“Prepare for war, but strive for peace.”

Function: Headmaster Leader

Valiant, courageous, a warrior without peer…but peace is his most fervent wish. Fights only out of necessity; believes all violence is ultimately pointless and counter-productive. Transforms to battle station and city modes. Armed with Retractable pulse cannons, twin automatic machine gun batteries on wrists, twin laser-guided mortars on legs, heat-seeking dual laser blasters and fusion-powered photon rifle. Has communications, detection and repair equipment. Controls two armored vehicles, Gasket and Grommet, which combine to form Cog. Head transforms to semi-Autonomous Cerebros, who is binary-bonded to the Nebulan leader, Spike.

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Name: Fortress Maximus

Function: Headmaster leader.

“Valiant, courageous, a warrior without peer…but peace is his most fervent wish. Fights only out of necessity; believes all violence is ultimately pointless and counter-productive. Transforms to battle station and city modes. Armed with Retractable pulse cannons, twin automatic machine gun batteries on wrists, twin laser-guided mortars on legs, heat-seeking dual laser blasters and fusion-powered photon rifle. Has communications, detection and repair equipment. Controls two armored vehicles, Gasket and Grommet, which combine to form Cog. Head transforms to semi-Autonomous Cerebros, who is binary-bonded to the Nebulan leader, Spike.

Alternate Modes:
Fortress Maximus has two alternate modes: city mode and battle station mode. Both are huge and are really designed for the Autobot cars (or the deluxe sized figures today). I usually like to keep my bots in robot mode for display, but my Fortress Maximus is complete in the box, so I only bring him out from time to time. I actually transformed him into city mode and battle station mode for the first time to take the pictures for this review. Now I had Brave Maximus before, and the toys are same size, so I was familiar with the toy, but as far as creating an atmosphere, Fortress Maximus is awesome in either city mode or battle station mode. Honestly, I am glad they released the guy because he is the largest Transformers toy, but he is so large and heavy, I am not sure how any kid would want to transform him a lot, as it was somewhat of a chore.

Fortress Maximus in robot mode is just daunting. He is the same size as a small child and I can see where the child safety laws did not let Hasbro import Brave Maximus as this guy is heavy, has hard plastic and if dropped, could do some serious damage to a small kid or household pet.

City mode:

City mode transformation is relatively easy; you remove the head of Fortress Maximus (Fort Max for short) to form Cerebros (who is a Headmaster himself). Then you fold and flip the legs to form what I like to call Cybertron high rises which hold the jail and repair bay. The waist flips up to form a control tower with a Cybertronian information hud. The arms and arm armor flip up and fold out to form the car ramps and there is a shuttle lever that could be used to push a car out of the bay. Did I mention the helipad for our flying brethren? Oh yeah, there is a cool little helipad for smaller Autobots to land.

Fort Max’s city mode also has a rotating radar dish and an elevator! The tower has a slot that opens where the Headmaster can sit so I imagine Spike would hang out there and run things.

Battle station:

Fort Max’s battle station mode is huge. All of the big guns come out, and Fort Max turns into a gargantuan wrecking machine. Armed to the hilt, the battle station mode is the place to be when flying, rolling or soaring into battle against the Decepticon forces.
Robot Mode:
Fortress Maximus has no equal. He is the largest Transformer and makes all others look puny by comparison. His rival, Scorponok is rather large as well, but not even close. He transforms from either city mode or battle station mode and is just massive. He has some articulation, like the arms move, and the fists swivel. Also, you can move the hips if you wanted to, but he does not have the articulation of a modern Transformers. For me, the lack of articulation does not matter because he is the ultimate Headmaster.

Armed with Retractable pulse cannons, twin automatic machine gun batteries on wrists, twin laser-guided mortars on legs, heat-seeking dual laser blasters and fusion-powered photon rifle.

Not taking into account Fort Max’s role in the cartoon or comic, the toy itself has so many features unique qualities that make the toy special. When Fort Max was released, the Transformers had started waning in popularity in the US a bit, but the Headmasters and Targetmasters were still pretty cool. Fort Max is not only a Headmaster, but his head transforms into Cerebros, who is a Headmaster himself. Spike (as I will always remember him as the kid doing construction with his dad running around with Bumblebee) is Cerebros’ head and the Nebulan leader.

