Trailbreaker – Combiner Wars – Sky Reign

Hey looks it’s Trailbreaker… or Trailcutter as we saw him last, but now back to Trailbreaker!

These Trail-guys get a lot of reuse out of their bodies. Earlier in the Combiner Wars, this body was used for Ironhide, and a heavily retooled First Aid. There were a couple of additional releases in Japan too.

This version is reminiscent of the G1 version as we have seen so many times here in the Combiner Wars. Trailbreaker is heavily colored in black with red and silver accents much like his G1 counterpart. He is missing the tall blower that stuck out above his head, and was included in Trailcutter’s design in the last iteration. I can’t say it is terribly missed in this version. I do think it would have been a cool addition to the hood of the truck to differentiate him a little more from Ironhide.

He comes with the axe, a less than impressive weapon in this lineup. A standard gun would have been much better.

In truck mode, he looks like he should. A black truck with funny rainbow 80’s coloring down the side.

The original version had a canopy over the back of the truck. Trailcutter had it too. WIth the new Trailbreaker, his hand/foot weapon acts as the canopy. Thankfully all of the hand/foot accessories are black, so it works pretty well in truck mode.

One of Trailbreaker’s hands is a cannon.  That is definitely a nod to the G1 version that had firing arms.  One of the advantages to having a cannon arm is that his Sky Reign hand/foot can be used as a giant hand.

And with that giant hand, he can wield giant weapons, like Shockwave here.

The first two parts of Sky Reign.

Vs four parts of Bruticus.  Let the battle continue!

Combiner Wars – Ultra Magnus

Ultra Magnus is one big dude. Even before the giant shoulder posts, he is quite a figure. He has fantastic articulation, stands solid on two very sturdy legs.
Magnus comes with two guns that can combine to form his hammer.

Little Minimus Ambus has about the same transformation as a Headmaster, or a light Legion Class figure. He is a suitable vehicle as well as a robot.

Well, this is a bit of a surprise.  Guess I need to catch up on my comic reading.

This is what Transformers fans have been waiting for. An Ultra Magnus that is all his own. He is not a redeco or remodel of any previous Optimus.

They did such an amazing job over at Hasbro, where they kept the cab of the truck as a part of the whole vehicle, but they worked it in a way so they the cab can swivel under the trailer. So, even though they are attached together, it isn’t like some horribly long truck that would never be able to turn.

Ultra Magnus fits right in with the Deluxe Class figures.  He can carry two on his trailer, bunk-bed style.  His cab is on the small side when compared to Optimus, and it is noticeable since they are similar styled trucks.

The tailgate drops down to allow for the inside car to slide out. Then the top part can fold down to allow the second car to get off. There are plenty of extra ports to allow Magnus to carry gun and hand/feet accessories for the riders.

This just ups the playability by so much. Well designed and executed.

Now you can really get a good look at how big Magnus is.  Optimus doesn’t even come up to his shoulder, and then Magnus has the giant extra shoulder pieces to boot.   He is really big.   He is such a fantastic example of the Leader Class to go along with Megatron and Jetfire.

Stand him up next to a Combiner, and he is still pretty sizable.  It would take qutie a bit for a Combiner to take down this guy.  Good thing they are on the same team.

This is a must-have for any Transformers fan.  He is so good, you will not be disappointed.

Transformers: Generations – Combiner Wars – Optimius Maximus

Is it just me, or are the waves totally messed up for the Combiner Wars?  Have three parts of the Protectobots to build Defensor, and Cyclonus to build Galvatronus.  I was able to get the last bot to be able to build the original version of Optimus Maximus.  What do I mean by “original?”  When the line began, we got Optimus Prime.  It says to use him to build Ultra Prime… but we didn’t have any of the other bots to do it.   Even the comic started with Optimus as the torso/head of OM.  Since then, Hasbro has revealed Battle Core Optimus Prime, which is a white version with a new head.   Apparently, they wanted us to get the original Optimus, and now they want us to get a new version to make a different Optimus Maximus.  That being said, I will probably end up getting Battle Core OP, since I do so love Optimus.

