In Defence of Omnigonix Spinout

 - Dorian MacQuarrie

Omnigonix Spinout is a fantastic toy. 

Not what you would expect to hear about a release known for terrible quality control, questionable material choices plus a few design issues thrown in for good measure. If you can look past those issues though, glaring as they are, you may just see the wonderful design that lies at the core of Spinout. As the first release from a new third party company, Spinout could have been one of the most successful attempts at recreating the Hasui style of Masterpiece Transformers but whether it was cost cutting measures, head office meddling in the manufacturing process or if rumours are to be believed, sabotage at the factory level, Omnigonix was unable to deliver a Masterpiece build quality. 

The reveal of MP-39 Sunstreaker has set the fandom alight with anticipation of this once unlikely release from the Masterpiece line. It has also set eBay and selling forums alight with a wave of Sunsurges at bargain prices. Not so much with Spinout. Be it because he differs so drastically from the cartoon focused MP-39 and Sunsurge or maybe it's the storied journey the toy went through from conception to release, Spinout seems to be keeping his place as a Sunstreaker representation on many Masterpiece shelves. 

This isn't the first time I've written about Spinout on this blog and it won't be the last as I'll be sure to write a comparison piece between Spinout and MP Sunstreaker when he's finally released. He is just one of those figures that captivates and I'm not alone in this regard, you need only head over to the Spinout thread on TFW2005 to see how much fanaticism this toy has garnered. 

Early adopters of the toy went on a journey, from supporting a new designer working on a project through the thrilling highs of revealed concepts and audience participation in voting for head sculpts to the abject lows of the final reveal and the tragic story of how a spectacular design was rendered into a thoroughly unspectacular form. This investment of time and interest has held sway over the many collectors who push past the flaws seen in the toy, resulting in a supportive community who are more than happy to help with fixes and tips to get the most out of your Spinout. 

Even with the known flaws, Spinout still looks amazing and I don't just mean a swell looking bot, I mean absolutely, drop dead gorgeous amazing. From the toy focused detailing of the real car hood making the real robot chest to the clean, kibble free back to the feet, oh those damn feet! Spinout is the quintessential representation of a Masterpiece Sunstreaker for my tastes. He is more in line with the early Hasui cars than a 3PMP has any right to be. For someone like myself who is not a fan of the current cartoon focus of the MP line Spinout is a breath of fresh air and allows me to have the classic duo of Sideswipe and Sunstreaker in a matching aesthetic.

Car roof for a chest? Check. Car hood feet? Check.

Yes Spinout's downfall comes from the poor build quality, be it indeed because of factory sabotage, head office meddling in the manufacturing process or just the inexperience of a new third party company, but there is still a great toy under all that mess.

The best way I could describe the experience for those who have never handled the toy is similar to that of a middle to high quality KO or maybe that of an early test-shot, or at least what I imagine an early test shot would feel like (I've only handled final test shots in my limited experience). Everything is there, the toy works as a transforming car-robot-man but the fit and finish is lacking. Details from the initial designs removed as cost cutting measures, poor quality plastics used for armatures and transformation joints and a general feeling that Spinout needed a few more passes through the manufacturing process before he was ready for release have taken what could have been a A+ release into a risky purchase. 

"Put up your dukes!"

My Spinout could be considered a "good" sample, with slightly loose joints and the ever present issue of wheels popping off. I've heard horror stories of figures literally crumbling away and parts missing upon opening which makes it difficult to defend Spinout and put forward why I think it's such a great toy. 

As ridiculous as it may seem you need to divorce the QC issues from toy itself. The toy is fantastic and mine is fairly well built and very much in line with the early releases of the third party scene. The quality controls and materials used in the manufacturing of the toy are the real culprit and the reason why your experience with Spinout may be disappointing. That's a bit mad to say as of course so much of a toy is the build quality but I struggle to think of another example where a terrific design was so severely hamstrung with a poor build and in a way Spinout stands alone in this very niche, particular bracket. 

LamBros forever

Even with a pre-order down for MP-39, Spinout will still have pride of place in my collection. As the only offer of a toy focused Masterpiece Sunstreaker he looks marvelous next to the early MP Autobot cars and is a more fitting partner for Sideswipe than Sunsurge or even the official release. If you can find one for a good price (oddly difficult these days) roll the dice and take the gamble, you may be pleasantly surprised. 


