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.

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.

Revenge of the Fallen Legends class Devastator totally rocks out as a combiner set. I recently purchased Supreme Class Devastator when I saw it, and saw a preview of the Legends class set over at Tformers.com and decided I wanted to get the set. Found one through an online auction site, purchased it and had it within a few days.

So I opened the box, and I was intrigued by the packaging differences of the Japanese and the English style packaging. Both look very similar, but the Japanese one has some sort of robot points code you can log in and use. Since I cannot read Japanese, let’s just assume that it is a rewards bonus system for kids to get some sort of cool items online.

So as you can see, there are 7 members of the Constructicons. The mysterious member that was discombobulated to resurrect Megatron from the bottom of Davy Jones locker. I’m not going to go into the various robot/vehicle mode descriptors yet, that will be for another day with an official review, but lets just say each bot has an interesting, if not unique, robot mode. Scrapper is my favorite because he looks somewhat like his G1 self and he looks like he takes care of business.

The design of the gestalt is interesting. I love the Micromasters, and have the Japanese and English release of the Micromaster Devastator set, and he is just fantastic. The Revenge of the Fallen Devastator set in a very distinct way is one of my favorite combiners as well. While he mimics his larger self, Scavenger and Overload combine together to take the place of just Scavenger in the Supreme version. The Legends class one has more articulation and the weight is distributed evenly as well.

So Scavenger and Overload combine making the trunk, shoulder and hip connectors. Then Mixmaster forms the head (as opposed to a leg/foot in the G1 version). Devastator’s head has a pivot ball joint, so it at least has some articulation, versus the voice gimmick of the Supreme version. Hightower and Scrapper form the arms/hands and Longhaul and Rampage form the legs/feet.

What I really like about the figure is the unique combination of the combiner. There are no extra bits, everything is self-contained, and every part is engineered to fit and form a snug link to the partner. For example, Scavenger’s treads have a slot where the frame of Overload slide in to give Devastator a secure and snug chest. Scavenger also has two square peg connector that Mixmaster slides directly into, giving it security and stability. Scavenger’s elbows have connector pegs that both Scrapper and Hightower secure to. Overload does the splits to form Devastator’s hips and Longhaul and Rampage fit securely without any fear of toppling over (unlike the Supreme Devastator version).

Since this is a Japanese version, I paid a pretty penny, as the English release is not out yet. I fully expect that Hasbro will release this as a set and as individual items, and we will probably see some sort of G1 rendition as well. I plan on getting the English release as well, as I would like to compare and contrast the differences. It used to be that the Japanese versions were a little better, but as both are manufactured in China makes me curious if either set will have differences.

Name: Optimus Prime

Function: Autobot leader.

“Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.”

With the destruction of Megatron, Optimus Prime thought that he was finally, after millions of years, at peace. Little did he know that the escape of Starscream would draw dozens of new Decepticons to Earth. The desire burns brightest in his spark is that the war will soon end. He is determined to see that end come, and so he works with his human comrades and the other Autobots to hunt down Decepticons that have come to Earth, and destroy them, one by one.

Optimus Prime has always been one of my favorite Transformers. He has been the Autobot leader throughout history, and for those of you reading, Optimus Prime has had many transformations taking him from a semi to an ape to a fire truck and back to a semi again. Optimus Prime is probably the most recognizable, if not the most popular, Transformers figure there is. Even people who might not care much about Transformers know who Optimus Prime is. This version of Optimus Prime does a great job representing the character as well as the movie version.

Alternate mode:
Optimus Prime from Revenge of the Fallen transforms into a semi that resembles a Peterbuilt Type 379 tractor truck. As seen in the first movie, Optimus Prime’s protoform scanned one of these passing by and configured Optimus Prime in this beefy road master. The truck is very solid, with tight joints and looks like close to a scale replica of the real version. With a red body and blue cab, the hood is decorated with blue flames and the cab is decorated with red flames. I think this was to add color to Optimus Prime in the Movie instead of the blue, red and gray we are all used to.