Well, we have four new bots to look at, here we go!

Sunstreaker:

Sunstreaker is probably my least favorite of the four deluxe figures. He is a bit flat as a vehicle. As a robot, he has some strange hips in order for him to become an arm in Combiner Mode. It is probably one of the few figures I have found that suffers from being able to change into a giant body part.

I do like that the Combiner hand is able to be used as a backpack in the car mode, a nod to the original design.

He is a retool of Breakdown. I do have to say I think I like the body better in yellow than Breakdown’s white.

Prowl:

Prowl is a really well done figure. He looks like Prowl, in both robot and vehicle modes.

He is third in line for this body after Dead End and Streetwise. It is a well done body, and a lot of fun to transform. He makes a very solid leg for Optimus Maximus.

Mirage:

Mirage is my favorite of the wave. He has been a figure I have wanted for an awful long time. I loved him in the G1 show, but never found one in all of my adult collecting time.

I think this one really does the original justice. He has a great transformation, and looks fantastic in both modes. He follows Dragstrip with this body use, but I think Mirage looks a whole lot better than Dragstrip. The colors are better, and the head is better.

Ironhide:

Ooh wee, there was a lot of hate out there for Ironhide. I actually like the robot mode design. I think he looks like a young, svelte version of the G1 Ironhide. This is what he would have looked like without the millions of years of fighting under his belt.

He is a retool of Offroad. The red is definitely better than Offroad’s grey. There were some pretty boring colors in Menasor huh?

This is a great looking team.  Lots of color with a pretty good variety of design.   Poor Ironhide will be lagging behind some pretty fast cars.

Time for Optimus Prime to join the team.

A nod to the G1 show.  Look at this lineup of figures. This could be a formidable team.

Together, they form Optimus Maximus… or a retool of Menasor?

Technically Motormaster is a retool of Optimus, but Motormaster was able to build his Menasor Combiner first. And all of the guys from Menasor were retooled to become OM.

Rodimus: But wait, there’s more!!

I ended up with Rodimus before any of the other figures for Optimus Maximus.  Rodimus has shown to be a pretty good right hand man for Optimus over the years. Why not become the chest armor too?

Rodimus is a retool of Blackjack, and once again the Autobots have a way better color scheme going on.

Unfortunately, Rodimus has the same problem as Blackjack and does not stay locked into the chest very well.  He still looks really cool though.

 

Overall, Optimus Maximus is a really cool Combiner.  Even though he is basically a retool of Menasor, they don’t look that much alike, other than the chest area.  The shield is a bit of a give away.   We will see with Battle Core OP, if we get a little more variation, or if it will be more of the same with a new color.

I am having a lot of fun with the Combiner Wars series.  We are getting some great figures we haven’t seen in a long time, and they are well made.  This series is going strong, and we have a lot of great figures to come.  More fantastic Leader Class figures, including Ultra Magnus, and some other great Voyager Class figures like Sky Lynx.  I can’t wait for what is coming next…

Make sure to click on my Flickr page to the left to see even more pictures of this set and many more.

Transformers: Prime – Commander Class, Dreadwing, Ironhide, Ultra Magnus

The Commander Class of the Prime series figures has been going on for a while now.  They started at with a little DVD way back when the series of toys came out.  Generally reserved for the bigger of the characters, these smaller figures still have really good detail and articulation.   They allow for a much closer sizing between the larger and smaller figures in the show.

This is being called”Series 2″ as it is the second series under the Cyberverse line.  The first line of Commander Class figures came out under the Dark of the Moon movie line.  We started with Optimus Prime, Bulkhead, Megatron and Starscream.  Now we are adding on the next 3, Dreadwing, Ironhide, and Ultra Magnus.

Let’s go in order.  Number 005 of the series is Dreadwing:

As soon as I saw Dreadwing on the show, I knew I needed to see him in toy form. The unfortunate thing is that Dreadwing is a gigantic robot in the TV show, and he is about the same size as the other figures in the Commander Class.  What Hasbro needs to do is make him in the Deluxe line, and then he would be just about perfect in proportion to the Commander and Legion Class sizes of figures.

