G1 ULTRA MAGNUS 1986

Ultra Magnus he was a very important character in the G1 cartoon. He is all soldier and he is also uncomfortable in command so is happy to be second in command.  He has a lot of leadership skills. Where he came from is debated quite a bit. There is a popular belief that he is a re formatted Dion and when Orion Pax became Optimus Prime and Ariel became Aleta 1 Nothing was mentioned about what happened to Dion. Some say he died but others say Alpha Trion also re formatted him into Ultra Magnus.
There is also more controversy concerning the toy. Ultra Magnus is a white re paint of Optimus Prime. I think the true reasoning of this was down to Hasbro being cheap and they did not want to make a new mold for the cab. Fans saw this and wandered if they were twin brothers. Hasbro and Tekara kind of caught on to this so when Classics and master piece Ultra magnus they just made him a white re paint of Optimus Prime. This fuelled the debate that they were brothers.
In fact in RID they are brothers but not twins. This is of course a completely different series so does not effect the G1 debate.
You never see Ultra Magnus in robot mode in the movie or series just in his super mode and vehicle mode.


Back Story

Ultra Magnus first appeared in the G1 movie. He was basically leader in Autobot city on Earth. When the Decepticons attacked he lead the Autobots into battle in its defence.
The battle does not go well for the Autobots , many are killed and the Autobot city is damaged.
At the end Optimus Prime is on his death bed. He wantes to make Ultra Magnus his successor and passes him the matrix of leadership. Ultra Magnus does not think he is worthy but Optimus said that he felt the same in the beginning. Optimus drops the matrix and Hotrod catches it and the matrix chooses him. Ultra Magnus is passes it but it will not fit into his chest properly. Optimus dies and he reluctantly takes command of all the Autobots.
Galvatron , Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps turn up to kill Ultra Magnus. Unicron has ordered them to do this. The Autobots got on a ship chased by Galvatron and his minions in pursuit.
Glavatron catches up with them and they destroy the ship. The Autobots eject part of the ship to escape. They crash on the planet of Junk. They try and find scrap to repair the ship.
Galvatron and his minions find them on the planet of Junk. They finish destroying the Autobot ship so they cannot escape. Ultra magnus tells them to his in a cave and covers the entrance. Ultra Magnus tries to open the matrix and weld its power but as he is not a Prime he cannot weld it. Galvatron tries to take the Matrix and Ultra magnus refuses. The Sweeps are ordered to exterminate him.
In the original script of the movie the Sweeps were supposed to shoot these tow lines of energy which would wrap round Ultra magnus and pull him apart. but they did not do this as they thought this was too violent so instead they had them shoot lasers. He falls and drops the Matrix before blowing up. I think the laser went through him and lodged there so he exploded from the inside.
Galvtron takes the matrix.
Ultra magnus is rebuilt by the Junkions.
At the end of the movie Hotrod becomes Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus stands down in favour of Rodimus and returns to second in command
In " Five faces of darkness" Ultra Magnus along with Spike and Kup were captured by these shadowy life forms. They were taken to Quintessor and where put on trial by the Quintessons. They were dumped in the Sharticon pit but they were rescued by Rodimus, Springer, Arcee and Grimlock. The Quintessons blew up their own planet to try and stop them escaping. The Arialbots come and collect all the Autobots. The explosion knocks the Arielbots off course and they drift through space until they crash on the planet Goo. This is a planet covered in sticky goo and they get stuck in it. The Junkions rescue them as they own it.
The Autobots go back Cybertron
Ultra Magnus gets captured by a Quintesson scientist who also captures Cyclonus, Wreckgar and Vanessa Fairbourn. I can't remember the name of this episode.
Ultra Magnus meets Cyclonus for the first time. They do fight but at the end they have a mutual warriors respect for each other.
In " Only Human" Ultra Magnus along with Arcee, Rodimus and Springer are turned into humans by there human terrorists so they can infiltrate Autobot city and blow it up. The leader looks like Cobra Commander from GI Joe!
In  " Return of Optimus Prime" Ultra Magnus was one of the first Autobots to be effected by the hate plague and he goes after Rodimus Prime. He nearly gets him but Wreckgar saves Rodimus and in doing so becomes infected. Wreckgar ends up infecting Rodimus. Everyone does get cured by Optimus Prime using the Matrix.
Ultra magnus appears in "The Rebirth" When Cybertron is being attacked by the Decepticons he is on the front line defence. he ends up leading the counter attack. he is defeated by he headmasters and Targetmasters. They turn up on Scorpinox from Nebulas. Ultra Magnus power core is used for rockets power to move Cybertron to earth. Implausible!
Ultra magnus is re activated for the new golden age.
Tekara headmasters. He is the same as he is in the American cartoon. he is still leader of the Autobot Earth forces. he ends up being killed in a one on one fight with Six Shot.