Several distinct features of the truck include having plastic tires for the second movie version versus rubber tires. The smoke pipes are also soft plastic rubber, which help to keep from snapping off, but also is not as sturdy as rigid plastic. The trailer connector also has a peg that looks as if it is designed for a trailer that was not released with the figure. The Mech Alive gears are visible through the windows and there is a little button on the back of the cab that when pushed in makes an engine idling noise as well as activates the lights of the Mech Alive gears.

Robot mode:
Optimus Prime’s robot mode exudes sheer dominance. This version of Optimus Prime gives any previously released version a run for the money. Well, Masterpiece Optimus Prime and the small stacks one is one of my absolute favorites, Revenge of the Fallen Optimus Prime ranks right up there.
First of all, Optimus Prime says “I am Optimus Prime.” Yep, that is all he says. The irony about that is that I don’t really care much for the voice gimmicks on the toys, but when I press down the Mech Alive gear on his abdomen, his eyes light up, his chest bows back and he proclaims “I am Optimus Prime” as if he is to say to any lurking Decepticon “I am Optimus Prime, and I have come to destroy you.” Not to overplay the simplicity of the bold statement, but the gimmick was simple enough as a “Try me” addition to the store boxed version, but is on target as far as Optimus Prime’s attitude.

Optimus Prime has his faceplate on for battle mode instead of an open mask showing his bot face. He also has flip out energon blades which seem to play a greater role of his hand-to-hand combat style in Revenge of The Fallen. Unfortunately, this version of Optimus Prime does not come with his rifle, which I found disappointing. The energon blades are right down wicked sick and watching Optimus Prime rip apart Decepticons on screen solidified just how wicked sick Optimus Prime breaks it down.

Optimus Prime has lots of articulation points and is one hulking beast of an Autobot. Optimus Prime is a great addition to my collection. The Revenge of the Fallen Optimus Prime is one of the cooler versions of Optimus Prime’s and deserves recognition as one. The only thing I need to make it feel complete is a rifle.

Transformation: 9. Optimus Prime has a very complex transformation series, and the Mech Alive feature for the connecters under the window have a spring-loaded feature, which makes it difficult. The trick of the transformation is that the bottom has a connector that joins with a slot on the forearms. If you get stuck on this part, check out a video on Optimus Prime’s transformation. Other than that, the transformation is decent.

Durability: 8. I love clickity joints. Remember the days of the originals? Back then we didn’t call them G1, we called them Transformers. A lot of them had the clickity joints which let you know you were transforming the robot into a car and vice versa. This Optimus has some cool clickity joint sounds and is very sturdy in either mode.

Fun: 9. The Revenge of the Fallen Optimus Prime leader class is a lot of fun and is on scale with the other voyager class toys in relation to size comparison in the movie. I love the energon blades and the attention to detail given to the toy.

Price: 7. I picked Optimus Prime up for $44.88 which is an increase over the previous line’s leader class toys at $39.99. I think the almost $5 increase is related to the demand of the movie toys over normal series because there is more demand for the toys during a movie production run than during a normal cartoon series production line.

Overall: 9. Revenge of the Fallen Optimus Prime leader class scores a 9 because of the different features that the toy has. Overall, I was very impressed with the toy and am happy to add it to my collection.

Name:

Faction: Decepticon

Function: The Fallen Prime, the original Decepticon, and Megatron’s master.

“The Matrix shall be mine!”

For millennia, he has waited. Thousands of years have dragged by as he recruited proxies, on by one, to scour the cosmos for the artifact he required. Now he finds he must return to the primitive, flesh-slug infected planet no which his quest began. Nothing will stand in his way this time. If need be, he will scour the surface of this disgusting world clean in the fire of his rage, and search through the blasted rubble for that which he seeks.
Alternate Mode:
The Fallen’s alternate mode is a Cybertronian Destroyer. This ancient war bird looks alien in design and in many ways more advanced in design that most of the other Cybertronian seekers. The word primeval comes to mind, and Prime evil is the function of this seeker. No firing missiles, no electronics and the feet turn into the wingspan of the destroyer mode, but the seeker mode seems appropriate for the age of The Fallen. One of the nice things that makes the seeker a bit sturdy is there are pegs and holes that click together keeping the thrusters in place and the seeker in decent alignment. The Fallen seeker has flat platform landing gear.