Until next time, keep it #Refined


Follow Dorian on Twitter @Vigadeath

Under-engineering and Imagination

- Ben Watson


We live in a blessed time. Full articulation is now basically standard for all Transformers figures. Masterpiece and Generations updates allow you to handle the character designs you love and pose them as you might have always wished. But this was not always the way. In times past (and in certain corners of the present) Transformers were simply toys that changed shape, not slick robot action figures. Perhaps it could be said there was once a time when TFs were treated as a toy of their alt mode first and robot second. Nowadays robot is everything and there is an undeniable feel of a switch to them being treated as action figure first, especially as 90% of toys are now packaged in robot mode. Of course this is quite the opposite of a bad thing, but it gives me cause to explore the design mentality that once existed of toy over figure. These are two very different words and what I'm about to talk about are objectively bad action figures, but positively wonderful toys. Join me now as we extend the overhead rainbow of imagination and find treasure where others would see junk.

Toy Vs. Figure?
(We're doing subheadings now?) Let me first explain my above statement so you know the sense of the words as I'll be using them as we carry on. To toy collectors everywhere 'toy' and 'figure' (here shorthand for Action Figure) are perfectly interchangeable nouns to refer to the same things. But can you really call a robot that can only move its elbows an 'action figure'? You sure as hell can't pose it for artistic reference purposes. Likewise, is a slick super-posable vaguely fragile robot worthy of nothing less than pride-of-place display and aesthetic appreciation a 'toy'? On both counts, to me the answer is no. Clearly there's a vast blurred middle ground and I'm just using extremes to prove my point but I'll be sticking to this sentiment because what we're going to examine today are most certainly capital T toys and bring with them all the childlike magic that word entails. We're not skirting around the fact these things are made for kids by using a grown-up word like 'figure' here, no sir. 

In Times Long Past
Clearly the first such examples to fit this description are the Transformers of Generation 1. Nothing was made to be anything more than just a child's plaything. Good articulation came as a by-product and for the most part wasn't even attempted. You were buying a die-cast car that happened to have robot bits in. Yet the toys of this vintage still command interest and a huge amount of love from everyone who had their earlier years graced by them. Despite my equivalent being Beast Wars, the first line to give articulation and action figure status its due, I can still say I was met with stunted yet lovable toys thanks to Armada. I knew what good posability felt like and when I wasn't mildly irked by the lack of it in some of my favourite new toys, I loved them for all of their other qualities. Quick satisfying transformations, fun action features, strong silhouettes and bold design all combined to mean these bricks were rarely out of my hands. It seems when the aesthetic cannot be fully expressed this is made up for by the tactile. Toys are made to be played with, and play with them I did. Many a chunky solid bot from the years between 2002 to 2004 is now quite knackered, but back in those halcyon days they served their purpose - to fire my imagination. 

Redeeming Quality
Herein lies the rub, when toys are robbed of a physicality you wished was there, be it knees or firing cannons, (it's always knees with me) as a kid you made up for it with imagination. I may have been annoyed with toys that didn't do everything I wanted but it still didn't stop me from loving them and getting the most out of them. This even applies to toys outside of the TF remit - my first figure of Venom (not the Deluxe Insecticon) was painfully under-articulated but god do I love that thing. Each absent joint or even in some cases weapon were gaps to be filled through fantasy and drawing the thing in a state you wished it existed in. And it was good. This kind of engaging and enriching absence of abstraction is not to be found in many toys today. In a world where knees are standard, we have it made, yet somehow that spark to the tinder of the imagination, that ephemeral quality that puts the thing in your hands and in your thoughts far more often than on a shelf is almost entirely gone.

The State of Play Today
I may mourn the loss of that childhood value apportioned to every toy I was privileged to own and while I may be implying kids today can't feel it either, thankfully bad figures do still exist. But do believe me when I say I know 'bad' from 'bad'. The equivalent solid simple stuff to my beloved Armada today is sadly rather flimsy and dumb. Having lost my mind for about eight months and deciding to buy the One Step Changers from Age of Extinction, I thought I was subjecting myself to that pleasant funk of a toy that could be light years better but it just didn't add up. Sure there were some clever tricks on offer but they didn't feel complete. They weren't enough of anything. I'm not intending to ever touch the subsequent Robots In Disguise offerings like oversized Hyperchange Heroes or Crash Combiners (ok maybe my arm could be twisted for one of those) as straight off the bat you can see they're bad for no other reason than cost. The bad figures of my day were bad because they sacrificed in order to allow inventive gimmickry. The toys of today are exercises in cutting costs, using less plastic, less parts, even less packaging. 'Cos kids won't know better right? But perhaps all hope is not lost for the toy that knows it's good to be bad...