Fort Max’s impressive arsenal in battle station mode is all there in robot mode. One could almost say he has robot mode and attack mode because most of the lasers and guns are either hidden away or flipped down, giving him a different look. Not to mention, he has the largest Transformers toy guns that any figure used (not including those that actually transformed into a gun) as accessories. I’ve always wanted the Grand Max sword for Fort Max, but I’m happy having the complete figure.

Special Features:

As mentioned earlier, Fortress Maximus is a Headmaster. He is also a triple-changer, the largest Transformer and a Headmaster within a Headmaster. Cerebros forms Fort Max’s head, and Spike forms Cerebros’ head. Gasket and Grommet are armored vehicles, which combine to form Cog. Cog is a lot like Metroplex’s six gun, where accessories form to create a new robot. Kind of cool, but offers little more than a filler bot. Had Grommet and Gasket turned into some sort of transforming weapon for Fort Max, Fort Max could have been a Targetmaster too. Fortunately for us, the overkill was capped out by boxing up the most features that any Transformer had ever had before and made Fort Max one of the most desirable Transformers for collectors ever.

Last but not least, scale of Fortress Maximus versus Metroplex in the Transformers Universe is one of the more debatable items, yet many people offer an opinion. The actual toys are no comparison, Fort Max looms well above Metroplex, yet both are robot, battle station and city mode. In the cartoon and the comic, Fort Max is always shown about the same size as PM Optimus Prime, and Metroplex is shown as a huge robot. The same can be said for Trypticon and Scorponok. In this writer’s opinion, Fortress Maximus is smaller in scale in the Transformers Universe than the actual toy comparison. Between the two, I actually like Metroplex more than Fortress Maximus, but that is for another discussion at another time.

Transformation: 6/10. Fortress Maximus’ transformations are not complex, complicated or difficult. The sheer size of the toy is the only distraction as Fort Max is rather large and heavy.

Durability: 10/10. Fortress Maximus is a super brick of a toy. G1 goodness.

Fun: 9/10. Fortress Maximus is an absolutely fantastic piece for my collection. Since I collect the toys, I really don’t play with the figures, but he is a lot of fun to have in my collection.

Price: 10/10. An average complete in box Fortress Maximus goes around $1,000 USD and up. I have seen a few at lower price than that, but if you want a complete Fort Max, expect to pay more than the average collector piece.

Overall: 10/10. Since I started collecting Transfomers again as an adult (back in 1998), I always wanted to add Fortress Maximus to my collection. Sure, there are naysayers in the community, but if price were not an issue, some of those same naysayers would gladly add Fortress Maximus to his or her collection. For me, the price is not really an issue, as Fort Max was a bot that I wanted. I watched various auctions over the years and finally found one that was in the condition I wanted, and came with the box as I wanted.

Name: Cliffjumper
Function: Autobot Commando
Subgroup:Legion/$5.99

The best place to find Cliffjumper is wherever there’s likely to be a fight! The tough, aggressive robot loves nothing more than pounding Decepticons into scrap.”[/I]

Cliffjumper has always been one scrappy little guy. In the Transformers Prime series is no different. As one of the early deaths of the series, at the hands of the nefarious Starscream, Megatron later uses dark Energon to bring Cliffjumper back as a zombot. That’s right BRAAAAAAIIIIIIIIINNNNNSSSSSSSSS… Poor Cliffy, if only he knew, maybe he would have killed Megs when he had the chance in G1.

Alternate Mode:

Cliffjumper’s alternative mode resembles a Dodge Charger or a fastback Mustang. This chibi version of Cliffy reminds me a bit of Windcharger’s G1 car mode. The cattle horns on the front remind me of something you would see in the 70s of big oil guzzling cars that got about 4 miles to the gallon, but just as bold of a character Cliffjumper is, this car is bold too. The car mode is pretty tight and there is not much kibble. There is a classic Autobot symbol on the top of the car. The windows are tinted black and there are flare mufflers running from the side. Both the top and sides have peg holes for the car weapon mode for high speed attacks.

Robot Mode:

Cliffjumper’s robot mode is decent for a legion class Transformer. The arms flip out from the hood of the car, then the trunk of the car flips out for the legs, and the torso flips up and over to complete the transformation. The bot has articulation at the shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and feet. Unfortunately, the head does not move at all, so Cliffy is a bit stiff looking as he turns from one side to the other.

The legion version of Cliffjumper comes with a battle blade made of translucent red plastic. As with the deluxe version, the weapon doubles up as a melee and ranged weapon. As for a legion class, it is an interesting feature for Cliffjumper to have a weapon as most scout class or legion class bots do not have separate weapons.