Robot Mode:
The Fallen’s bot mode offers a few distinct features. The Fallen is built with the combination of sturdy plastic and soft plastic for the pointy parts such as the nose cone, face spikes and cranium spikes as well as the hand. His hands have eight digits each and are symmetrical from right to left, each having four thumbs and four fingers. The feet have spring loaded toes, which give surprisingly good balance during different poses. The Fallen also has the Mech Alive features as well.

Mech Alive: The Fallen’s Mecha Alive opens like battle armor. The Mech Alive features for The Fallen start at the head. The head leans forward and two slide-out energy absorption panels flip out and augment his head. His shoulders also have panels that flip out into energy absorption panels as well. His forearms each have a pop out cannon that reveals energy absorption panels as well. Last but not least, his knees and shins have similar energy absorption panels.

Since The Fallen comes in robot form in the box, he looks huge for the Voyager sized toys. He is rather wide and in seeker mode is pretty large, but he is no taller than an average Voyager sized toy. He has a lot of articulation from the shoulders down; however the only articulation the head has is to flip down to reveal the energy absorption panels. Another feature to consider is that the hands, which open and close and are attached to a joint that spins 360 °

Transformation: 5. Transforming The Fallen into seeker mode was a bit tricky the first time around, but once you see how the connecting pegs work, the transformation is very simple.
Durability: 5. While transforming The Fallen, his arms and legs repeated popped out of joints with even the least bit of pressure. The elbows are a rotating joint connected to a male-female-male joint which connects to the forearm, and is very easy to disconnect accidently. The paws also pop out of the ball-joint easily as well. I am not a huge fan of soft plastic either as I have had older Beast Wars toys with this (thinking of Depth Charge repaint) where the soft plastic can bend and harden in another shape that is not true.
Fun: 8. The Fallen is what I expected for this sized toy and represents the character from the Revenge of The Fallen decently.
Price: 7. Picked up The Fallen at Toys R Us for $21.99 which is normal for the Voyager class toys.
Overall: 8. Overall, The Fallen is a decent toy. I really would have liked seeing a staff accessory with this toy considering the movie version had one. Then again, The Fallen would have to have mits that could grip it.

Revenge of the Fallen Bludgeon Voyager Class Tank/Samurai Review is a different review. This review is for the Bludgeon included with the Whirl/Bludgeon Toys R Us exclusive. Fear Not, you can find the new Bludgeon (with a gallery of pics) review here. http://lolligagger.com/revenge-of-the-fallen-decepticon-bludgeon-nest-global-alliance-review/

Name: Decepticon Blugeon
Function: Electric warrior
“To know your own limits, you must first know your foe’s limits.”

For the first time on Earth, two masters of the ultimate fighting art-Metallikato- face off in a battle to the very end. Weilding ancient blades, handed down through generatations of warriors, Autobot Whirl and Decepticon Bludgeon circle one another, every sensor alert for the slightest opening. Though they move slowly and deliberately now, once they strike, the battle will be far too fast for the human eye to see. It will be decided in a matter of microseconds by flashing blades powered by centuries of training.