Here there is a debate as when he dies he does not fade to grey. people have surmised that this was not Ultra magnus but a suit and the white cab was really him hidden inside. he did die but his suit survived. The Autobot headmasters threw him in a lake in a pod.

 

FUNCTION; City commander

 

MOTTO; Consistancy is victory

 

 

BIO; Ultra Magnus is all soldier. Most comfortable when carrying out Optimus Primes orders. Possesses magnificent fighting skills, courage, and a gift for battlefield improvisation. uncomfortable in the mantle of leadership but presents strong profile as a commander. Carries missile launchers capable of hitting a target 30 miles away. Resolute, fair and courageous beyond reproach. Ever ready to sacrifice himself for the good of men and mission.

 

SATS; Strength 9, Intelligence 9, Speed 6, Endurance 8, Rank 8, Courage 9, Firepower 6, Skill 8

 

 

 

Armour suit mode

 

 

Robot mode

 

 

Truck cab front

 

 

Truck cab side

 

 

Car carrier front

 

 

Side

 

 

In vehicle mode his car carrier mode is good but I cannot get his cab to fix to trailer so it is balanced on there.

The trailer itself is good. The back section can be folded down so any Autobots in car mode can fit on.

His cab mode is bland being white. No other colour. It looks like they forget to paint it.

I have lost quite a bit if chrome on mine.

The area around the windows are die cast.

It is strange that there is no glass in the windows.

 

His robot mode looks even blander than the vehicle. Just a white prime. His head had no paint at all.

Some people have painted in details but I would not on a toy this old.

 

In armour suit mode. His head is just a helmet but for some reason there are holes in it. Because the original head is all white his eyes then show up as white holes which make him look blind.

I have the version of the head with no silver paint

I think this is a better more attractive mode.

His has missiles launchers and are on his shoulders.

he does not have much articulation. His shoulders go up and down. His hands can turn a bit.

He is a brick but a nice one.

 

I think you need this in your collection. He is an important character.

I paid about thirty pounds for him.

Do find him complete though. Check for fists and missiles.

In height he is the same size as Metroplex.

The normal robot mode is his weak point but the super mode is impressive. It looks good to have him displayed with the minibots towering above them

I highly recommend him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



G1 BUMBLEBEE KEYRING 2001

I got this figure thinking he was the original but he turned out to be a keyring without the chain.
This is G1 Bumblebee back when he was a Volkswagen Beetle and not a Camerae. He could also talk. This drives me mad in the modern movies.

Back Story

Bumblebee appeared in most of the stories in series 1 and 2 but I am not going to wrote all of them out as it will be ten pages long.

He first appears in " More then meets the eye part 1" He was the first Transformer you see and him and Wheeljack found these Energy conductors. In this episode you see him in his Cybertronian mode and the circular Cybertronian car  looks like a UFO but can't fly.
Bumblebee got wounded in the very beginning of this episode. He was blasted in his rear axile by Skywarp and Thundercracker. He was rescued by Wheeljack.
Bumblebee left on the arc with the other Autobots and they crashed on earth. There he got his Volkswagen beetle mode.
Bumblebee did not do a huge amount in this episode but one thing he did was in the end of part two. Sparkplug and him went to these mines to blow them up as the Decepticons were trying to steel the cysts. They set the bomb up but they were about to leave when there escape route was blocked by Thundercracker and Skywarp. They played kick the can with Bumblebee and were going to take him  to Megatron when the bomb went off trapping both Sparkplug and Bumblebee inside. The Autobots dug through the rubble and rescued them.
Bumblebees next major appearance was in "Teleport to oblivion" Spike and him went to try and find where the Decepticons were. They were about to give up when they found them in a river bed . Bumblebee and Spike were captured and they were going to be used to test the space bridge but Bumblebee escaped and made it into a cave pursued by the Decepticons. They re-captured him. Megatron modified Bumblebees Memory banks so he would lead the Autobots into an ambush.  He did and led them into the cave. The Decepticons attacked and Bumblebee was caught in the crossfire but Rachet fixed him and realised that his memory banks had been tampered with. He was them able to give the location of the Space bridge in the river bed in the desert. Spike was rescued.
Bumblebee and Spike became best friends. bumblebee is in most of the episodes and got up to all sorts with  Spike.
In  the G1 movie was assigned to moon base 2 with Spike. It was attacked and eaten by Unicron. While they escaped they detonated a bomb. Unicron just sucked their ship into his mouth as the bomb had no effect. Unicron was going to drop Bumblebee, Spike , Jazz and Cliffjumper into a pit of acid. They were saved by Daniel.
Bumblebee hardly appeared in series 3 but he might have been in "Five faces of darkness part 5 as a minibot defending the arc from Tripticon. If it was him he got kicked around the desert by Tripticon and the arc was destroyed.
Bumblebee appeared in "Ghost in the machine" when ghost Starscream and Scourge stole Metroplex's eyes. Bumblebee and Spike were inside Metroplex when it happened. Metroplex panicked and transformed with them inside.
Bumblebee almost made it to the end of the series but then there was the two part episode " Return of Optimus Prime" Bumblebee, Blur, Kup and Steeljaw were deactivated by the Hate plague infected Superion and they were all re activated by Optimus Prime, Skylinx and a Quintisson. Bumblebbe was reformatted into Goldbug as he was so badly damaged.