Transformation Design: 6. Solid car mode with connecting peg joints. Robot mode is not as sturdy with ball joints, and no locking joint for the shoulders.
Fun: 7 This is a solid legion/scout class toy. Reminds me of G1 Windcharger in muscle car mode.
Aesthetics: 5 The legion class Cliffjumper looks best in vehicle mode.
Articulation: 5 The articulation is decent for the size, but do not expect lots of different poses.
Value/Price: 6 The price of $5.99 was from Toys R Us. I picked up the legion class the same time I found the Cliffjumper deluxe. The packaging shows Cyberverse Command your world as a carry over from the Dark of the Moon Cyberverse. These smaller versions of the same characters are interesting for a couple of reasons. The first reason is price is more affordable than the other toys in the line. The second reason is the Cyberverse line has introduced a lot of detail and articulation such as the Dark of the Moon Cyberverse Optimus Prime or Megatron versions.

One interesting note is that the deluxe was manufactured in China, and the legion class was manufactured in Vietnam.

“Destroy first, ask questions later.”

The closest thing to a perfect fighting machine that the Decepticons have. As a warrior he has no equal; as a weapon he has no restraints. His actions result from seemingly savage, animal instinct. Can lift 500 tons; reacts to any movement he sees within .002 seconds. Can generate protective electric field. Wields powerful X-ray laser cannon. Each foot houses twin mortar shell launchers. No known weaknesses.

Predaking glares over all other gestalts, making even the Mighty Devastator look puny in comparison. What can be said of this giant other than he is massive, huge, and one of the largest Transformers anyone could ever want or own.  This is the 2010 Japanese release as seen without stickers. Fully articulated, this version has lots of metal, clickity joints and G1 goodness. The Predacons came in a commemorative case that displays well, but when you take the Predacons out, you can see the appeal for most collectors. Now, this is not to say Predaking does not come without many faults or flaws, such as Rampage having stubby little arms, or the shear weight of the bot being cumbersome, but his attributes well overtake the flaws.

With no known weaknesses, how can any stand in his way. A more detailed review to come…

Name: Grimlock
Function: Dinobot Leader
Subgroup: Masterpiece Toys R Us exclusive $69.99 USD new.

Masterpiece bio:

Weakness offends Grimlock. He considers none so weak as those who refuse to use their full strength to command victories. As a result, he never had much respect for Optimus Prime. He barely even considered himself and his Dinobots to be part of the Autobot army most of the time. The tyranny of Megatron offends him even more than weakness. He longs for the day when Optimus Prime makes a final mistake, leaving a vacancy that Grimlock will be more than happy to fill.

Strength 10

Intelligence 7

Speed 3

Endurance 10

Rank 9

Courage 10

Fireblast 8

Skill 10

versus G1 Bio

Fuction: Dinobot Commander

“Among the winners, there is no room for the weak”

Most fearsome and powerful Dinobot. Although dedicated to the Autobot cause, resents authority.  Cold, merciless, but a valiant warrior. Has contempt for the weak, including all humans. Great strength, uses his jaws to break almost everything in two. Carries energo sword (and that is not a typo, because I thought it should be energon) and galaxial rocket launcher in Dinotbot mode. Other than arrogance and lack of speed, has no real weakness.
As one notices, the major difference includes an evolution of character and toy line. The Masterpiece series has been a pleasant addition for collectors world-wide, but I think the series was introduced with Optimus Prime and none of the figures since have come close to the mastery as Optimus Prime. Well, that is until now. Masterpiece Grimlock presents a fantastic update to the beloved G1 figure. As a  Toys R Us exclusive in the United States, Grimlock carries a hefty $69.99 price tag, but that is actually inexpensive when compared to the import prices of the Japanese versions, which range from $95 up to $230 depending on whether you want the exclusive or the King Grimlock version. The Toys R Us version includes the Dinobot Crown of Leadership, glowing sword and blaster.

