rhinox was a genius and wanted to make a plan so Optimus Primal and Megatron to destroy each other so he could rule Cybertron. Megatron still had his dragon mode from Beast Wars. Rhinox had Tankors tank mode and was uncorrupted by organic material. So therefore he thought he was a more suitable replacement for Megatron with his dragon mode.
Rhinox made a plan and got the key to Vecta Sigma from the Oracle which has the power to turn organic matter into techno matter ( Metal). He tested it on the Maximal Nightscream turning to metal and turning him insane but he was cured by Cybertrons Organic core.
Rhinox wanted to carry out his plans so he faked his own death. Before this he reprogrammed Mainframe who was the drone adviser of Megatron to help him in this
Because he had tampered with he Oracle he got it to send a fake vision to Optimus Primal showing him the location of the Plasma energy chamber.
The plasma energy does the opposite of the Key to Vecta sigma in that it destroys Techno matter. In the mean time Mainframe was ordered to tell Megatron about the key to Vecta Sigma. There was a mutual assured destruction going on between the Maximals with the Plasma Energy chamber and the Vehicons having the key to Vecta Sigma.
Rhinox did not think that Optimus would use the Plasma energy chamber. He just wanted Megatron to use the key to destroy both the Maximals, The organic core and himself. All the Maximals including Optimus were going insane and turning to metal but when this was happening Optimus opened the Plasma energy chamber which basically destroyed everything on Cybertron. Optimus Primal realised what he had done and went back and closed it dying in the process along with Rhinox and Megaron to save Cybertron.
Optimus and Megatron come back in series two while Tankor/Rhinox does not.

 

FUNCTION; Ground attack

 

MOTTO; " The ground of Cybertron will thunder in our wake"

 

BIO; Tank drone units are a specialised Vehicon element of drones under Tankor command. Formidable front line fighters. Often attack in chaotic formations, firing destributes missiles in unison, then they rapidly retreat in all directions. Anything caught in their path is destroyed. Alloy armour plating protects them from most types of maximal artillery but firepower drops considerably after firing missiles. Not effective during lengthy firefights.

 

SATS; Strength 8.5, Intelligence 4.9, Speed 7.2, Endurance 6.6, Rank 6.0, Courage 8.9, Firepower 9.4, Skill 7.0

 

 

Tank mode side

 

 

Tank mode front

 

 

Robot mode

 

 

In tank mode I think this is about as accurate to the cartoon as they could get in this size class.

It is not perfect and has some gap issues on the back and front but it is still pretty good.

He has his robot head on the back of the tank which those people who complained about Energon Ironhide probably will not like this. But I am fine with it because it is accurate to the cartoon  and he is on Cybertron so he does not have to be in disguise.

He has some nice details such as the hazard stripes which I don't remember him having in the cartoon but ,oh well!

He has some translucent red parts as well as chrome which are nice touches as well .

The most notable thing of this tank mode is obviously the giant cannon which has a gimmick in which you angle the cannon upwards and then roll him along and the gun  barrel spins and he will fire a missile.

This  makes sense because the  tank drones gun barrels spun when they were charging up to shoot in the cartoon.

When the missile is out you can spin the cannon freely.

The missile is translucent red with orange paint on the end to represent fire. Like it is a fire ball or something.

He has his Vehicon spark crystal on the top of his gun. This leads me to believe that he is Tankor as the vehicon drone does not have a spark. If you look at his tech spec you will see that his intelligence is four. If he was just a drone it would be zero.

 

The transformation is quite simple but interesting enough not to be boring.

 

His robot mode is also pretty accurate to the cartoon. It is not perfect as he was bulkier in the cartoon.

He is still more accurate than the Mega class version of Tankor.

 

He does not have a huge amount of articulation.

He is a drone so what dynamic poses would he be in?

He does have wheels on his feet so you can roll him along.

He has claws for hands but no saw blades that he had in the cartoon. On his right arm he has part of the cannon gimmick which could stand in for a saw blade but does not flip out.

 

You can fold out his backpack to give him a over the shoulder cannon. You have to turn the crank manually to spin the end to fire the missile.

 

There isn't much more I can say about the robot mode. Because he is hard to find he can go for quite a bit but I would not pay a huge amount for him. I got him for about £12.00 but I would not pay more than £15.00

He is a very simple figure in both modes but he is still a good figure.