The Cyber Battalion
Here is where we reach the seed of the idea for this article. Good bad toys that are new and let me feel that old feeling. In 2015 Hasbro suddenly unveiled a new subset of figures under the Generations brand without the customary toy fair or convention appearances and left a lot of people very intrigued and slightly confused. The Cyber Series would offer A-list characters in 'definitive' G1-esque guises to the younguns by virtue of being big and simple and cheap. The Battalion lot would turn out to be roughly voyager sized while the Commander class would be filled with massive Leader-plus sized versions of - what a surprise - Prime and Bee. Perhaps it was the lack of concrete info or satisfying in-hand pics or the fact you literally couldn't get them that lodged the idea of Cyber Battalions in my mind. Whatever the case I had to track them down and despite only being available in Asia and South America, I managed to get my hands on a few and simply fell in love. 

Only two out of the four I have are possessed of knees. Only two have any accessories. Yet they are all supremely solid (no awful 2012 era plastic here), decently painted, fun to transform and imbued with bold character. If you want a feel for them in your own head, imagine the build quality of the Combiner Wars Constructicons. Some joints are missing. Some complexity is missing. Plastic is smooth and inherently metallic (on Prime and Megatron) and you simply can't put them down despite all their flaws. Here are toys very clearly made to be played with. Generations offerings that are certainly not made to appeal to the pseudo-high-end collect and display market. Here are G1 updates for actual children to enjoy. Here is a Jetfire that isn't rickety and you don't have to shell out fifty bucks for. Here is a Prowl that looks like a police car you might have in your country. Here is an Optimus that does a better job of looking like a definitive G1 Prime than anything else in Generations. Here is a Megatron that, er... has painted wheels? Megatron is an odd one. But they all incite the urge to handle them, to convert them back and forth, to pit them against each other in plastic fisticuffs and even to leisurely pose the assortment of joints they have. Once again my imagination is fired and I want to sit and draw Jetfire in a pose he can't adopt and imagine how the working of his knees might look. In short, they're clearly bad action figures - certainly leagues below anything you might expect from the Generations pedigree - but because of that they're good toys. Not damn good without any gimmickry but pure; an expression of Transformers that hasn't existed in a long time, where the conversion of the thing isn't treated like a gimmick but it's the only one present. 

Attention Span
It's probably becoming more apparent to everyone but me that I like bad figures and I hope this is another step on the way to realising I have a problem. But if you're like me and see the value in static hulks of sturdy build, by all means please share with us your favourite objectively woeful action figures. Keep the flame of imagination alight with what these stunted robos can do in your head rather than in the real world. But mostly just stop fooling yourself that you're not a grown adult buying toys for kids. Shed the ego and dive in to unabashed love of that dumb thing made for eight-year-olds. You'll be more #Refined for it. Love and peace.



Follow Ben on Twitter @Waspshot23

Comic Analysis: Optimus Prime. Kei Zama: The Power of Panel Layout

- Leigh Gregurke

Optimus Prime (2016) Art by Kei Zama, Written by John Barber , Colours by Josh Burcham , letters by Tom B. Long, edited by Carlos Guzman. Published by IDW.

I don't think I have ever been as excited to see an artist take on interior sequential duties on a book as I was when Kei Zama was announced on IDW's Optimus Prime. I was not deterred by yet another Prime focused book nor did it bother me that John Barber, whose arching political narratives I thought wouldn't sit well with Zama's brutal and aggressive line work, would be the writer. I was excited to see what one of the most talented and engaging young artists would create with a style so distinct and physical. Zama's artistic bandolier is brimming with tools ranging from the dynamic anchoring straight lines of Senior, the aggression and scowl of Yanniger, texturing and rendering in excess reminiscent of 90's McFarlane on Spider-man and the brutal stark contrast and compositional balance of Mike McMahon.

So the book is amazing right? 

It's.....okay. There are times it doesn't read well visually and feels cluttered and confusing... and there are times it is excellent, genuinely excellent.

Is it possible I had expectations set too high? I did, no doubt. The transition from pin up style work; larger more expressive pieces to interiors is tough, especially I imagine the switch from bigger scale traditional tools to the challenge of fitting more information into smaller spaces in sequential work. Perhaps made even more difficult on a book paced with new character entrances, large ensembles, bountiful levels of speech and a fast paced narrative occurring in two time spaces. It is a super dense story. The art has some issues, there are pages that flow awkwardly or don't read clearly.

When it is good though, it is really good.

Zama deploys some of those tools mentioned to work within the tight spaces of the page, to create tension and demonstrate space or a lack thereof. I want to break down two of my favourite pages from issue two. The interrogation of Jetfire by Prowl, two pages, one room. 

Zama delivers two very traditional 9 panel layouts that stand out and add some formality and control in contrast to the chaos of the rest of the issue. The panel designs offer a direct relation of the controlled space, tight, rigid and barred.