Alternate Mode:

While the Masterpiece refers to Grimlock’s alternative mode as simply Dinobot mode, Grimlock looks like an upgraded Cybernetic T-rex from the G1 version. Some nifty features about the Dinobot mode include chrome parts, great posability from the legs, Dinobot arms and the head. The legs pivot at the hip joints, rotate at the thighs, bend at the knees as well as the claws move out and down. Imagine the scene from Transformers movie where Grimlock jumps up and thrashes down on Devastator! The gimpy hands of the T-rex are also articulated with 360 degree rotation at the “shoulder” and the elbows also bend. The three claws on the “hands” are chromed out and articulated as well. Grimlock’s head rotates and the jaws open wide to reveal chromed out mechano-shredders of teeth. Tucked inside his mouth is the infamous fire blaster (although this is not advertised on the packaging at all, but we all know the Dinobots were flame-throwing fools. Last but not least, Grimlock’s skull opens to reveal a nifty gadget: there is a “pinwheel” that rotates on a spring loaded mechanism that allows you to change his eyes from blue to red. I think this add on for the eyes is pretty cool since the toys show red/blue eyes but the television showed Grimlock with blue eyes.

Grimlock’s Dinobot mode portrays the character true to form. The details of the design are highly detailed. For example, the Grimlock’s Dinobot neck has gold mechanics with clear overlay. The tail has a chrome section that adds to the details and a tribute to the chrome goodness of the G1. One thing from looking at pictures of the Japanese version, seems that the Dinobot arms are all chrome with that version, where this version is a metallic gray with chrome figures. Ah well, the nuances are worth the price difference as the quality of Grimlock offsets any minor differences.

Robot Mode:

Ok, so Grimlock’s robot mode. Well about that… No, really about that. yeah, I’m going to need you to come in on Saturday and work on those TPS reports.  Great googly, moogly, Grimlock’s robot mode is fantastic. Sure the buzz around the internet is that he is rather short and should have been larger for the price, but honestly, they are not making the toys on any sort of scale to character imagination they are making the toys to scale of about how much can they squeeze in the box and how much will it cost to ship it. Grimlock is rather stocky for his size (about 8 and 1/2″ tall) and is considerable heft, so it feels like a brick when you pick him up. Oddly enough, the weight has always been something of a factor to the bot’s allure. Anyway, there are a few cool features about Grimlock.

Couple of gimmicks that seem cool on Grimlock. First, as you transform grimlock, his chest has a see-through panel where the Autobot symbol moves up into place. Thought that was rather interesting. Second, the gold chrome of the chest matches the gold chrome of the Crown of Leadership (Dinobot). Pshh…like that crown is anything like the Matrix of Leadership. Me Grimlock King. Oh, ok, Me Rodimus Pwn your silly Dinobutt with the Matrix. Me Optimus Prime mash silly Grimlock into thousand slag rocks. Oh…sorry, got a little lost into the thought of the hint of jealousy the writers incorporated into the bio. As if Grimlock would betray Optimus.

Ok, so back to the review, Grimlock has tons of articulation. Remember those Dinobot hips? Well the same joints are now Grimlock’s shoulder joints, the arms rotate, the forearms move to and fro and the hands have articulation. Well, both have thumbs, but only the left hand has articulated fingers. The left hand has a movable thumb, index finger and then the other three fingers are one piece. The right hand has a typical G1 fist with the peg hole in the middle of the fist, but with a twist. There is a movable thumb as well. The reason for this? Part of Grimlock’s gimmicktry include a red LED, that once you push the button on the back of Grimlock’s right should, lights up. Grimlock comes with a blaster and a red glowing sword according to the box. Energo sword maybe? Not sure, honestly, the sword lights up, but nothing like the pictures I have seen online. The blaster’s front end are clear and light up as well. Nice thing about the sword and the blaster is that both are interchangeable with both hands. The sword has a peg that is designed for the left hand, which has a specially designed peg hole so that the sword is stable. Did I mention the Dinobot Crown of Leadership? Yep, this is actually a cool one because it is formed to fit Grimlock’s head exactly. The head sculpt represents Grimlock perfectly. The color scheme is also perfect for the character and fits the G1 Masterpiece series.

Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation Design: 9. The transformation flows easily and not overly complicated. The design fits Grimlock perfectly.
Durability: 8. Grimlock’s sturdy design lends little to much flaws. I did notice that the chrome came with some scratches out of the box, would have been nice if they had clear coated it as well.
Fun: 10. Grimlock looks great in display, but lot of fun transforming him from robot to Dinobot mode.
Aesthetics: 8. Looks great in either Dinobot or robot mode. Comes with different accessories which add to types of displays Grimlock takes.
Articulation: 8. Great articulation. Lots of movable poses.
Value/Price: $69.99 Toys R Us exclusive. Expensive, but it is a collector’s item, the box has an odd shape as it seems that the box was designed to include minimalistic packaging. Packaging aside, Grimlock was worth the wait for me by not importing one. I decided to wait due to costs and figured any minor differences between the Japanese version and the Toys R Us release.
Overall: 8. Grimlock was worth the price tag. I rather enjoy having a great version of my favorite Dinobot. Despite the smaller size than most people expected, this version of Grimlock reflects the character well. I hope that Tomy/Takara plans to release a deluxe size similar to how they released the Masterpiece Optimus Prime and then the smaller version. The Grimlock of the classics/Universe/Generations should include a deluxe release like the Masterpiece.

Name: Barricade and Decepticon Frenzy

Faction: Decepticon

Function: To hunt and destroy Megatron’s targets.

Motto: “To punish and enslave.”

Barricade and Decepticon Frenzy have worked together for centuries. They are the perfect partnership, designed for one purpose- to hunt down and destroy whatever target Megatron assigns to them. Decepticon Frenzy has a hyperactive hunger for information, which he uses to guide the relentless pursuit at which Barricade specializes.

Barricade broods ominously as he stalks his unsuspecting prey. Evil to the core and one of Megatron’s Hellhounds, Barricade stalks his prey, crippling the victim with a wide array of devastating technology and weapons. Not much for speech, Barricade prefers to wait in the shadows while Frenzy sneaks around gathering information. Constantly scanning human communication and a direct uplink to Soundwave, Barricade intimidates his foes into submission.

Alternate mode:

Barricade is a Saleen S281 police car. Hasbro licensed the Saleen S281 brand from MJA, Inc. The Ford oval and Mustang are registered trademarks to Ford and licensed use to Hasbro as well. What an awesome car to use for the ultimate stalker! Highly detailed, the Saleen S281 is like a scale model of a police interceptor. As displayed in the photo gallery, the vehicle mode forms solid with tightly locked joints. Nothing is loose and the wheels spin freely. Frenzy tucks in nicely, although a miniature police replica would have been perfect to enhance the illusion.

As stated with the Human Alliance Bumblebee and Sam Witwicky review, the Human Alliance models offer highly detailed and great quality Transformer figures. Hasbro and Tomy Takara made a great film to toy transition by integrating enhanced details and unique features. If you are a fan of the Alternators line, then you will definitely enjoy the Human Alliance figures.

Robot mode:

Barricades’ robot mode ranks among the top five of the entire The Revenge of the Fallen toy line. In robot mode, Barricade incorporates a smooth blend of robot and car technology with alliance enhancements. Transforming Barricade from vehicle mode can be challenging, but not difficult where any parts pop off during the conversion. Barricade’s primary colors are black and grey with white police doors that form the upper arm. In robot mode, Barricade has dozens of articulation points, which allow for various poses as well as active stances. As with the vehicle mode, the robot mode displays highly detailed sculpture with all of the robot parts mimicking The Revenge of the Fallen on-screen persona. Barricade’s head sculpt pivots up and down giving him either a brooding or an enraged face.

Barricade’s weaponry primarily consists of the spinning saw blade, which replaces his left hand. The gas cap functions as a button to release the saw blade. His right hand has a thumb and three fingers and forms a huge claw to thrash his victims. He also offers a battery with a shoulder cannon and chest lasers. Not featured with the Human Alliance Barricade are the robotic pinchers as seen with the deluxe vehicle mode.

Decepticon Frenzy:

Barricade’s human alliance is not human at all. Decepticon Frenzy functions as the reconnaissance agent for Barricade, gathering information on the unsuspecting victims. Highly detailed and articulated, Frenzy’s back and feet have peg holes that fit on various points with Barricade. Two of Barricade’s main weapon systems use Frenzy to operate. First, the right shoulder blaster serves as weapon station for Frenzy. Second, Barricade’s chest opens to reveal a hole where Frenzy can tuck in. Underneath the chest are dual cannons that flip out and Frenzy uses the cannons to blast their victims.

Transformation: 10/10. The Revenge of the Fallen Human Alliance series offer superb transformations, articulation, detail and simulation.

Durability: 9/10. Barricade’s parts are made of quality plastic, paint and sculpture.

Fun: 10/10. One of the top five figures of The Revenge of the Fallen toy line. Barricade offers a lot of fun and attitude to any collection.