I do recommend him though. If you want an accurate Tankor in your collection then get a Tank Drone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BEAST WARS TRANSMETAL OPTIMUS PRIMAL- 1998

 At the end of series one of beast wars Optimus Primal died. He was blown up along with the Vox Dooms day machine. The energy from that explosion turned them all into transmetals.
In the " Coming of the Fuzors" the Maximals were facing their darkest hour of the Beast wars as they were leaderless and the Predacons outnumbered them and were also transmetal and were out to destroy them. The had two new recruits the Fuzors Silverbolt and Quickstrike.
Rhinox actually went into the matrix  because when the Vox machine blew up it opened a window into trans space which Rhinx used to bring Optimus back. Dinobot, Rattrap and Cheetor defended the exillon from the Predicons while he was bringing Optimus back.
Rhinox came back from his stasus and defended the base along with the others. They were all badly damaged by the Predecons.
They found a blank proto form which is a proto form without a spark. This became Optimus Primal. He was also Transmetal as it had been exposed to the blast of the Vox machine. Once in working order he went and blasted all the Predacons and they retreated.
Throughout series 2 he remained the leader, Fighting the Predecons and  Megatron were his main things that he did.
He was Transmetal until the beginning of series 3 when Optimus merged his spark with the Matrix of leadership . Optimus Prime had been badly damaged and when Optimus Primal put the matrix into his chest he became Optimal Optimus.

 

FUNCTION; Maximal general

 

BIO; Changed into a mighty, metal gorilla by a planetary destruction device, Optimus Primal has a built in rocket powered hover board that lets him hang ten on the air-waves of the Beast Wars world! Stronger and faster than ever, he converts to become the huge, organically enhanced Maximal General loaded with weaponry. Predacons who value their health best avoid any monkey business with Transmetal Optimus Primal!

 

Gorilla mode

 

 

On hover board

 

 

Prime guns

 

 

Robot mode

 

Optimus Primal is now a blue chrome gorilla. It says Optimus on the side of his chest.

His gorilla face looks pretty fierce.

He is pretty good and you can get him into a knuckle dragging pose like a real gorilla.

He has two struts which can help him stand but he does have gorilla toes which helps anyway. More secure with the struts.

 

He has good articulation but he cannot bend to beat his chest as his arms are too long.

 

Weaponry wise he has these clubs which store on his back and he can hold them.

The robot feet are folded up against the back of his legs and can look awkward in some poses as there is no where else for them to go.

Overall a good mode

You can use his robot feet to make a hover board which he used quite a lot in the cartoon.

He is a flying surfing gorilla. Who thought that up?

 

There are wheels on the hover board and you can wheel him along if you can get him to balance.

His gun becomes an afterburner in this mode.

 

His transformation is pretty clever and fun. The gorilla modes backpack  becomes his robot modes chest.

His back pack in either mode covers up the other modes chest.

 

In robot mode he is pretty good. He has a different head and has gained in height.

The gorilla feet are now his knee guards.

There are also new hands.

You can still use the clubs and his gun.

The clubs can still store on his back and the gun stores on his leg in any mode.

The gun looks like a hair dryer which is pretty funny.

You can put the club in the gun to fire from . There is a spring in there but you fire it like a pressure launch missile. So it is a cross between a spring launch and pressure launch.

I don't like the look of the club in the launcher so I don't use it.

 

If anything his robot mode chest looks more like a gorilla chest than the actual one with hair mold.

 

His face is like his gorilla face but a bit like Optimus Prime with head Crest, antennae and with organic hair and fa. A techno organic look.

 

He does have one more mode where he folds his pack back over with the clubs attached to it and he gets a mobile gun emplacement. These are called the Prime Guns. the handles of the clubs become the cannons.

It a shame that he does not have the targeting scanner that he had in the cartoon.

I still like the mode though.

 

In robot mode the screws are visible on his shoulders but this is a not pick.

 

In robot mode he is gritting his teeth like he is constipated or something.

 

I highly recommend him . All his modes are solid and transformation is fun .