Here the situation is intimate, two characters. The angles that we the viewer are given shift and rotate, the camera shows us the room and the interaction but it is not arbitrary, it reflects the movement of Prowl, stalking, circling, closing in... pacing. We feel Jetfire being trapped by not only Prowl but the space of the room and even the panel borders themselves. The third panel gives us the scope of the room from a birds eye creating a clever establishing shot that hints at a theme of surveillance and control, it shows us the track that Prowl patrols, circular around his mark. Rather than dropping the establishing shot first it lets us examine the situation and character relationship before revealing the battleground it takes place on.

Let's examine that page flow a bit deeper.....

The picture above, desaturated for ease of viewing has been marked with some of the key flow indicators. Beginning at the top left our eye follows the eye-lines of the two characters giving us a clear indicator of who controls the power in the situation, it starts us moving, Prowls eye-line as the controller is established as a direction point following through in the next panel and then again as we see him looking down over Jetfire and then again at him re-directing us to the bottom left panel. The motion here is sped-up masterfully and the use of speed lines show a switch in action, we are immediately pushed up following those directional ques again with the punch, our motion stops and the viewer feels the impact.

The second page uses the nine panels natural rhythm to change pace yet again. Notice how Prowl's extended hand appears on the last panel of the top section, then our eye moves slowly, recognizing a pause to Jetfire returning the gesture. By separating the two panels across sections it gives the reader a moment of pause, hinting at hesitation, consideration and thought. It may seem like a lot to read into the selection of two panels placements but consider how they would read if they existed next to each other, it would increase the pace of the two movements considerably.

Finally I wanted to touch the usage of visual cues to give the viewer an understanding of the space the characters inhabit. The blue dots in the image above highlight a series of background elements that occur on a number of panels. By including consistent details and in this instance very linear shapes that assist in page flow the viewer always a concrete idea of where the action takes place. While it seems like an obvious element to include, many sequential works struggle with it and don't read visually for it. Not native to comics this is something that can be seen in the film works of John McTiernan (Predator/Die Hard). A reason his action work is so timeless is the attention to detail in setting scenes and creating a map for the viewer to understand the relationship between the characters and their environments.

Zama's work on IDW's Optimus Prime has the flaws you might expect a new artist brings, it also has some craft years ahead of her experience in the industry. It delivers that raw and direct style those like myself have grown to love but as the series continues evidence is emerging of a great understanding of visual language and storytelling.



Kei Zama is an artist I am excited to watch grow; get on board now and be part of something exciting, support new and emerging artists that will shape the industry for years to come.



Read books, keep it #Refined




Follow Leigh on Twitter @ambushthem

Masterpiece Disasterpiece

 - Dorian MacQuarrie

Cartoon accuracy, a phrase that sends shivers down my spine. 

The current incarnation of Takara's Masterpiece line flies the flag of cartoon accuracy and I would say that flag flies in the face of what has gone before. 

Toy vs Cartoon.......Round 1, FIGHT

There was a time, around 2012-2014 when we first saw the release of some Autobot cars that I could safely say the line would round off said Autobot cars whilst sprinkling in some big name Decepticons. The aesthetic was stable, a bit of cartoon, a dash of original toy, all through the lens of a well balanced design ethos to use modern technology in pursuit of interesting and iconic representations of the chosen characters. 

I was immensely pleased with the line and waited with baited breath until the day Takara announced their release of one of my favourite Autobot cars, that shining beacon of blue and hood-flames; Tracks. When the day finally came conflict was name of the game. It was Tracks, finally! But he looked sort of odd, a bit skinny and without his trademark black beam gun, not to mention his piddlesome overhead launchers. What was this odd figure Takara had released? 

The answer to that question can be summed up with two words. Cartoon accuracy. 

That paint though, ooft

Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful toy and has steadily climbed the ranks to sit near the top of my favourite Masterpiece toys (before being knocked back down by his glossy black counterpart) but this figure marks the small step into cartoon accuracy and away from the balanced designs seen from the Hasui era cars. There was a missing "real" feel to the alt mode, gorgeous as it was and this definitely didn't feel like a Masterpiece Corvette Stingray but unequivocally a toy of that character from that 80s cartoon. 

And I get it, I really do, for a lot of people this is what they wanted all along, representations of the characters they watched growing up and had the line started off this way I would most likely feel very differently but it didn't. The relaunch of the Masterpiece Transformers line was not set up to faithfully recreate poorly drawn character models from thirty years ago. Granted I can't say what Takara had intended but from my point of view it was to give us iconic representations of G1 characters which would require the blending together of toy, cartoon and maybe some other more recent, better realised sources. 