 

FUNCTION; Espionage

 

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

 

BIO; Small, eager and brave, Bumblebee acts as a messenger and spy. Due to his small size he dares to go where others can't and won't. He idolises the bigger Autobots, especially Optimus Primes(1984) and Prowl (1984) and strives to be accepted. He is the most energy efficient and has the best vision of all the (Ark modified) Autobots. he can go underwater for reconnaissance and salvage missions. Although physically the weakest Autobot his stealth more than compensates for this inadequacy.

 

Strength 2, Intelligence 8, Speed 4, Endurance 7, Rank 7, Courage 9, Firepower 1, Skill 7

 

 

Robot mode

 

 

Car mode side

 

 

Car mode front

 

His car mode is ok but it has a squashed look to it as the real car has.

His windows are painted and he has a weird silver chrome panel on the back of the vehicle.

Mine is missing all its stickers.

He has fake  rubber tyres and can become brittle in time.

Chrome hubcaps.

 

Transformation is simple and his arms can come off during this.

The only difference to this and the original G1 is a little hook on his shoulder for the key ring.

His face does not look like the cartoon at all and it looks like Goldbug with the mouth plate.

For the Encore figure they gave him the face of Cliffjumper as it looked like Bumblebee.

Articulation is virtually none existent. His arms and feet move .

He is a bit of a brick.

He is top heavy and falls on his back all of the time. My Cliffjumper does not do this.

 

He is just a little yellow robot. I suppose you do need a G1 Bumblebee.

 

I recommend him but for the original I would not pay £20.00 which some are charging but for this I paid £5.00

You do need a Bumble though so this is a good figure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW YEAR POST- PART 3 TF PRIME VOYGER STARSCREAM

TF PRIME VOYGER STARSCREAM 2012

He was released in wave two of the RID Voyagers. There was a previous version which was a Deluxe from the first addition line but I don't have it at this time.