Dreadwing does not disappoint in the Commander size.  He came with a transformation page that is the size of some of the gigantic Voyager size figures.  He has good articulation in his arms and legs.  The color scheme is really well done, with only minor paint misses here and there.   He comes with two weapons, a big gun and a sword.  The two can combine to make a really good weapon as well.

Here you can see him relative in size to other figures, Commander Class Megatron, and Legion Class Vehicon.  He is not anywhere as tall as Megatron, but at least he has a lot going for him.

In plane mode, he looks pretty close to his TV couterpart.  Looking like a Blue Angel on steroids.   It is hard to hide all of the body parts when we are looking at this small scale, but they did a pretty good job there.

Ironhide:

To me, Ironhide is one of the weaker Commander Class figures.  He has an overall appealing look, but there are some things that stand out.  Most notably are the truck parts around his forearm.  They really did not have any place to go, so they kind of hang there off the back of the arms.

He does have great feet and legs that give him a good stance.  he also has a face that is really close to the original G1 Ironhide.  He comes with two cannons, which is what you would want to see wit a “Heavy Weapons Specialist.”

His truck mode is pretty tough, with lots of great details, and big tires.  His transformation is really easy, and looks good.

Ultra Magnus:

Sometimes hero of the Autobots, and sometimes jerk (Animated verions).  He is usually seen with a big hammer, broad shoulders, and longer ears than Optimus.  Check, check, and check.   Visually, Ultra Magnus looks great.  Red, blue, and silver make for some great details.

Mine has a huge problem with the shoulder joints.  He cannot hold up his own arms, much less the hammer.

What happens when a Decepticon is too far away to smash with your hammer?

That’s right.  Attach it to your arm, and blow him out of the sky with your cannon.

His truck mode is fine.  Nothing special here.   A flatbed truck which can accommodate the cannon or a Legion Class vehicle.  His transformation from robot to vehicle is extremely simple.

So, here is Series 2 in all of it’s Commander Class glory:

Standout favorites?  Optimus has some of the best transformation from robot to vehicle.  Bulkhead has a great robot and vehicle mode.  Dreadwing is really nice too.  Megatron has a vehicle mode I don’t like in any class, so that is a hard one to get behind.  Starscream needs to eat a little more.  He is too skinny and falls over too much.   Ironhide and Ultra Magnus make nice robots.  Not quite as good in vehicle form, so they will probably exist in robot form.

 

Next time, we will talk about the return of the Generations line of Transformers.  Fall of Cybertron anybody?

I would not want Ironhide hunting for me

Take a big, tough robot, give him the personality of Dirty Harry, and then strap giant guns to both of his arms.  Add in a gravely voice and you have the movie version of Ironhide.   His movie vehicle version is quite a change from the minivan that we saw in the 80s.  It is no less useful being a truck as we saw in the Rise of the Fallen.   He carried a number of troops in his bed in the opening attack sequence of the movie.

His truck mode is a very tough looking GMC.  Quad-cab, raised off the ground, and stack exhaust are only a few of the modifications that give this truck a look that matches the robot.  Of course adding in a dual cannon to the back is a good add-on.

It is a nice feature that the cannon can be set on the ground on a tripod.   That makes the weapon nice and versatile.  Even without the cannon, he is a mean lookin’ truck.   The only drawback, similar to Bumblebee, is the feet being very apparent under the back end of the truck.  It does add a bit of heft to the overall look of the vehicle, and I would rather have big feet on the robot instead of smaller feet hidden on the truck.

The cannon mounts on one arm, under the door.    The other arm sports a multi barreled cannon.   Definitely the firepower we expect from the movie version of Ironhide.  I am happy with the way they were able to close in the weapons better than the previous version of Ironhide where the guns hung down under the doors.

This is a good figure.  The transformations take a little bit of work.  As with most of the movie versions, the body of the vehicle comes apart into dozens of pieces, and really gets tricky to get back together.  The trickiest of the bunch is stuffing his chest plate back under the hood of the truck with his head.  Another good figure from the Hunt for the Decepticons line.