I love the Masterpiece line but I feel it's going in a direction that leaves me cautious about future releases versus the halcyon days where every release would have me hitting that pre-order button like a maniac. My last article detailed the conflict I felt over MP Inferno, objectively amazing but subjectively unappealing and I blame cartoon accuracy. Simple and plain animation models were an exercise in cost cutting, not a well thought out aesthetic. To base a collector aimed toyline on these sort of images without some effort to refine or mature the designs is frankly, madness. 

Truly a Masterpiece......
(Hasbro)

Praise the detail 

Along with the eradication of fine details, another aspect of this adherence to the cartoon is the awkward proportions seen in some recent MP releases. Starting with the super-robo length legs of Inferno and Grapple then moving onto the emerging "big head syndrome" with the coneheads and Megatron, we are seeing an odd and in my opinion damaging effect of cartoon accuracy. But of course "it's just what I remember watching" so it's applauded and accepted gleefully. It's not like those character models had slightly larger heads to allow for easier detailing by the artists right? 

There was a time where I desperately wanted Takara to release MP Skids (another favourite of mine) but these days I'd rather see a few Third Party companies take a crack at the character so I can pick and choose what suits my tastes best. I can't knowingly say a toy that doesn't even exist won't be to my liking but unless the pendulum swings back to a balanced aesthetic it's likely I won't be too fond of any possible release of Masterpiece Skids from Takara. Which leads me on to one last grievance point concerning the Masterpiece line, will we even see MP Skids? Or Hound? Or Jazz!?

Can we hope to see the few final Autobot cars still missing from the roster and if we do, will they be so cartoon focused that they'll look out of place next to earlier releases as Inferno does next to the Hasui cars? This used to be a line I had faith in, that it would deliver winner after winner but now I feel alienated and divorced from what it's trying to do. Yes, this is all very melodramatic but it's disappointing and frustrating to see a line I once cherished turn away from the light and into the pit of horrors known as cartoon accuracy. There's a certain finality in knowing that I'll probably never have a perfect collection of Autobot Cars that strike right at the heart of both the characters they represent but also their Diaclone roots as transforming car-robots. 

More of this, less silly accessories

Before writing this article I wasn't sure what direction I wanted to take things, I thought through examination I could be very critical of the changes or maybe I could just add a personal touch and talk about my own experiences. I looked to my RRCo. colleagues for some input and when the position of Toy > Cartoon arose Dan was very forthright with his opinion......

"Those people are dumb and wrong"  - Dan

Oh well, until next time, keep it #Refined





Follow Dorian on Twitter @Vigadeath

A Movie Decade

- Ben Watson

With The Last Knight beginning its comprehensive merchandising offensive before the film's opening next month, I've taken the time to consider just what ten years(!) of movie toys have given us. While it's the most divisive topic in the Transformers fandom, and the very concept of a fifth film from Michael Bay may make you spit, by the law of averages there has to be at least one figure from the movies' associated toylines that you like. The 2007 film was an event of titanic proportions, let's face it, but of course almost everything it had to offer has since been improved upon. A lot has changed in ten years and while the general fan approach is to lump the movie figures together and push them all into a corner, this last decade has provided a wide variety of forms and expressions that stretch from the most unorthodox ridiculous to the more classical sublime. Here (in no particular order) I'll run down my favourite ten figures of this vintage that I managed to get my hands on over the last 3650 days. 


1. Age of Extinction Evasion Mode Optimus Prime

Might as well start with the star of the show (gives a nice thumbnail image for Facebook...). Optimus is the one on-screen design I truly love. The mix of angles, alien touches, heroic proportions and lustrous truck surfaces combine to make him look - quite rightfully - the best of the Transformers on film. There's a sense that more care was taken to evoke what people already knew as Optimus Prime, compared to say Ironhide but all of this version's more unique touches are not without merit. (Those knees!) Sadly it took four films and seven years to render this in plastic to a truly satisfactory standard. Evasion Mode Optimus achieves this (mostly) and goes that one step further towards the Optimus of old with his square cab alt mode, colour layout and wheel placement. If someone only casually versed in Transformers were to pick a most iconic version of Optimus, it could easily be this one. 

Of course to say this figure is successful for its G1 homages is detrimental to its status as an excellent movie figure but it provides a sense of "What If" that quiets the infinitesimal part of my mind that still questions why Optimus Prime has flames on him. But there are a great number of alternate decoes which run the gamut from the rust and decay this body was portrayed in in the Age of Extinction film to a more buffed and shiny look all the way to even more G1 than this version. I own one of them which is on the whole more accurate to this body's general appearance but I keep coming back to this one. The simple colour layout adds an almost cartoonish sense of dynamism which the figure's excellent suite of joints easily furnish. Of course if you've handled this you might attest to the testing transformation but I'll be honest, the alt mode concerns me little. As a robot, this is to date the best representation of the one Autobot leader that's possibly had more failed attempts at than any other. Proportions and presence are all on point aided by the reduced mass of the vehicle mode leading to virtually no kibble. Spot on detail coats every surface including Prime's dour faceplateless visage. His body's glass is suitably provided with clear plastic and his slits of optics glow with healthy if colourless light piping. The elbows and forearms are cack though, I guess the wizard who designed this figure had some limit to his powers after all.