Back Story

Starscream is the second in command of the Decepticons. You first saw him in "Darkness Rising" part one. In this the first thing he did was to kill Cliffjumper. Megatron was a way from Earth for three years and Starscream was in charge during this time. When he returned with Dark Energon Starscream provided Cliffjumper to test the Energon on. It turned him into a Zombie. Starscream also blew up the Energon mines on Megatrons orders using a bomb that looked remarkably like the bomb in "Count down to extinction" in Transformers war for Cybertron.
When Megatron went to raise his undead army so he could fight Optimus and Ratchet, Starscream against his orders decided to try and find the location of the Autobot base so Soundwave deployed lazerbeak to catch agent Fowler who the Autobots human liaison. Bulkhead along with the others ended up storming the Decepticon ship the Nemasis to rescue him. He did not give up any information. Starscream being a coward ran away.
During the battle the Nemesis was damaged including the lock on disc which was broken off by Bulkhead. Megatron was not too happy about this and the fact that Starscream defied him. The only reason he did not kill him because the space bridge locking system was broken. That meant none of his zombie army could come to earth from Cybertron.
The Autobots managed to destroy the space bridge and when it blew up Megatron was caught in the blast. Starscream got the idea that he could be leader.
In "Masters ans Students" none of the Decepticons would follow him so Starscream wanted to find a powerful warrior to make them loyal to him. he went out with Soundwave to find Skyquake. He was a Decepticon warrior who was in stasus so he could guard the Energon On Earth.
Skyquake would not follow orders and he would not believe that Megatron was dead. When Optimus and Bumblebee turned up, Skyquake on old orders tried to kill Optimus as he felt the order still stood.
Soundwave found an life signal in the debre from the exploded space bridge in earths orbit. This turned out to be Megatron. Starscream ordered Soundwave to stay and record the fight while he went to investigate the signal. Lazerbeak followed him.
He found Megatron barely alive so when he saw this he decided to kill Megatron as everyone thought he was dead anyway. he ripped the Dark Energon cystal out of his chest and kept it. He saw Lazerbeak  watching so he said that he was still alive so he had to help his old master.
In the meantime Skyquake died.
Megatron was brought to the Nemasis and put on life support in stasus. Starscream continued to be the leader
Megatron returned in the episode "Out of his head"
he knew that Starscream had tried to kill him. He knocked him out the air in jet mode. Starscream could not believe it and tried to say that it was a miracle but Megatron know what he had done and said it would be a miracle if he survived his revenge.
Starscream despite his heavily damaged condition due to Megatron used the Dark energon shard to bring Skyquake back as a zombie  and he also tried to infuse his own spark but he was interrupted  by Optimus who blasted his arm off. Starscream called for a space bridge to retreat  but because there was already one there they merged together. Jack Raff and Miko and Zombie Skyquake and his arm got zapped into a parallel dimension.
He got around his lack of an arm but saying that it just dropped off when the medic tried to help.
In the episode "Rock Bottom" Megatron took Starscream to a energon mine because he knew that Starscream had been hiding energon there so he wanted to get him to confess his treacherous ways and to kill him.
They were interrupted by the Autobots, Arcee and Bulkhead, Jack and Miko. When Megatron saw the Autobots he shot his fusion cannon but it hit the roof and caused a cave of the entire mine burying them all.
Starscream took the opportunity to escape as he was only half buried. At first he thought that was the end of Megatron but what is he was alive. he did not want the blame for this so he had to go back and get megatron out.
he found Bulkhead holding up the rest of the cave from the humans. He ended up dropping it on Starscream who ended up like Atlas in the Greek myths holding it up himself until Megatron found him. he rescued him after a thought. Starscream was allowed to come back to the Nemasis but he was in disgrace and not trusted so Arachnid took his place ans second in command.
Starscream and Arachnid went to the Havinger ship which was a Decepticon ship which crashed centuries ago. it had on board a proto type weapon called the Immobiliser. The ship broken in half when it crashed and Starscream did not say this so she tied him in silk and left him whilst she got the weapon. The Autobots found him but he talks telling them about the weapon.
Arcee was left to guard Starscream whilst the others went to stop Arachnid. Starscream let it slip that he had been the one to kill Cliffjumper Arcee's old partner. They ended up in a fight and Starscream ran away becoming a rogue. He become a snitch to the Autobots.

In series two he made an alliance with Mech who are human terrorists. They wanted to make a transformers and had acquired Bumblebees T cog by ambushing him so he could now not transform. The Transform that they build would not work so he told them about energon. They made an alliance. Bumblebee stormed the Mech base to get it back but the T Cog was badly damaged. They stole Starscreams T Cog instead. he was left grounded. They ended up making Nemasis Prime.

Later in the series he found a Decepticon Lab inside the Harvinger and he made clones of himself to kill Megatron and take control. he made five and all were destroyed but one who wanted to  destroy him but him managed to destroy him. he felt there pain as they were killed.
Starscream using a number of gadgets including a Ground bridge controller in the lab. He ends up getting a Cybertron relic "The Apex Armour" using the controller to the Artic. Dreadwing and Optimus were also after it but he got there first.

In " New Recruit" Starscream finds out that the humans have found red energon which gives the user hyper speed. Using the Apex armour he gets nearly all of it but looses most of the armour. Smokescreen the Autobot new recruit using his fazshifter kicks Starscream out of his Apex armour. He escapes through the space bridge. He has Hyper speed.

In "Hardknocks" He used red energon to steel an Omega key which can revitalise Cybertron. Starsceam overhears Smokescreen and Bulkhead talking about the Omega Keys.

In "Inside Job" the Autobots have three of the Omega keys. Starscream wants all four so he contacts the Autobots and saying that he will give them the key in return for a T Cog. So as Optimus, Ratchet and Bulkhead arrive all they find is a clone of Starscreams body. In the meantime the real Starscream goes on the space bridge and steels the tree keys and escapes.
he ground bridges onto eh Nemesis and uses the keys as a gift for megatron so he can rejoin their ranks.
Megatron eventually lets him back .Megatron had Starscreams T Cog installed once again.Dreadwind finds out that Skyquake was brought back as a zombie. He was angry as this was his brother. He wants revenge  and sets out to kill him but Megatron kills Dreadwing with his cannon. Why, I don't know. Starscream was back in Megatrons good books and got his own squadron. The last time you saw him was when you saw him standing in the ruins of the Autobot base. That is it until series three.