Price: 8/10. $30 USD, the price for Human Alliance Barricade and Decepticon Frenzy are well worth the amount of detail and articulation of the figures.

Overall: 9/10. Barricade and Decepticon Frenzy offer a solid combination of a highly articulated and detailed figure. The Human Alliance gadgetry tucks away neatly so that when Barricade stands alone, the connection pegs are not obvious or extruding. The figure accurately portrays the on-screen character, making the figure more desirable since it looks and feels more realistic. For collectors, the quality of the figure enhances the collection due to the multitude of unique features. Barricade and Frenzy are must-have figures for 2010.

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Encore # 19 Big Mission set:

Encore #19 Big Mission set includes Rumble, Frenzy, Laserbeak and Overkill. Included are the fresh unplayed with, strappingly tight joints and clickity ratchet shoulders as well as a lot of chrome goodness. The box looks pretty good on display with the tapes in the box as well has the Metroplex background on the backside of the box. This set includes several of the most popular Decepticon tapes and is a great addition to anyone’s collection. Whether you own Soundwave or not, Frenzy and Rumble alone are worth the price of admission. Laserbeak and Overkill just add the icing to the cake.

Name: Rumble

Function: Demolitions

“Destroy what’s below and what’s above will follow”

Rumble is your basic street punk. Small but always acting tuff. Quick temper and mean disposition. Follow’s Megatron’s orders eagerly. Transmits immense low frequency groundwaves to create powerful earthquakes. His small size limits his physical strength, but his ability to shatter the ground makes him difficult to approach in a fight.

Str 2, Int 5, Spd 2, End 9, Rank 5, Courage 7, Firepower 8, Skill 5

Alternate mode: Micro-cassette tape. Moving along again.

Robot mode: Rumble is an awesome pint-sized warrior with lots of trash talk and vigor. Always ready for a scrap, Rumble whips out his groundshakers to knock just about anyone over. One of my favorite scenes is during Transformers the Movie where the Constructicons form Devastator and Rumble shakes them right out of gestalt mode.

So about the Blue and the Red. If you are a cartoon fan, then Rumble is blue. If you are a comic fan, then Rumble is red. Really does not matter much as both are identical with the exception of the color scheme. Both had similar roles and functioned as Soundwave’s minions.

Transformation: 10/10 Rumble has very tight joints out of the box and is able to hold his weapons straight and true. I prefer the lasers to be on his backpack for flying.

Durability: 10/10 Nice quality plastic, metal, paint, stickers and G1 chrome goodness!

Fun: 10/10 Rumble is a must have for any G1 Fan.

Price: $54.99 USD shipped and came with three other tapes.

Overall: 10/10 Rumble is a great addition to my collection, but I prefer to display him in robot mode. He fits snugly within Soundwave’s tape deck, or his plastic tape case, but what is the fun in that?

Name: Frenzy

Function: Warrior

“Sow panic and surrender will bloom.”

If Frenzy needed to breathe, war would be his oxygen. He knows no cause, only craves to spread fear and destruction. His efforts are appreciated by other Decepticons. His devotion to warfare makes him hard to deal with on a personal level. Can roll his drums to produce high-pitch, grating sound of 200db. Disorients and disrupts electrical flow in opponents circuitry which makes them malfunction. Physically weak. His manic attack can be countered with cool logic.

Str 3, Int 6, Spd 3, End 6, Rank 6, Courage 10, Firepower 9, Skill 6

Alternate mode: Micro cassette tape. And we are off…

Robot mode: Frenzy, the crazy robot warrior. Well, I always liked to think he was crazy because he took on Autobots 10 times his size with no qualms at all. Very cool little bot, and as Rumble’s twin ranks right up there as a Decepticon classic. Frenzy is one of Soundwave’s more popular minions and is always ready to rumble.

Transformation: 10/10 Frenzy looks better in robot mode than in micro-cassette mode and fits well into Soundwave’s chest compartment.

Durability: 10/10. Great plastics, paint, stickers and chrome. Gotta love chrome!

Fun: 10/10 Frenzy, like the other tapes, is a ton of fun to play with and beat up Autobots.

Price: Came with Rumble in the Encore 19 set.

Overall: Frenzy completely rocks out just like Rumble. Having never owned Soundwave or the tapes during my original G1 days, I envied my neighbor who had Soundwave and all of the tapes. I absolutely love the Encore 19 set.