2. Hunt for the Decepticons Breacher

The Scout class could easily provide ten of the best figures to grace store shelves in the past decade but for the sake of the rest of this list, I'm relegating myself to choosing only one. Breacher is clearly the bot for the job. One of the seemingly huge number of original and excellent designs made for what used to be the sub £10 impulse buy size class, Breacher is a figure the likes of which we've not seen again. Barely hitting the 4 inch mark, this figure packs more engineering into its diminutive frame than any current Leader figure. Complexity of this level at this scale was never seen before and hasn't been revisited since. Maybe that's a good thing, but to have a figure this small be so involved and articulate (ball jointed neck, wrists and ankles!) is a tiny event in and of itself. Few movie figures are must haves, but Breacher is a firm exception to that rule and if that really doesn't agree with your palette, he has a "regular" face so you can't complain. 


3. Allspark Power Stockade

One of the first non-screen characters to grace the movie line, Stockade takes a lot of the 
design premises of pre movie figures. A solid build, intrinsic gimmickry and more classical features make him look a little more Cybertron than Movie but his realistic alt mode and high level of detail bring him into focus as a decent addition to the then growing roster of movie Decepticons. He may be missing a couple of joints but this is more than made up for with a satisfying conversion and the fun factor of his  - admittedly stunted - power punch action. Plus he's just got attitude, you know? If the Decepticons ever needed a bouncer, it feels like Stockade is the bot for the job. 


4. Dark of the Moon Ratchet

The Autobot medic has always been one of my favourite characters and I've had to make do with the beaky green version of him for most of my life as a collector. When it comes to choosing the best of that bunch (Surgery? General Practice? Name a group of Ratchets...) the DOTM version comes out on top. An intelligent use of ambulance mass leads to the robot actually carrying the same proportions as you'll see on screen. The white stripe helps break up his hi-vis medical green and all detail is present and accounted for. A nicely chunky and posable robot smoothly gives way to a similarly solid and well realised ambulance with a suite of not so obvious weapon connection points. Of course MechTech was the gimmick for DOTM and Ratchet fared a little better than most with his particular sidearm. A rounded machine gun looking device extends a spinning saw blade in a giddily enchanting motion to give you movie Ratchet's signature surgical weapon. Then you stick it on the ambulance and everything goes a bit Fury Road. I just love it. I'll let you in on a secret, I sit this guy next to my bed when I'm feeling particularly ill. The power of perceived object connotations and all that...


5. Revenge of The Fallen Dead End (Deluxe)

This is a bit of an unexpected choice for me. It's only recently that I've come to realise the majesty of this creature. I never picked up this figure while ROTF was on shelves, being perfectly happy with the Scout Dead End and his Morbius hand-mouths while also owning the Deluxe Sideways. This Dead End just didn't hit the radar of bots I should look at, but give it a couple of years and I realised my error. First off the bat (ha, vampire pun) he's so much better looking than drab grey Sideways. Then you look closer and realise just how much is going on with this deco. Movie Dead End is a shambling zombie / energonthirsty vampire character and while the Scout version conveyed this is in the snarling Nosferatu sense, Deluxe Dead End goes for the Christopher Lee Dracula vibe. At least I'm pretty sure this car mode is exactly what Dracula would drive. The glossy black bisected with the blood red stripes ending is sharp points is certainly "slam in the back of my dragula" material. But it doesn't stop there, the collared and winged robot mode continues to radiate vibes of the suave undead. Ok, his head isn't very vampy at all, wearing G1 Dead End's roof as a hat but look at that piping. Compound eye light piping. Magnifique. And with that you realise the real achievement of this figure, it's packing three different colours of clear plastic. Normally a bot's eyes match the clear plastic used in the car's windows but here Dead End gets pink eyes, a simply sexual shade of purple for his windows and then colourless clear parts for his lights. I couldn't name another figure that does this, and that's before his general plastic / paint layout or articulation or frankly bogglingly involved conversion. This guy was a statement. 