 

BIO; Unknown

 

FUNCTION; Air commander and sometime Decepticon leader

 

MOTTO; Unknown

 

 

Jet mode front

 

 

Jet mode side

 

 

Robot with Power riser weapon

 

 

With light

 

 

Robot mode

 

In Jet mode he does looked pretty good but he is not as sleek as the first addition. He has a good look but people have been complaining about the kibble on the underside of him.

He comes with this translucent cockpit where the power riser weapon clips in for this mode. I don't use this as I think generally the weapon is stupid.

he has missiles which clip under his wings which I like. This is more cartoon accurate.

He has a nice after burner mold but it is blue. I suppose they had to do this as he was blue in the cartoon.

His tail fin does not clip together that well and it is annoying

For some reason he does not have landing gear!

 

 

His robot mode is pretty good . I don't know why people complain about it. I think it is quite attractive. I think people with the first addition are almost snobby about it. They think he is too big!

His missiles can be kept on his wings  or his fore arms.

The missiles or his head crest do not have any red on them. This would make it cartoon accurate.

Again people complain about the kibble on the side of his feet but it stabilises him. I know he has high heeled shoes.

He has posability

His face is well done with purple light piping and red eyes. he has a bit of a smirk on his face.

He has translucent arms and chest. Could this be dark Energon?

His knee spikes and head crest are rubbery plastic. I am almost afraid to touch the crest in case I damage it.

The insignia is on his shoulder instead of his chest and wings.

The power riser weapon is not worth mentioning and is too big. It ruins the figure to put it on him. Throw it to one side.

 

This figure is pretty good and don't listen to everything you hear about him.

I do recommend him for your collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TF PRIME ARACHNID 2012

Arachnid came into the cartoon in series one called "Predator" I think it was called this. She crashed landed on Earth in the middle of a forest where Arcee and Jack went to investigate it. Arcee knew whose ship it was. Arcee had met Arachnid during the War for Cybertron. her and her partner Tailgate were captured by Arachnid. Arachnid killed Tailgate because Arcee did not give her information on co-ordinates she wanted. They base where they were being held was stormed by Bumblebee and Cliffjumper who rescued Arcee. That was back when Arachnid was with the Decepticons. At that time in in "Predator" Arachnid was a rogue and on her own. She apparently goes to planets and collections indigenous species where she collects their heads. She came to Earth and met Arcee again . This turned into a fight. She captured Arcee and wrapped her in web against a rock and Arachnid said she would be back to kill her as she wanted Jacks head to add to her collection. jack lead Arachnid back to her crashed ship and he tricked her onto the ship. The ship was leaking Energon and Jack lit it causing an explosion. Arachnid was not killed but she was not happy. Arcee escaped and came in time kick Arachnid about. Arachnid was now stuck on Earth as her ship was destroyed.
later on Arachnid made an alliance with MECH, a terroist group lead by humans. She wanted revenge on Arcee and Jack. She needed them to help her.
She captured Jacks mother. Arcee saved the day again.
The human military arrived along with Agent Fowler in a helicopter. Arachnid scanned this and became a copy so she could escape. Arachnid was captured by Breakdown and taken to Megatron. She agreed to re join the Decepticons.
In this episode "Crossfire" When Starscream ran off and became a rogue she took his place as second in command. She is treacherous and thought only of her own power . She was not even loyal to Megatron. Megatron was in trouble and she wanted to leave him to his fate. Dreadwing and Breakdown were assigned to take Arachnid to a forest and kill her but the tables turned and she killed Breakdown by ripping him apart. She becomes a rogue again. megatron is not happy with the report Dreadwing brings back.
In the forest Arachnid finds an Insecticon wandering round. Starscream is also there looking for scraps of Energon. The Insecticon sees Arachnid as a queen.She finds she can control them telepathically. Starscream tries to form an alliance with Arachnid but she orders the Insecticon to kill him. The Autobots are called in by Starscream and he snitches about the insecticon on Earth.
Arachnid contacts Megatron and tells him to come to the forest to settles things once and for all. he turns up alone and the insecticon is waiting. he is badly damaged by it but manages to kill the Insecticon.
The Auto bots turn up. Megatron is rescued by Dreadwind. he makes him second in command.
Arachnid finds tons of stasis pods under the ground form a crashed ship containing Insecticons.
In episode  " Armada" Arachnid awakens all the Insecticons and commands them to kill Megatron and take over. The Autobots turn up and Arcee fights Arachnid. Arachnid falls into a stasis pod and is sealed in. She is taken back the Autobot base in stasis. The Insecticons stopped fighting and pledged their allegiance to Megatron. You see her from time to time in the pod but the Autobot base is destroyed in series two so did she escape?
Arachnid is able to shoot web from her wrists and spit acid as well as use her telepathic skills to manipulate.