Alternate Mode:
Decepticon Bludgeon transforms into a personnel carrier. Green, mean, killing machine. While I would have preferred a tank, as a repaint, I think this version of Bludgeon is a great job of blending a traditionally G1 (which the original was a Pretenter, with the famous Samurai appeal) and the Classic series. The personnel carrier is green, with the letters KN-2764 on the side, and a mounted machine gun on the front to engage any hostiles. As if Bludgeon needs a machine gun. Heh!
Robot Mode:
Bludgeon transforms into an incredible killing machine. Bludgeon is equipped with two spring loaded blades. These blades also combine to form double bladed weapon. These look like energon blades which could shred any bot that crossed Bludgeon. Another feature Bludgeon has is a center loaded extending cannon, which can be used for emergency up-close encounters where Bludgeon wants to finish his enemies.
Special Features:
Bludgeon is a deluxe sized figure, so the special features are limited. The best feature is that his spring loaded blades combine to make a double bladed weapon. These blades also tuck in neatly when transforming into the personnel carrier mode.

Transformation: 4. Not difficult at all. The only issue I had was that the wheels do not want to remain as straight looking as on the package. Overall a nice fit.
Durability: 7. Very tight transformation, standard bot form, and nothing that seems easily breakable.
Fun: 8. I never had any Pretenders, and did not even know about Bludgeon until years later reading the comics. Bludgeon breaks faces and takes no prisoners. This bot, with the repaint, fits the character.
Price: 7. Picked Bludgeon and Whirl at Toys R Us on special for $35. When you consider at the same time, the voyager class toys were only $18 on sale, and the deluxe (Bludgeon’s size) were on sale for $8 that week, I over paid for the same sized toys.
Overall: 8. Bludgeon is a really decent deluxe figure. I like his bot mode the best, and imagine him slicing and dicing as he ganks some unsuspecting bot.

For the first time on Earth, two masters of the ultimate fighting art-Metallikato- face off in a battle to the very end. Weilding ancient blades, handed down through generatations of warriors, Autobot Whirl and Decepticon Bludgeon circle one another, every sensor alert for the slightest opening. Though they move slowly and deliberately now, once they strike, the battle will be far too fast for the human eye to see. It will be decided in a matter of microseconds by flashing blades powered by centuries of training.

Alternate Mode:
Autobot Whirl is a Sikorsky Pave Low helicopter. As seen before with the first movie, the makers decided to render some justice to our G1 favorite Whirl by giving this bot a proper mode. The copter forms with a few gimmicks, including a spinning set of blades, and a deployable raft to help save anyone lost. While Whirl is the traditional color scheme of his G1 original form, I think most Whirl fans will be happy with this Toys R Us exclusive release.
Robot Mode:
Although Autobot Whirl has been released under the Transformers Revenge of the Fallen series, and is in fact a repaint of a previously released toy, I really felt like I was picking up a G1 Classics toy. I did not have Whirl as a kid, but have had one as an adult collector, and this bot breathes life into a G1 classic figure. The figure has a good color scheme to match the character, and in robot form, Whirl turns into a killing machine as a Master of Metallikato.
Special Features:
Whirl has a few features that add to the playability of the toy. First off, the helicopter has a spinning blade feature, which is activated by a push button in the rear of the copter. In robot mode, this is detachable, so one can use it on Whirl’s back, or just leave it off. Another feature is a deployable raft from the cargo area that doubles up as a laser.

Transformation: 5. Not extremely complicated, but the top section of the copter where the blades connect to the body can be a little tricky.
Durability: 6. The bot is durable, but I could see the copter blades breaking easily.
Fun: 7. I am a big fan of Whirl, but some of the drawbacks are limited pose ability, and he has so much rocket gear shoulder pads that he has absolutely no peripheral vision at all. Another distraction for me was the raft/laser is not very feasible for a transformation. The only part that transforms is flipping the raft over to have a connector and a very rounded and dull looking laser. I don’t think Whirl would actually ever use this as a Master of Matallikato anyway. Who uses a laser in a karate fight anyway?
Price: 7. Picked Whirl up with Bludgeon at Toys R Us on special for $35. When you consider at the same time, the voyager class toys were only $18 on sale, and the deluxe (Bludgeon’s size) were on sale for $8 that week, I over paid for the same sized toys.
Overall: 7. Whirl is a decent Transformer. Not one to be overly excited, but decent. I give Whirl a 7 because I was not overly impressed by him other than he has a great vehicle mode.