Good figure all the way through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

G1 THUNDERCRACKER- 1984

This is the original G1 Thundercracker. Which I was lucky to find on E Bay complete. This mold is a really hard one to find complete as he has so many small parts especially the landing gear.
Thundercracker is an interesting character in the way that he is not really evil. The only reason that he does not change sides to the Autobots is that he is very loyal to Megatron and had never known anything else apart from being a Decepticon. Also Thundercracker almost pities humans and what the Decepticons are going to do to them. This he keeps to himself as it wont win any favours with Megatron. Thundercracker hates Earth and sees it as a barren rock and feels homesick for Cybertron. Thundercracker has the ability to emit a sonic boom and he also has flame throwers.

Thundercracker first appeared in " More than meets the eye" You see him on Cybertron turning into a jet. On Earth he was pretty much a generic Decepticon not doing much.
Until the episode " Fire on the mountain" Megatron had created a new weapon powered by an Energon crystal. he told Thundercracker and Starscream to guard it. Skyfire was sneaking around and came across the weapon. Thundercracker found him near the weapon. he was debating that if he killed Skyfire that Starscream would take all the credit but if he let Skyfire destroy the weapon then Starscream would be blamed but at this point Starscream heard him and he called Thundercracker a traitor. Starscream fired his null rays at Thundercracker but missed and blasted Skyfire who was deactivated by the blast.
Starscream decided to black mail Thundercracker and that he had to do exactly as he said or he would report his treachery to Megatron.
In "heavy metal war" Thundercracker gave Megatron his power chip along with others so he was able to use a sonic boom. He had the power of all the Decepticons power and abilities. He defeated Optimus.
Thundercrackers next big thing was in the G1 Movie. he was badly damaged in the battle for Autobot city. He was thrown out of the Astrotrain by Starscream. He floated through space along with Megatron, Skywarp and the Insecticons. They were found by Unicron and reformatted them all. Thundercracker was turned into Scourge.
In the comics just like the cartoons he did not do much but in one he was deactivated by the under based powered Starscream along with many others.

 

FUNCTION; Warrior

 

MOTTO; " The deadliest weapon is terror"

 

BIO; Thundercracker is contemptuous of anything that cannot fly. Not totally convinced of the Decepticons cause, but they've persuaded him to continue battling Autobots. Flies at speeds up to 1500mph. Produces comtrolled, deafening sonic booms- can be heard for 200 miles. Equipped with powerful drone rockets and incendiary guns. Doubts about his cause sometimes impedes his effectiveness.

 

Strength 7, Intelligence 4, Speed 9, Endurance 7, Rank 5, Courage 8, Firepower 7, Skill 7

 

Jet side view

 

 

Jet front view

 

 

Robot mode

 

 

His F15 Eagle fighter jet mode is really well done. Not perfect as he has some gaps but no kibble to be seen.

The cockpit can open. There is nothing in it but this detail is left over from the Diaclone line and is where the pilot would be seated.

 

The paint is really nice with a gloss shade of blue. In the cartoon he was light blue but it looks pretty good.

He has bombs which you put in called drone rockets but these constantly fall out on mine

The transformation is different as he is a part former and you have to remove everything during transformation except the tail fins.

 

His robot mode is like the cartoon but not spot on. He is more accurate than poor old wheelie

The sides of his chest are die cast

There are various poses. You can have the wings swept back but I prefer them flush with his body as per cartoon.

His articulation is pretty well non existent but it is an early figure.

His chest is a bit floppy and I wish that I could lock it in place. The arms are also floppy on mine but this just wear and tear.

 

A really good figure and a nice mold.

I highly recommend him for your collection.

If you can't get him complete there are plenty of spare parts available to make one.

 

A must have for Seeker collectors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FALL OF CYBERTRON ONSLAUGHT 2012