 

BIO; Unknown

 

TECH SPEC: unknown

 

FUNCTION: unknown

 

ALTERNATE MODE: Helicopter and spider like form.

 

 

Robot mode

 

 

Unofficial Arachnid mode. Front

 

 

Unofficial Arachnid mode. Side

 

 

Helicopter mode front

 

 

Helicopter mode side

 

This is a controversial figure and there are people who hate it.

 

In robot mode she is the Helicopter. It is a good representation of her mode and her saving grace.

She has a small Decepticon insignia on the nose of the helicopter. There should also be some on the side but they did not bother.

You can lift up her cockpit and she has a translucent seat in there.

We will see later on why this is a bad idea.

The rotors do spin. She has very long rotor blades that I think are too long.

She has no landing gear so she will fall over.

Her cannons can be fitted to stabilise her. Up to you where yo put them as to what they look like. The way that looks least stupid.

The weapons look like claws. I think She uses them like a harpoon?

 

During transformation it is a good idea to remove her rotor blades.

Without them it looks like a shark. Could you customise it as a Sharkticon. I think it would work.

The transformation is very basic almost like a legion.

 

In robot mode compared to her onscreen mode this is pitiful. her head sculpt is spot on but there are loads of paint apps missing. her arms are absolutely  terrible and don't extend them.

The whole body is a block with a load of helicopter kibble. Terrible!

She has no articulation and there is no way you can pose her.

The nice little seat forms the back of her head so it cant turn more than an inch.

her ratorblades form her spider legs which are stupid and north worth the effort and where are the rest. She only has three!

The spider legs are the wrong colour with a claw thing. They are shorter than they should be and they should be black. she could not use them as the cartoon.

There is a tab so the spider legs cannot move properly.

The top leg clipped into a translucent plastic tab from the cockpit so not sure how long it will last. If is comes out it swings loosely.

She has high heels and has a secondary heel which is supposed to help with standing but because of her kibble on her back it does not help and she falls over.

 she has holes in her hands but it looks like she has been crucified rather than for web.

you can plug the weapons into the ports in the sides of her arms.

 

It does not have an official Arachnid mode.

It is un excusable so I came up with a fan mode. You cannot make her into the drill mode  from the cartoon as I have tried.

 

She is also a very small character compared to the others.

 

She does not look terrible in either mode but the main problem is she has no playability.

 

If you want to get the entire cast of the Decepticons get her but I would wait for a sale and get it cheap.

 

A pass for me but I am upset as I really like the character. I am disappointed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW YEAR POST PART 2- TF PRIME RID DELUXE ARCEE

TF PRIME RID ARCEE 2012

Arcee is one of the main characters of Transformers Prime. She is one of the tree human guardians  The other two being Bumblebee and Bulkhead. Her human companion is Jack.

She is the only female Autobot on the team. She has a rivalry with Aracnid who is the female Decepticon. We found out about this in the Series one "Predator"  In the episode you are given a flashback to why there is a rivalry between them. Arceee had a partner called Tailgate back in the War for Cybertron and they both got captured by Arachnid. Arcee would not tell Arachnid the attack co-ordinates so Tailgate was killed. Arcee was recued by Bubblebee and Cliffjumper. She never forgave this and swore revenge. She did however get another partner Cliffjumper but of course he was killed by Starscream in episode one of "Darkness rising" She does not  work well with partners.

Arcee is a caring Autobot but a skilled fighter. She is in all the Prime episodes. At one point when Starscream is captured by the Autobots. Arcee is guarding him and he let slip that he killed her recent partner Cliffjumper. They ended up fighting and Starscream escaped and he ran off .

Arcee fought Arachnid many times. Finally in the episode "Armada" series two Arcee managed to trick Arachnis into a stasis pod. So she went into suspended animation.

This version is the best that has been produced so far of Arcee.

FUNCTION; Stealth Warrior

MOTTO; Unknown

STATS Unknown as hard to find.

Robot

Motorbike front

Motorbike side

Motorbike with weapons

 In motorbike mode she is not the same colour as the cartoon. It is a minor nit pick and I do like her colour scheme.
You can see her robot hands from the back but it is pretty clean and it all looks like part of the motorbike. She has a kick stand so you can make it stand. You can roll her along but she will fall when you let go.

I think the blue on her does look a bit like Chromier but the blue colour scheme has grown on me. She also has shiny chrome blue and the front which is very nice. She also has molded dash board.

You can attach the weapons to either side of her wheels but I think it looks silly. It is the only way to store the weapons in this mode.