6. Hunt for the Decepticons Ironhide

Despite the fact he wasn't red I found Ironhide to be one of the stronger movie designs. Maybe it was just his huge cannons or his pug face or the fact he had RID Ironhide's alt mode. Whatever the case, it lead to me really enjoying this relatively annoying deluxe iteration. Much like Ratchet and evidenced by Takara's choice of the mold for their current "Movie Za Best" line, this was the best figure of Ironhide you could get before he was spocksidized in DOTM (Spoilers!). It's a little short but provides an incredibly detailed and characterful rendition of the character. He's got one of his cannons that looks like an extreme lemon juicer and on the other arm, the little pop out turret drone he had when you pressed triangle in the quite excellent ROTF game. I also really like his huge feet and the versatile 5mm compatible fists. I'll just try to ignore the fact I almost broke it having forgotten the proper order of motions when transforming him for this photo. A panel centric conversion with little room to maneuver should really take some points off his overall score but once again I have to commend the level of engineering on show here. 


7. Dark of the Moon Space Case

A lot of people were treated to this excellent original design through the HFTD Terradive figure. I wasn't one of them as that wave never appeared at retail for me, so the Tesco exclusive mostly light piping G2 homage repaint was a must have. I got Terradive later but simply didn't like it anywhere near as much as this oddity. There's a lot to be said for a selection of movie figures which represent the first toys of those characters since their originals which thus stray into Classics territory. Space Case is one of these. An ingenious and totally unorthodox transformation for a jet leads from a beautifully decorated alt mode to a distinct and dynamic robot. Translucent plastic abounds but glows most brightly in his odd 80's stress toy shaped head. The extending trident and the joints to properly use it tip this figure over into the Timeless Legend category. All that and he came with a comic! Something not seen since 2004. 



8. Revenge of The Fallen Lockdown

It's pretty much gospel truth that ROTF was simply terribad but once the cinemas had shaken it off like a monkey on their backs the toyline seemed to shift into maximum overdrive. The NEST Alliance subline meant to refresh things a little for 2010 delivered a smorgasbord of top tier fun and strong design. Lockdown was one of the bots that hit the zenith, both creatively and physically as you essentially got a Voyager sized robot for your Deluxe car money. This figure is of course an exercise in taking a stylised abstracted model and slamming it into the other end of the design spectrum. As a vastly more complex and realistic look, the originally Animated bounty hunter seems to step from the Cartoon Network screen and into a dark alley near your house. Any menace the design already had is dialled to eleven with extra spikes, sharp angles and a sullen Man With No Name expression glowing with hellfire eyes atop the most articulate TF neck ever made. Really all that's missing is a tattered poncho. The alt mode is equally worthy to follow a foe across the desert but in much more the George Miller sense. Somehow the bright green stripes, ridiculous level of spikes and huge exposed engine don't cry Wacky Races but rather Mad Max. There's a heavy sense of a vintage automobile being given a massive tune up and the ability to wreck others on the road and man, have you ever seen another car mode that looks as fierce?


9. Hunt for the Decepticons Battle Blade Bumblebee

You may have already noticed that I quite like 2010's HFTD offerings. In my mind it was the golden age of figure design and when a line can make even Bumblebee a must have, you have to sit up and pay attention. It's no secret that there are literally scores of different movie Bumblebees to choose from at the Deluxe pricepoint, but this one stands atop all of them like the junkpile they are. Much like Lockdown, the first impression is that you're getting a hell of a lot for your £13 (ah remember the days...). Battle Blade Bee is a large robot for a Deluxe and while this just nudges him out of proper scale with anyone else you might want to stick on an Autobot shelf, it creates the impression of a definitive standalone action figure. Bee is packing all the necessary screen accurate detail, excellent articulation and not one but three different gimmicks into his frame. First off you get what too few movie Bees feature: the battlemask that forms from the top of his head to let you hide his harrowing skull face. Next is a clever reconfiguration of his right hand into his arm cannon. Sadly it's unpainted but again, at least it lets you recreate an on screen motion to some degree. Finally the eponymous battle blade is a spring loaded axe that swings out from his left arm to ape his melee attack from the ROTF game. All in all, while Bumblebee is far from most people's favourite, this figure delivers the proper treatment such a prominent character in the films deserves and gave kids who might have actually liked him an incredible one stop shop of yellow goodness. 


10. Hunt for the Decepticons Battle Blade Optimus Prime

The Battle Blade moniker seems to be the movie hallmark of quality, as much like Bee above, this Optimus provided - for a time - a definitive representation at an affordable pricepoint. While the Evasion Mode version now delivers the design in an effortlessly succinct manner, until that appeared this was the go-to movie Voyager Optimus. Essentially a smaller version of the ROTF Leader that became the all-but-Masterpiece figure for Optimus, this is an incredible example of packing extensive engineering into a toy that may seem like it can't accommodate it. A fully posable and detailed robot replete with twin blades, gas tank cannons and a tiny removable Matrix becomes  - with small effort - a nicely accurate if lacklustre truck. Much like BB Bee, this Optimus did it all and for half the price of the bloated Leader version. Now, with the Evasion Mode version and the advent of a true Masterpiece Movie Prime, this figure may seem redundant but I feel it's well worth a mention here as it remains a truly impressive experience in-hand and gave me the Movie Prime I really wanted for a good four years.


