Review: iGear IG-TF007 Computer Control Center

[alphaom3ga]

Happy New Years everyone. Hope 2010 is better than 2009. Now about the topic at hand. Is any of this stuff ever available in Australia? We somehow miss out on all the good stuff and get stuck with crappy Universe and movie toys. I'd add Animated to that list but i enjoy Animated. I tend to snap those up in lieu of Masterpiece and Commemorative Series reissues that noone down here seems to stock.

 

Hi and welcome to the forum! This set reviewed is only limited via online stores such as BBTS or Robot Kingdom. This won't be something you can find at the store.

 

 

Thanx Blitz-Wing.... been hoppin on this site for a long time and just never signed up but with all these groovy toys how could i not! :-)

[UltraConvoy]

Awesome review!!

[Fenrir72]

4 out of 10? That is one bad rating. Maybe Fans Project should take a dig at it?

[AnimatedPlastic]

The set is to scale for Classics/G1 figures. Alts/MP/BT would be a bit much.

 

You mean in price,size or BOTH? :P

 

How big was the box you got it in?

 

I like it and would get it if I collected the Classics line more. I think my head would have exploded if it came out 25 years ago when I was a kid.

 

To bad it didn't come with a Cage for Ravage when Hound captures him. That would have been another nice touch IMHO. I think the Soundwave alt mode is a nice touch. I think they should have made a little connector that swings out of SW and connect to Teletran like in the show. Just a nice detail that would have made this set even nicer. :shrug

 

No R.F just needs to make an AutoBotX classics size figure and table to fit into this set. :D

 

To answer my own question, the Alternators don't look to bad in size comparison.

 

[sgt__york]

Ever wanted a mock up of the Autobot's earthen headquarters, The Ark? iGear is fulfilling your wish, as they offer their Computer Control Center, which includes 3 different sections of the fabled Teletraan-1. Click here to check out the image gallery, then click here to check out the review

 

Hmmm... thanks for the photos and review. I actually have this on preorder (still since like September -- it was ORIGINALLY due out in Nov '09). So it has been pushed back quite a bit.

 

I am disappointed in the locking mechanism, which seems to be the primary reason for the low marks. I have to admit, i'm right on the verge of canceling my preorder. But it still a very nice looking display - and if crazy clue would actually fix most all of the shortcomings - i'm still a bit tempted to go forward with it. yes, the price is a bit high - but is there really a good alternative if you would like such a display? If it's worth $80 insetad of $120 -- well, i'm blowing $40. OH well. I have the room, and i'm not interested in taking it apart - so I can get past those aspects.

 

4 stars is quite harsh. I would love to know more on what aspects you feel give it the worse marks. As I said, i'm on the 'verge' of canceling this - which if it is now out, will likely be shipping very soon. How would you rate it for someone who wouldn't mind super gluing it? How much of the rating is the price itself??

 

ALSO.. you mentioned, a left corner system is not possible at all??? TFSource's photos had it shown just that way - as a left corneer. So i'm a bit puzzled.

 

LINK

 

I'd appreciate a followup. :)

[Blitz-Wing]

To save tooling costs, all the pieces are slotted to the right. However, this won't allow to make a left handed wall. Therefore, to make said wall you have to rotate the tile 180 degrees, then use a makeshift block. The block is basically a small bar with two slots. One slot goes on the tile, the other slot is for the wall. It was a sloppy fit to get that bar on the tile and it NEVER stayed in place. As mentioned, the whole problem is that the locking system is just not positive enough.

 

That is the main reason it scored so low. If a company expects people to pay $120 for a kit of this magnitude, something as major as sturdy floors and walls should be paramount. It'd be like buying a refrigerator for $2000 and having the doors consistently falling off. You could put your food in it still, but what would be the point? In your case, if you're going to make it a permanent display then using some Crazy Glue on the panels would rectify the problem. If someone were to superglue it together, I would rank it in the 6-7 range simply because the time to properly set and cure the panels with the glue would be relatively tedious. As mentioned towards the end, the decal adhesive isn't terribly tacky so I feel their lifespan won't be as long as it should be.

[UltraConvoy]

Still looks nice and I think its a bit over price but you want a commend center this is the best you going to get.

[sgt__york]

To save tooling costs, all the pieces are slotted to the right. However, this won't allow to make a left handed wall. Therefore, to make said wall you have to rotate the tile 180 degrees, then use a makeshift block. The block is basically a small bar with two slots. One slot goes on the tile, the other slot is for the wall. It was a sloppy fit to get that bar on the tile and it NEVER stayed in place. As mentioned, the whole problem is that the locking system is just not positive enough.

 

That is the main reason it scored so low. If a company expects people to pay $120 for a kit of this magnitude, something as major as sturdy floors and walls should be paramount. It'd be like buying a refrigerator for $2000 and having the doors consistently falling off. You could put your food in it still, but what would be the point? In your case, if you're going to make it a permanent display then using some Crazy Glue on the panels would rectify the problem. If someone were to superglue it together, I would rank it in the 6-7 range simply because the time to properly set and cure the panels with the glue would be relatively tedious. As mentioned towards the end, the decal adhesive isn't terribly tacky so I feel their lifespan won't be as long as it should be.

 

 

I really appreciate the review... tremendously. Thanks again. I am wondering if it would be better to put some more glue on the stickers before applying them.

 

I can definately see rating it lower for the assembly defects. It really is inexcusable, and has me right on the verge of canceling my order. But like Prime above says - if you want an ark look - this is going to be the best. And I don't think carboard and the like would be nearly as nice - albeit it cheaper. The time to build an inferior one would be 'much' less than the time to glue it together.

 

I dunno.. i'm truly 50/50 at this point.

[sgt__york]

And I don't think carboard and the like would be nearly as nice - albeit it cheaper. The time to build an inferior one would be 'much' less than the time to glue it together.

My plan for the cardboard one is to make a whole cardboard ark around it that can transform into Omega Supreme, kind of like the Animated one. (Might be biting off more than I can chew...) I wouldn't be able to do that with the plastic one.

 

No offense at all.. but I cannot see a cardbox set looking nearly as good as molded plastic. Throw in the fact it needs to also 'transform' also? I just can't see it. But as long as your enjoying the project, who really cares? I hope it turns out incredible. I know i'd like to create a few mini-designs as well. I wanted to create the store front of an auto dealership and also a mountain-ish terrain (for the G1 dinobots and constructicons). I was planning on using plaster/molds, and some of the techniques they use to do train model sets. Might turn out great, might turn out like garbage - LOL - but hey, part of it is the learning and fun of doing it. I don't mean to discourage you at all. I hope you have a blast doing it.

[Liege Evilmus]

Agreed, plastic would look better.

For $119 less shipping, you'd want it to hold up though.

So I will agree again that cardboard does have it's own charm too. I mean for the price of 2 sheets of photo quality paper (maybe 4), you can blow up Teletran 1 and have it repaired in no time :D

 

I wouldn't mind paying $30-$40 for the consoles, but for $120+ with walls that don't hold up, I just don't see the point :shrug