Her transformation has similar steps to the the Cyberverse legion of Arcee as her side panels of the bike turn into wings. Like all RID Deluxes she also has the reveal gimmick. You flip her legs down and her head folds up. You can even give her her an Movie Arcee mode when she only has one wheel for her legs. She is a bit of an Easter egg with this mode. She is very accurate looking robot but has an oversize backpack like the legion.

It is a shame that they could not have insignia on her wings. Earlier RID Deluxe did not have them as for some reason they had something against it.

Her head sculpt is very acurate with a little bit of pink on her head creat. Nice light piping and detail. She has a fake chest unlike the first addition.

Her articulation is pretty good and you can get her into some good poses.

The bike saddle sticks out of her lower back rather like a spider abdomen. Like Transmetal 2 Black Arachnea form Beast Wars. A bit odd when her enemy is Arachnid.

Weapons are a big rifle which looks good and can look a little too big. it transforms out of her arm like the cartoon. the barrel looks like the one in the cartoon so you could cut the end off to make it more accurate.

She also has a wrist blade. It is a little too big and there is only one not like the cartoon when there where two. You can attach it as a Bayonne.

I do really like this figure. I have been mislead a bit as they said the first addition is better but I am not so sure. I think you should definatly get this figure and if you want the entire cast of the Primes then she is one to have.

NEW YEAR POST PART ONE- TF PRIME FIRST ADDITION TERRICON CLIFFJUMPER

TERRICON CLIFFJUMPER 2010

This is the only first addition that I have as they did not come to the UK.
This is the normal version of this figure. There was also a San Diego Comic con exclusive in 2012. This has different packaging and was called "Rust in peace"
Cliffjumper was killed by Starscream after he was captured by the Decepticons. This was in the very first episode of TF Prime Darkness Rising series one. In episode two of Darkness Rising Megatron returned with dark energon and they used Cliffjumpers body to try it out and he got turned into a zombie. He become out of control attacking the vehicons until Megatron cut him in half. He was then thrown off a cliff into the Energon mine.
The Autobots knew he was dead as his life signal was gone but where then confused when it popped up again. They went to the mine and Arcee found he was a Zombie. He was laying on a ledge broken and damaged. Starscream on Megatrons orders blew the Energon mine up taking Cliffjumper with it.
Megatron learnt to control the dark Energon and created a Zombie army of Terricons

 

MOTTO; unknown

 

FUNCTION; Failed experiment.

 

BIO; unknown

 

STATS unknown but what would a zombie have.

 

 

Car mode front

 

 

Car mode side

 

 

Robot mode

 

 

With display stand

 

 

Cut in half

 

The muscle car mode have some dark energon battle damage and a silver crack on the bonnet and along the wheel arch. he also has some purple translucent cracks on the roof of the car. The windscreen and the others are translucent plastic as are the headlights.

The horns on the front of the car are complete but I am sure that in earlier pictures one was broken as the robot mode.

He has a Autobot insignia on the side of the car. there is the moulding for it on the other side but they did not  paint it on.

Apart from that there is not too much damage. I think he is slightly inferior to the San Diego Comic Con so that if collectors paid a lot of money for it they would not complain when this cheaper version came out.

 

His robot mode looks more like a zombie and they have remoulded his head so it is all ripped up. One eye is bigger than the other and he has the missing horn. He has purple light pipping. The translucent plastic is now on his chest.

 

You are supposed the fold the windscreens against his legs but I don't bother.

 

You can fold his hands in and give him some triple barrelled cannons. I don't think that he should  have guns but I like this feature.

 

I think that this figure looks better than the RID version. I does not have a fake chest. It looks more realistic.

 

He is a very clean and neat figure with very little kibble. His lower back has the grill from car mode.

 

Articulation is very good for posing

 

As a kind of Easter egg with this mould you can slid out his body into two pieces. This is the fun feature and represents the time he was cut in two by Megatron.

 

There is not a huge amount of dark Energon damage on the figure but you could add some yourself with added official stickers.

 

It is a very good figure to have. Normal Cliffjumper is now cancelled and this guy had replaced it.

 

He also comes with a cardbaord stand which looks nice on display

 

It is really worth getting for your collection. It is very accurate.