There you have it, folks. That's my top ten for this first decade of Movie product. Who's to say what the next ten years will bring, but sadly I'd say we may already be over the peak of film figures. With the trend towards simplification and if not design cost cutting, deco cost cutting apparent with the last two films it's hard to believe we may ever regain the glory of the offerings of 2009-2011. But I'll be here to see if that chance comes along, just so long as I retain enough IQ after another decade of sitting through 180 minute celluloid C4. Gotta keep it #Refined. 




Follow Ben on Twitter @Waspshot23

Hijacked!

- mantis nine nines

Remolds and repaints have been with us from the beginning. Inferno/Grapple. Ironhide/Ratchet. Just change a few parts, quick color swap, and a new character is available for purchase. This technique is used in all generations of Transformers, and in other toylines like Masters of the Universe or GI Joe it is present in almost every single figure.
Often we grumble about it, but the reality is many of the toys we love would not exist without this technique. Sometimes the idea isn't a new character, but a fresh look for an old one. Every new Prime mold gets a black repaint eventually, and they all look AMAZING. As much as I love the good old heroic red and blue Optimus, his design drips pure sexy evil as soon as that red and black is applied. Magic! Unsurprising perhaps, but still magical.
What is surprising is when a remold or repaint that should be an afterthought instead leaps forward and demands attention. These toys don't care if they wreck your "one mold, one character" plans, they shoulder their way into your heart and display with zero regard for your budget what is supposed to be the mold's intended primary character.
For me the perfect example is Generations Sandstorm.

Our hero stands tall next to his lesser version.

The Springer mold was a revelation when it came out. The detail, complexity, and graceful but aggressive lines captured the spirit of IDW Springer while still evoking enough G1 to fit perfectly on your Classics shelf. In the context of the time it was released it had even more impact as a sort of "third party killer", proof that investing in patience rather than Fansproject Defender was the better bet.

Dorian will kill me if I diss FansProject, so I'll just leave this here without comment...

Whether that impression is accurate or not, the social impact combined with just flat-out being an excellent figure made Springer that rarest of unicorns: the universally liked toy.
But here's the thing, he's not for me. Not that he did anything wrong, nor do I feel there is a better Springer to replace him. He became an afterthought because of his remold Sandstorm. I know I'm SUPPOSED to prefer Springer due to his long history and his importance and popularity in the IDW universe, but once I held his anonymous cousin I couldn't care less about Springer.
Sandstorm is a superstar. He shares all the good points from Springer and adds a superior headsculpt and tighter tolerances. Sandstorm feels so good! Solid, heavy, and the remolded airplane mode is way better than the original helicopter.

Its not the worst helicopter, but looks pretty feeble next to Sandy's fan-jet beef.

I do love the lemon-lime Batmobile, but I'd rather face the apocalypse in a ridiculous Halloween death chariot.

Forgive me if I gushed a little there, but this is one of those figures that reminds me why I collect. Surprises are hard to come by in this day and age, so it is often the molds and characters with the least fanfare and precedent that still have the power to recapture that child-like magic.
However you feel about Sandstorm vs Springer for your own collection I think he has an important place in history. His release ushered in a new level of retooling than we had seen in a modern figure. Not just a head swap with new colors, Sandstorm shares a skeleton of structural parts, but little else. Even parts that seem like they could have easily just left alone have new sculpting and even engineering to differentiate the two characters. We may see this level of remolding regularly today in such figures as Scourge/Highbrow and Alpha Trion/Broadside, but when Sandstorm came out it was unexpected and wonderful.
We didn't know it at the time, but this was just the tip of the iceberg. The retooling built into the Springer mold was a harbinger of Hasbro/Takara moving into the business of PRE-tooling. These pre-molds, pre-paints, whatever you want to call them, have changed the game and proved to be a lure we cannot resist.
But that's a story for another time. For now I will leave you with some pictures of Sky Shadow taken by Ben. Pictures that convinced me I could not hold out for the Overlord version this mold was built for. Despite zero interest in the Black Shadow character, the combination of his sexy colors, unique engineering touches and (let's just be honest here) the fact that he came out first make him irresistible to me. Damn it Pre-Molding! You've won again.

Ben Watson takes great photos. See for yourself here:

Follow Dan on Twitter @mantisninenines