Post by OptiMack Prime on Mar 22, 2009 17:43:18 GMT 7
it's been a while transfans, let's hope i still know how to do this..
*drum roll*
TA-DA!!!!
great presentation huh? i hope so because this figure is sorely lacking in my books..
BUSTING SOME SAMURAI MOVES~
remember when the original prowl came with a lame accessory--the traffic lamp? well this time around he's given quite a neat gimmick-
SAMURAI ARMOR!! yes that's right he's got the armor he wore in that one episode: A Fistful of Energon and that's cool and all but..
it looks a bit weird from behind. other than that the weight stress being put on the figure makes it hard to pose and balance with such loose joints.
i have no qualms about the armor though, it's a great concept, it got some cool execution but somehow a samurai-ninja has got to be the strangest oxymoron i've come across.
but let's put that aside for a while..
Part 2:
the main figure gets mixed results from me, and though i understand that for such a cool new feature to be made some corners must simply be cut, and for some figures this isn't such a problem, but for prowl it's quite disappointing.
the first thing you notice with this retool is..
yes... his head is freakishly small. but wait he has lightpiping!... well one-way light piping at least. but that's cool ain't it kids?
NO. NO IT IS NOT.
the first prowl was perfect and show-accurate. the designers could have gone around this and actually made the Armor compatible with the original mold but then the product would cost a bit more, going beyond the deluxe price range. what's more they needed to make this guy look like an entirely new-ish figure but man....
this is all so reminiscent of the beast wars term-- chewed caramels. which referred to the bot-mutant head molds of the time.
another gripe i have with this thing is that it lacks some paint applications, in the neck area, the fingers, on the forearms.. but this is HASBRO i'm talking about... and the animated line has suffered worse.
on the brighter side, this figure retains the original's wide range of articulation and without the armor this thing poses pretty good.
see..
what..
i mean?
but this figure also carries with it a disease that has been plaguing the whole series.. loose ball joints. the d**n things keep popping off and it annoys me to no end.. and the final straw is..
his wheel shurikens no longer function.
...
oh GODDAMMIT hasbro...
you took away that one thing i liked the most out of the original, and made it useless pieces of excess plastic waste. the entire mechanism is molded in solid black plastic and can no longer unfld into concealable weaponry.
this means without the armor this bot is practically weapon-less. and to me that is a no-no.
jeez.
Part 3: Vehicle shots.
the vehicle mode is nothing spectacular, it's still the same old motorcycle except for that mudguard on the front, and the added circuitry detailing to the windshield.
this thing passes as a cool motorcycle-sidecar combo with a solid aesthetic and a sharp, uniform look.
overall verdict:
7 out of 10.
this thing is a good 2for1 deal and quite amusing but the prowl figure re-tool is just sad. the only redeeming quality at all for me is that this is prowl. prowl is badass. therefore things even out.
parting shot:
DISCLAIMER: Eisen does not hate hasbro and rather praises them for keeping the TF franchise alive, but sometimes things don't work out and people don't become satisfied with the product. this is because the buyer--I.E. me-- is way too old to think like a kid in terms of toys sometimes and decides that he's more important than the target market... actual kids. for this he apologises.
don't stop buying transformers, let it re-kindle your childhood, and let it enliven the childhood of your kids with fond memories.
TIL' ALL ARE ONE!!
*drum roll*
TA-DA!!!!
great presentation huh? i hope so because this figure is sorely lacking in my books..
BUSTING SOME SAMURAI MOVES~
remember when the original prowl came with a lame accessory--the traffic lamp? well this time around he's given quite a neat gimmick-
SAMURAI ARMOR!! yes that's right he's got the armor he wore in that one episode: A Fistful of Energon and that's cool and all but..
it looks a bit weird from behind. other than that the weight stress being put on the figure makes it hard to pose and balance with such loose joints.
i have no qualms about the armor though, it's a great concept, it got some cool execution but somehow a samurai-ninja has got to be the strangest oxymoron i've come across.
but let's put that aside for a while..
Part 2:
the main figure gets mixed results from me, and though i understand that for such a cool new feature to be made some corners must simply be cut, and for some figures this isn't such a problem, but for prowl it's quite disappointing.
the first thing you notice with this retool is..
yes... his head is freakishly small. but wait he has lightpiping!... well one-way light piping at least. but that's cool ain't it kids?
NO. NO IT IS NOT.
the first prowl was perfect and show-accurate. the designers could have gone around this and actually made the Armor compatible with the original mold but then the product would cost a bit more, going beyond the deluxe price range. what's more they needed to make this guy look like an entirely new-ish figure but man....
this is all so reminiscent of the beast wars term-- chewed caramels. which referred to the bot-mutant head molds of the time.
another gripe i have with this thing is that it lacks some paint applications, in the neck area, the fingers, on the forearms.. but this is HASBRO i'm talking about... and the animated line has suffered worse.
on the brighter side, this figure retains the original's wide range of articulation and without the armor this thing poses pretty good.
see..
what..
i mean?
but this figure also carries with it a disease that has been plaguing the whole series.. loose ball joints. the d**n things keep popping off and it annoys me to no end.. and the final straw is..
his wheel shurikens no longer function.
...
oh GODDAMMIT hasbro...
you took away that one thing i liked the most out of the original, and made it useless pieces of excess plastic waste. the entire mechanism is molded in solid black plastic and can no longer unfld into concealable weaponry.
this means without the armor this bot is practically weapon-less. and to me that is a no-no.
jeez.
Part 3: Vehicle shots.
the vehicle mode is nothing spectacular, it's still the same old motorcycle except for that mudguard on the front, and the added circuitry detailing to the windshield.
this thing passes as a cool motorcycle-sidecar combo with a solid aesthetic and a sharp, uniform look.
overall verdict:
7 out of 10.
this thing is a good 2for1 deal and quite amusing but the prowl figure re-tool is just sad. the only redeeming quality at all for me is that this is prowl. prowl is badass. therefore things even out.
parting shot:
DISCLAIMER: Eisen does not hate hasbro and rather praises them for keeping the TF franchise alive, but sometimes things don't work out and people don't become satisfied with the product. this is because the buyer--I.E. me-- is way too old to think like a kid in terms of toys sometimes and decides that he's more important than the target market... actual kids. for this he apologises.
don't stop buying transformers, let it re-kindle your childhood, and let it enliven the childhood of your kids with fond memories.
TIL' ALL ARE ONE!!