 

I highly recommend him partly because he is a zombie and is really cool. Put him on your shelf with RID Megatron holding his sword over him cutting him in half.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNIVERSE 2.0 SILVERBOLT

This figure is from 2008. He is an Autobot. Silverbolt is the leader of the aerialbots. Him and the other bots Airaid, Skydive, Fireflight and Slingshot are ancient Cybertronian Shuttles that were rebuilt by the Autobots to resemble modern jets. Vector Sigma gave the aerialbots individual sparks and minds. They were created to fight the Stunticons.
Siverbolt is afraid of heights which is not easy when you are a jet. On Cybertron he was a low altitude cargo ship up to when he was rebuilt. He is a supersonic jet now.
Optimus appointed him leader of the aerialbots so it would keep his mind off the fact that he was scared of heights.
The other aerialbots are really arrogant especially Slingshot who thinks he is superior to the rest.
Silverbot is not like that. The aerialbots except for Silverbolt refused to fight the Stunticons but he  convinced them. Silverbot destroyed Vector sigmas key because Megatron was using it as a weapon and he did not want Earth to become another Cybertron. They defeated the Stunticons along Omega Supreme. He was the key to winning the battle as he took Menasaur down
Therew was another key episode in series two when the Aerialbots in "War Dawn" They thought the Decepticons were not too bad but silverbolt tried to convince the others that this was not so. Megatron tricked the Aerialbots and sent them back in time when they walked into a time machine. They were sent back nine million years back to the beginning if the Cybertronian war. They met these Energon warehouse workers run by Ryan Pax , Ariel and Dion. Megatron turned up with the Decepticon drones and badly damaged the workers. Megatron nearly got the Energon but the guardian robots turned up. Megatron ran off. The aerialbots found Alpha Trion and Orion and Aerial were re formatted Orion became Optimus Prime and Ariel became Olita one. Dion is a mystery as some say he was killed but others say he was reformatted.
Megatron turned up again with reinforcements but Optimus was there and beat Megatron. The aerialbots set a bomb and blew up the warehouse containing the energon.
They managed to get back to their own time. This changed their minds about Megatron and they stayed loyal to the Autobots.
There were other story lines in series two when they were fighting the Combaticons. In series three "five faces of Darkness" when they recued the Autobots form the Quintessons and removed them from Quinrtessa before the Quintessons blew the planet up.
In series four the Aerialbots fought Sixshot who basically obliterated them. They were all damaged and shut down to status lock. They did get reactivated for "Cybertrons New Golden Age"
They were also in the Japanese cartoon but I have not watched much of this. They fought in these.

 

BIO
As the leader of an elite group of Autobot warriors known as the Aerialbots, Silverbolt shoulders a great deal of responsibility. He is a careful planner who never risks the lives of his men, unless it is absolutely necessary. All his care, however, hides a deeply insecure nature. Optimus Prime actually put Silverbolt in such a stressful position largely to district him from a paralysing fear of heights; a weakness he hopes the other Aerialbots never discover. He is a capable leader nonetheless, and has honed his Aerialbots into one of the finest Autobot units in the universe.

SATS; Strength 8, Speed 9, Rank 8, Firepower 8, Intelligence 8, Endurance 8, Courage 8, Skill 5

FUNCTION; Aerialbot Leader

MOTTO; Don't look down, look straight ahead.

                              
                                                             Jet mode side

                                                                Jet mode front

 

Robot mode

 

His jet mode is some kind of supersonic jet with some omages to the Concorde that was his original mode in G1.

 

He has electronics that make machine gun noises and they flash the small guns on the side of the cockpit. He also has a sawing noise and his afterburners light up. There is also a boosting noise like the afterburners.

On the side it says BOLT 25 as this is part of the 25th Anniversary line, He has elite guard insignias on his wings. He also has a 25 on these as well

He has some nice details and panel lines.

His undercarriage is quite big but not too bad.

His gun attaches to the front of the jet and is spring launched.

The colour scheme is pretty basic but realistic for a jet

 

During transformation he makes the transformation noise and his eyes light up and flash.

 

His robot mode is very cartoon accurate but he does have a big backpack.

I don't think it is that bad. it looks like he has a giant jet pack and it does not make him back heavy

He has a mildly nervous expression on his face which is great when he is afraid of heights.

On his chest there is a purple colour which is strange for an Autobot.

He has lots of load ratchet noises during transformation

His heels spurs flip in easily . I wish they locked in place.

He also makes a machine gun noise in this mode.

His gun is spring launched and he can hold it

Half the figure is the pack back and the robot is the undercarriage kibble

The back of his legs are hollow which is fine.

 

He has good articulation. He can stand in several poses.

 

You could make a good custom base for Superion kit bash because he has long legs to attach parts to.

 

He is a good figure and the transformation is deluxe/scout transformation difficulty. Not complex.

 

I would not pay through the roof for him. Around £20.00 would be fair. I paid this.

 

He was repainted as Darkwing which was a Toys R Us exclusive

 

I would recommend him to add to your collection as he looks great on display