Name: Laserbeak

Function: Interrogation

“The only point I like in Autobots: melting point.”

Laserbeak takes pleasure in hunting his prey—usually the straggling survivors of a battle. Noticeably not brave. Will run for safety if threatened. Flies at speed up to 250mph. Uses two independently targetable laser cannons with extreme precision to get information from captives. Shortage of ruby crystals that powers the laser can panic his systems into shutting down.

Str 5, Int 6, Spd 8, End 5, Rank 6, Courage 2, Firepower 8, Skill 9

Alternate mode: Micro cassette. Moving along.

Robot mode: Laserbeak turns into a flying robotic condor. His tape body opens up to make the wings, the head comes out, and the feet flip out. Then you attach his laser cannons to his back and Bam! You got Laserbeak. Laserbeak was one of the first Decepticons that shows just how craft Soundwave can be. At one point, Laserbeak is chasing Cliffjumper and Hound, who split up, by following Hound and sending a laser drone from his rocket pack.

Transformation: 10/10. Laserbeak turns into a realistic looking micro cassette tape, which fits nicesly into Soundwave’s chest.

Durability: 10/10 Metal version. G1 beefy metal. You know it.

Fun: 10/10 Laserbeak is a lot of fun to play in addition to Soundwave.

Price: Part of the Encore 19 set again, although came with the 25^th anniversary Soundwave release as well.

Overall: 10/10 Laserbeak is definitely one of the classic Soundwave minions. He was always Megatron’s favorite pet and was not afraid to mess up any Autobot’s plans.

Name: Overkill

Function: Warrior

“Too much destruction is never enough”

Whether talking, terrifying or attacking, he does everything in excess. So busy proving how tough he is by snapping cars in half between his jaws, that he forgets his mission. Can record data as a cassette tape, rip open the hull of a battleship as a tyrannosaurus. Armed with 2 batters of motion missles-each reacts to any moving object bigger than a baseball and explodes on contact.

Str 8, Int 4, Spd 2, End 8, Rank 5, Courage 6, Firepower 5, Skill 5

Alternate mode: Micro cassette tape.  Nothing to see here, move along…

Robot mode: Overkill transforms into a tyrannosaurus of terror. The robot mode is pretty decent, but as one can imagine, very narrow, so Overkill looks better from a profile pose instead. Blue, white color scheme with gold paint eyes and chrome missiles, not overly impressive, but his tech spec gives him a bit more power than most of his micro-cassette buddies. Think about it, jaws large enough to snap a car in half or rip open a battleship? Talk about scale differences. Either way, not a lot of action for this pint-sized t-rex.

Transformation: 8/10 Overkill has a pretty decent transformation, but rather narrow from a frontal view.

Durability: 9/10 Great plastic, sticker and paint. Oh, did I mention chrome goodness?

Fun: 9/10 Overkill works well as a cassette and mini t-rex.

Price: Included with the Encore 19 set.

Overall: Overkill was excessively overlooked everywhere. Not much action, the character has a lot of potential, but not a lot of bite as his tech spec indicates. What is really nice about the Encore #19 set for Overkill is that this is his first time reissued.

For anyone out there who is a fan of the Transformer Universe bots, the Ultra Magnus is one of the most desirable figures and should be part of anyone’s collection.

After the City Commander was released, the incredibly popular fansproject.com City Commander armor set came out, giving the deluxe Ultra Magnus figure a set of armor that was worthy of Ultra Magnus and gives a very robust motif to the figure. I have always been a fan of Ultra Magnus and love bot the bot as well as the armor upgrade. Fansproject recently released a new add on set to the armor which includes shoulder missiles as well as a rifle that mimics Ultra Magnus’ original white blaster.

What is nice about the entire set is that it comes with all of the armor for the trailer set as well as the new blaster and missiles as well as two additional face plates. The armor set is very sturdy and is for sale at various websites such as tfsource.com or bbts.com. I was fortunate to find an unopened Ultra Magnus vs Skywarp set with the Fansproject.com armor set on eBay.

Caveot emptor (or buyer beware) The armor set by Fansproject has been knocked off so do not pay more extra for a set that is not the real thing. Buy it from a reputable retailers or from someone who bought the armor set (if you are buying it used) who bought if from a reputable dealer as well. Notably are the spring pins that the fansproject.com sets have as well as the quality of plastic and the way the armor set fits together snugly. From what I have read online, the Knockoffs are cheaper plastic, have no spring pins and do not fit snugly with the Transformer in the armor mode.

