April 09, 2008

Car & Figure Assortment

All cars feature spring loaded action features and driver action figures. Man I wish we had these about 30 years ago!

Mach 5

Racer X's X-9 (Shooting Star)

Taejo Togokhan

The GRX (The Fastest Car in the World!)

Deluxe Car & Driver

Both boxed vehicles feature spring loaded features, light-up action, separating mini-vehicles, and Drivers!

Battle Rig & Mach 6 Playset

Transforming Mach 6

This is the gem of the line! The car morphs beautifully & effortlessly, with lauching missiles & lights & sounds. The included fully poseable Speed figure is in the 5" scale.

It should be noted that there is no bigger Speed Racer fan on the PLANET than yours truly. I'm super-excited about the movie, and the toys really are a lot of fun. I'm hoping when all the excitement settles down that Mattel makes a series based on the classic cartoon! Until then, special thanks to Mattel's Toy Guru for the toys!

Transformers Animated.

Slated for a June release, I jumped at the chance to be able to show you some of these a bit early. They are some of the finest Transformers made to date. Check out a sneek peek of the Voyager Optimus Prime, Grimlock, and Bulkhead. It should be noted that while I like Bulkhead, he's my least favorite of the three, as he's way too small to be in the correct scale. Watch for the upcoming Leader-Class vesion later this summer.

Bulkhead

Optimus Prime (Earth Mode)

Grimlock

December 24, 2007

Walmart Exclusive Transformers Masterpiece Starscream

Hot on the heels of selling Transformers movie toys like hotcakes (mmmmm.....hotcakes), Walmart ordered this USA version of the Takara Masterpiece Starscream, only in the show-correct anime colors. This move made this one even more desireable to collectors like myself who already had the Japanese edition. So much so that the hefty $50 price tag scared NO ONE away, and it sold out almost immediately. I only saw this guy at one local Walmart, and even then it sold out in 48 hours. I've heard this one may ship again, as sales expectations were completely shattered. Depending on where you live, you may have never even seen one.

As you can see, the packaging mimicks the now defunct "Classics" line. It's well done, and helps ease the sting of the $50 price tag. The lettering on the top is raised and painted in silver, and looks classy. The packaing is also fairly stury & displays well, if you should choose to keep it sealed mint.

...But why would you want to do that when he's so cool! He's super poseable, of course, and even retains the import versions' face-changing action. You can display your Starscream looking serious, or with the jerk-like grin, which belies the fact that he's clearly up to something devious. The paint work is top-notch, especially the dark line work in all the plane's detailing. Included accessories are the null ray guns, missile clusters, a small figure of Dr. Archeville, which can fit in to the cockpit seat, opening nosecone with radar array, opening engine covers, swiveling thruster nozzles, and opening air brakes. Whew that's a bunch!

My only complaints about the toy, aside from it's overall scarcity, are htese two issues:
1) Scale. It's a bit undersized. Not horrible, but it should've been a bit bigger. It fits in very well with the Alternators line, however.
2) Design of the robot mode. He was designed (by the engineers' own admission) to be a perfect trasnforming F-15. He is, but sacrifices were made to the robot mode. He should've been designed as the perfect Starscream. However, these complaints are minor, and if your a classic Transformers fan like I am, this one's kind of a must-own.

Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem

The first two of NECA's AVP:R figures have been released, just in time for me to see the movie tomorrow! There have been several attempts to bring these creatures to life in plastic, but I must say that NECA's efforts so far surpass anything before it. My only gripe is that the Predator isn't scheduled to ship until February. How am I supposed to have my toys "fight" without the main protagonist!?!

Predalien Hybrid

This creature seen hatching at the end of AvP is now all-growed up, and ready to do some real damage! In a previous interview, NECA's Randy Falk had stated that there would be less articulation on this bad boy due to the extra amount of detailing required to rended him in 3D. I really can't argue with him, because the detailing is outrageous. The paint work and detailing is superb, down to the transparent cranial dome and skull inside. The "dreads" are individual rubber pieces that resemble alien vertebrae! Creepy! He is articulated at the jaw, ball & socket neck, ball & socket shoulders, cut biceps & wrists, hips, cut thighs, and a bendy tail. He also includes a multi-positional base to help him stand. Mine appears to be "closed mouthed", but the packaging displays an open mouthed variant also exists.