Onslaught is the leader of the Combaticons. He is a good military leader and very strategic. he does not see the battle field that often himself but prefers to stay back at the base giving orders and making up battle strategies. He is not a coward and will fight if necessary. He is actually a skilled fighter.
In the campaign of the Fall of Cybertron video game the Autobtos steal the Energon from the Decepticons Energon refinery in the sea of rust. The Combaticons and Starscream arrive to steal the Energon back. Starscream is the leader at this time as Megatron got crushed by Metroplex earlier on in the campaign.
The Autobots were moving the Energon in a Energon transport which is a giant truck. Onslaught's plan was to destroy a bridge that the transport wanted to cross. He sent Vortex, Blastoff and Brawl to destroy the bridge while Swindle patrolled the area taking out any Autobot scouts that would be on the look out. When the bridge was destroyed the transport had to take a different route. Starscream thought it would be a good idea to attack the truck immediatly but the truck had heavy anti aircraft guns. Onslaught said he thought it would be a good idea to take out their defences first but Starscream accused him of cowardice. All the Decepticon war ships got shredded by the anti aircraft guns. Onslaught was forced to take on different strategies here so he told Swindle to destroy the wheel struts on the transport that would stop the truck dead. He did that and then the transport changed to flight mode and became a ship. Swindle managed to get aboard and take out the anti air craft guns so they could board the transport with drop ships. During this Starscream ordered all the Decepticons to retreat but onslaught refused. They combined into Bruticus and he fought his way into the flight deck where they turned back into the Combaticons and took over the Ship. The engine turbines had been destroyed by Bruticus so the ship went down and crashed destroying half the energon.
Starscream blamed them for this and had the combaticons charged with treason as they did not retreat when he said.
Megatron then returned and Starscream was forced to flee.
The Combaticons were on the front line of the raid to the factory where the Autobots were keeping Tripticon
At the end of the campaign Onslaught  is seen working on a console and then later the Combaticons combined in to Bruticus and attacked the arc as Megatron wanted the fuel up link destroyed. He was defeated though by Jazz and Jetfire who knocked him off the arc and into space with an air strike. He is now floating in space

 

FUNCTION; Combaticon leader

 

MOTTO; The mind is the greatest weapon.

 

 BIO; Onslaught believes precision and planning are the keys to success. He spends hours devising battle plans considering contingencies, and deliberating troop disposition before ever committing his forces to battle. Once the fight is joined, however, no robot is a fiercer fighter.

 

SATS; Strength 8, Intelligence 9, Speed 4, Endurance 8, Rank 9, Courage 10, Fireblast 8, Skill 9

 

 

Truck mode side

 

 

Truck mode front. How does this vehicle look anything like the game?

 

 

 

Robot mode. Comparison of the game robot and figure

 

His vehicle mode is pretty terrible. The gun does not even stay on and falls off constantly. You can clearly see his head and Onslaught arms and his hands are over his eyes like he is playing peep a boo.

The connection pegs for combined mode are sticking out the rear of the vehicle and his front hub caps which gives me Powercore Combiner Flashbacks as that was a pretty bad toy line. It does look terrible. The pegs sticking out the back could be an exhaust pipes but the hubcap ones, no way!

This has to be the worst vehicle mode I have seen. The gun points at the ground. Even with out the gun he then just has his arms on the roof.

It does not roll that well.

One side is higher than the other so this makes it very tricky to move in a straight line.

 

if you look at pictures of him in the game. he is bulky and looks like a brick on wheels nothing like this.

 

The transformation is pretty easy.

 

His robot mode is better but compared to what he was in the game his wheels are too small and should be sticking angled up out against his shoulders.

His arms are weird and they pop out of the ball joints. His arms are out to the sides.

Limited articulation. Nothing to write home about.

The only gun he has is this big gun from the vehicle. It will not fit on his back on pegs so you have to wedge it. In the game he has it on his back.

There is no trigger and it is hollow on the underside of the gun

The connection pegs also stick out all over.

His chest is angled forward.

His head sculpt is OK though.

This is the most accurate coloured  Onslaught you will get from the game. The San Diego Comicon version was supposed to be accurate but it was brown where as he was Blue and green in the game so a fail.

 

This figure has been made for one thing. To be the torso of Bruticus. I had high hopes for him but they just completely ruined him

If you want him for Bruticus then get him last.

For a stand alone figure I would pass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TF PRIME RID DELUXE BUMBLEBEE-2012

Obviously this is the RID version. There was a first addition version which was more accurate to the cartoon which I don't have at this time.
This figure shelf warmed quite a bit and there are still tons of him out on the shelves right now. This is because the promotional shots of the toy were not that great.
Bumblebee has been in it since the beginning. This figure is the standard modern day Bumblebee with a sports car mode that vaguely resembles a camero. He can't talk while in the movie he talked through the radio and in Fall of Cybertron he made no noises at all . here he talks like R2D2. I don't know why but he does.
 He is not a warrior but a scout
He is one of the three human guardians. His human companion is Raphael otherwise known as Raff.