I really have no plans to put him back into vehicle mode, but the trailer is perfect. Fansproject.com makes the Ultra Mangus City Commander set, the Big Power set for Optimus Prime and a Shadow Commander set for Nemesis Prime. I am sure if and when Hasbro/Tomy Takara re-releases it, the set is so popular, Fansproject will step up to the plate and produce a matching set.

Name: Bludgeon

Faction: Decepticon

Function: Electric Warrior, Master of Metallikato

Decepticon Bludgeon was nearly destroyed by a fight with Metallikato master Autobot Whirl. Forced to retreat and hide, he scanned a new vehicle mode and disappeared into the Southeast Asian jungle. He is desperate to prove himself against and Autobot, however, so he has caused just enough chaos locally to attract the attention of Ironhide. Now he lies in wait for the Autobot, ready to spring his trap and destroy his victim in an instant.

Alternate mode:

Bludgeon indeed has had an hefty upgrade. As previously reviewed, the Whirl vs Bludgeon pack, Bludgeon was simply a deluxed sized blade master, still impressive, but merely a repaint of a previous figure. The reformatted Bludgeon is now a voyager class sized tank, which is more appropriate as continuation of the character from the Pretender days to the tie in with the next generation. In “jungle tank mode” Bludgeon is loaded with details, from the tank turret and the cannon, to the mounted machine gun to the dual missile launchers attached to the sides of the turret. He resembles a Japanese Type 90 tank, which makes sense for the toy line. Aside from the details and rotating turret, the tank has rubber treads as well.

Robot Mode:

Bludgeon’s robot mode is a great tribute to the G1 version as well as the comic version of the toy. Mixing the old and the new, Bludgeon looks somewhat like this concept art. The figure has nice robotic samurai feeling to it, with helmet, shoulder chest and leg armor, and especially the samurai long and short sword. One of the features I like about the figure is the hidden show sword compartment opens from the turret to reveal the sword sheaths. The long samurai sword tucks into the cannon to form the cannon barrel and the small sword tucks into a sheath that is completely hidden in the turret chamber.

The transformation is relatively straight forward and there is not much kibble under the tank as you can see in the picture. Nice thing about the hilt of the sword is that it tucks in snugly and is not made of soft plastic. Bludgeon has various articulation points which enable poses including the double clutching samurai sword.

Overall, I was rather pleased to add the figure to my collection. The price was $22 USD and I found the figure at Target. Bludgeon is part of the new Revenge of the Fallen 2010 wave NEST Global Alliance. I think the only thing that could have improved the figure would have been a better head sculpt, as the current sculpt has a samurai helmet, and is supposed to be a skull with red eyes, but the top of the face is the only thing that resembles a skull at all. The bottom of the nose down to the chin tier off into almost tusk like protrusions, with hallow cheek bones and a handlebar for a chin. Everything else on the figure is spot-on, and I can overlook the weak head sculpt because the original G1 figure was not that impressive in my opinion either. What comes to mind for me when I think of Bludgeon is the comic book villain who was just crazy enough to try to kill everyone.

Faction: Decepticon

Function: Toaster bot. Literally.

While this little joker is easily one of the funniest Transformer figures ever created under the Allspark, some do not agree that Ejector is pure evil. He has been known to burn people’s breakfast items varying from pastries, to waffles and even English muffins. He has no regard for the consumption desires of anyone, especially the hungry vagabond who just wants a simple piece of toast before scurrying off to the every-day grind.

While certainly not one of the most desirable team-members, other Decepticons often harass this little demon by inserting forks, knives or other metal objects into the toaster slots and watching the Ejector’s spark fly. This is certainly not entertaining for Ejector as one time was accidentally sent on on fire and took quite a bit to clean up the crumbs.

Ejector is particularly fond of a variety of specialty breads as opposed to generic off-brand breads that he considers beneath his Decepticon heritage. Nonetheless, while hiding in toaster mode, Ejector has been used and abused, once even being sold at a yardsale, where the previous owner complained of faulty manufacturing and always burning just one side of the toast.

Once a Decepticon, always a Decepticon. Ejector’s aspirations for power include upgrading to a toaster oven with an eight piece cooking capacity.

The Fansproject.com Ultra Magnus armor set can be found on bbts.com. The review is coming. All I can say is that don’t miss out on the opportunity for the after-market accessory set. One of the best!