Alien Warrior

This is now my all-time favorite action figure of the Alien warrior. The detailing is amazing, something I think a lot of toy companies couldn't even pull off on a mass-prouction scale. The design is fairly classic, but with loads of new detailing. Most notably for me are the cues on his head that appear to be derived from Takeya's famous take on the creature. He's painted to perfection with a wash of metallic grey, and really deals well with his mucous-like mandible tendons, better than any previous attempt. these clear muscular strans that surround the jaws are cast in a clear plastic as a separate piece, then blended into the lower jaw. the extend far up into the skull, and extend when you lower the articulated mouth. Creepy!

The warrior, much like the Predalien, is in the 7" scale range, and stands an imposing 8 1/4 inches tall. He has a ball & socket neck, ribcage, and thighs. He is also articulated at the shoulders, bicep cuts, elbows, wrists, thigh cuts, knees, ankles, jaw, and bendy tail. He also includes the aforementioned stand, but doesn't need it due to the tripod-like tail.

One thing's for sure - let's hope the movies are as good as these excellent toys, and let's hope that Predator ships fast!

On a lighter note, my dog got her Christmas gift a little early tonight, a new rubber chicken. If only we were so happy with new toys!

Peace, and happy dreams of sugar plums, santa, and action figures.

May 29, 2007

May 05, 2007

From time to time I get asked why we at AFT do what we do. It’s really pretty easy to explain. There are three main reasons why we all work so hard to make this site a fun & informative place. First and foremost, it’s a profound love of the hobby. We all love the toys. Second, it’s the community. I’ve met some of my best & closest friends through the site, and they’re all a great bunch of guys. And then there’s the perks. Every so often, something will arrive on your doorstep that will just turn a bad day around 180 degrees. This is one of those times.

Hasbro has generously sent one of my most anticipated toys of the year for review, the Leader-Class Optimus Prime from this summer’s highly anticipated movie. Weather you love or hate the designs, you cannot help but be impressed with the quality and innovative engineering this toy’s got. Lets take a closer look:

The toy comes window boxed with the prerequisite twisty ties holing him in place. There’s a hole cut in the center of the window that lets you try the “Automorph” feature (more on that in a bit). It’s not until he’s out of the box that this guy comes to life. Optimus stands around 10” tall, and looks bulky and muscular. Hasbro has done an excellent job of capturing the very intricate and complex movie design very well. This was no small task, and they get a 10 out of 10 for making this one look as close as possible.

There are three areas where Optimus utilizes the “Automorph” feature. This is where pushing a button or moving a piece causes a gear to move several other pieces, thus making the transformation easier. I’m not sure if it makes things any easier, but it is fun to watch! The first and most obvious instance of this feature is the torso. Pushing the button on his lower torso causes the chest to split in two and central lever starts to rise. The side windows pop outward to further expand the chest. The plate on the top of the cab pops open and back, and the head rises ceremoniously out of the cab. When the process is done, sound effects are played and his eyes flash yellow and then stay lit for a few seconds. Neat!

The second place this feature is used is on his right arm. Sliding a lever along the forearm causes his big gun to rotate 180 degrees around, all while a couple of extra barrels slide out from inside his forearm. The gun shoots a clear blue projectile.

The third place this is used is on the feet. It is important to note that the feet come in the box mistransformed. This is not immediately evident, as they look like boxy little feet, so many have not immediately noticed this. Slide the front bumper section on the bottom of the feet outward diagonally a quarter inch. This causes the headlights to pivot outward. Then rotate around ¼ turn. This causes the “toes” to rotate outward. Then fold the bumper section upward in half.

Transformation

OK, so now for the tricky part; the transformation. He’s pretty complex, and folks like youngsters, small children, and Toygodd may have trouble transforming him on their own (just kidding, TG!)
You will bust up a few knuckles in the process, trust me. The trickiest parts for me were at the shoulders, where’s it’s not immediately evident in the pics that you need to rotate them inward to connect to the upper shoulder. Also, the hood fits together snugly and without seams, so you’ve got to get everything just right. There’s a lot of pieces that fold out to create surfaces, so if you have any troubles feel free to email me for help! This is an amazing toy, one that I would have gladly spent $40 plus tax on. Don’t pre-judge the line by the little Protoform sneak preview figures that are out now (pictured below. This line’s got some serious potential. If Optimus here is any indication, we’ve got a serious contender for 2007 Movie Line of the Year.

Truck Mode

The truck mode looks great, there’s almost no kibble at all. There’s a button on top of the cab that lights up the very tech looking windows and plays a horn sound effect. The tires are rubber, which warmed my heart. The seams are almost invisible (except on the front grill, which DOES feature an Autobot symbol).
The smokestacks are rubber for safety reasons, but you won’t really notice. Truck mode gets a 10 out of 10.

Sneak Preview Protoform Figures

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