Back Story

Bumblebee did not do that much in the beginning but punched some Vehicons. When Arcee came under attack from the Vehicons Bumblebee came to back her up.
In "Darkness Rising" Bumblebee was there but did not do much but talk like R2D2
In " masters and Students" he did get some more memorable stuff. He went with Optimus to investigate this energy reading that they got form a canyon. It turned out to be Starscream bringing Skyquake out of stasus They get into a fight. When Skyquake gets his jet mode it is Bumblebee that takes him down. Bumblebee grabs the jet and rips it apart as he tries to take off.
One kind of thing that he did was when Optimus was infected by the Cybonic Plague in " Sick Mind" They needed a cure for the plague so Bumblebee and Arcee infiltrated the Nemasis and came across Megatron in stasus. Using a mind patch Bumblebee went into Megatrons mind to get him to tell him the cure. he struck a bargain that if he gave it to them then Bumblebee would help him come back. They got the cure but Bumblebee did not help him. But unknown to Bumblebee Megatron went into his mind so Bumblebee kept seeing his face in his vision. He became possessed by Megatron. He got Bumblebee to get some Dark Energon and reinstate him.
Bumblebee does fight Arachnid and he destroys the immobiliser.
In series 2 in " Operation Bumblebee Mech steels Bumblebees T Cog so he is unable to transform or use his weapons. Bumblebee was feeling useless. the Autobots did not know where Mech was and he had an alliance with Starscream. Bumblebee did manage to get it back and fix it as it was damaged by Starscream.
During the for Cybertron during the battle of Tigerfax Bumblebee was captured by the Decepticons and interrigated by megatron himself and because Bumblebee would not speak Megatron ripped out his voicebox. They smashed him up and left him to die. He was found and Ratchet fixed hi but his voice could not be saved as it was too badly damaged.
When the big search for the Cybertron relics begin. Bumblebee and Arcee are sent underground to find the relic which is there. This is the Faz shifter. They are paired up quite a bit and they succeed in getting one of the Omega keys as well. Knockout attacks them with another weapon which is sonic to try and stop them.

FUNCTION; Scout

MOTTO; Beep Beep Be- Dooo!

BIO; Bumblebee is a warrior and scout who serves as part of the elite squad commanded by Optimus Prime. Together with his human friend Raf, he stands as Earth's first line of defence against the evil Decepticons.

 

car mode side

 

 

car mode front

 

 

Robot mode

 

In car mode Bumblebee is a yellow sports car. There does seem something off about this mode and it seems squashed. A kiddish look about him.

There is three shades of yellow on him. I think it looks odd.

One is lemon yellow which I do not like at all.

The black stripe deco does not continue through the body and it misses a section. If you look at the front of the car you see some black stripes right at the front which stop at the engine block but then do not continue after this. The stripes then continue on the roof.  

He has a silver engine block which you can plug his weapons in to.

There are some problems as there is no paint at all on the back of the vehicle including the tail lights and exhaust pipe.

The hinges on the side are greyplastic so all you see is grey squares.

Unfortunately the guns have no where else to go but the engine block.

 

 

Transformation is pretty easy.

 

In his transformation he would have the best auto morph ever in a Transformer. If it worked.  When his arms are pulled out from the sides of the vehicle the car moves back and the flap lifts up with Bumblebees head on it and the headlights angle to give a cartoon accuracy.

Some thing is wrong with the gears so the head does not go all the way back so it is floating. I have managed to push mine back a bit. You can rectify it by shaving off some of the plastic. This should have been sorted by Hasbro and is the fault in the mould.

His shoulders angle forward which I don't like.

His face is accurate to the cartoon, puppy eyes etc.

There is more paint in this mode but needs more detailed paint work and highlights. he looks kind of bland just yellow

 

His articulation in this mode is OK and you can get some decent action poses from him.

Double barrelled guns peg onto his arms like the cartoon and he can hold them

 

They can be combined as well into a four barrelled gun.

 

I think his arms are a little short compared to his body.

 

The promotional shots are not good and make his chest look huge.

 

Overall this is not a bad figure. It could have been alot more but it is kind of boring. there is not much here but a standard Bumblebee

Get one of the re paints like Hotshot because the paint work is more interesting and fun.