First off, I realize these are not official transformers. However, they do transform and in order to get your attention I put it here in TTD as I think these are worth making a stink about. Another note; I shall add some pics later. I got Magna Rex, kit # 6311.

http://www.megabrands.com/en/kids/neoshifters/

With that said, I was out toy hopping and stumbled upon these today at TRU. First let me say; I've bought a few of the recent cash-ins from other companies on the Transformers tail (such as the partforming toys from playmates) but they have all failed to impress me. With bad QC, bad materials and PARTFORMING! These however, are pure gold. They are of course building block kits coming from the Megablocks company and are reminiscent of Bionicle. You know, the company that makes all those licensed building brick products like POTC and Spiderman, they make these. These impress me for quite a few reasons:

1) They're only 9.99
2) Theres no part forming here at all. The weapons detach and fit inside but other than that it's all fold, rotate and click just like TF's.
3) They're built really well. Using good materials and good color combinations along with decent paint apps.
4) Included with each kit is a kick ass light up head. The light is REALLY bright and actually projects due to the nature of the clear plastic the light is incased in.
5) Every single figure is a Soundwave. They all have minions that pop out and transform as well.
6) These things are huge! In robot form they are just a little taller than Cybertron Prime. In sphere mode they would probably be considered a standard voyager coming in just smaller than Primus.
7) They're posable like you'd not believe.
8) each one comes with a missile launcher, two missiles and two little guns for the minion.

The build was pretty easy for me but I'm pretty versed in that I build and paint many models. The instructions are clear and easy to follow so anyone don't feel put off just because you have to put this together. I chose not to use the instructions at first. I used the picture on the box for my build instead and only needed help with four pieces. Unfortunately, I had to go back and take two off and reassemble them. Seems Megablocks can't get thier product photos right either other than that, It was fun and enjoyable.

Joints as follows:

Head: Has movement up, down and side to side. He can look straight up, down at his toes. 45o to the left and right and any combination of the already listed movement.

Shoulder: aprox 90o lateral movement and 360o rotation.

Elbow: can fold naturally with the hand touching shoulder and rotate 360o.

Wrist: bend in and out 45o also with 360o rotation.

Hands: have a single joint and can be fully open or closed.

Waist: only side to side rotation. The joint is at a 45o angle with the low portion being on the back side. This joint is primarily for the transformation but it's a joint and can be useful so I counted it.

Hips: 360o rotation and 90o lateral movement.

Knee: 360o rotation and almost 90o horizontal movement. While the numbers listed on this one are impressive the 90o horizontal counts the leg bending forward. It's really only 45o backward movement. These should really be double jointed and by far are the worst joints on the figure but are easily forgivable as they don't have a bad range of movement. Just not as much as the rest of the figure. I'm disapointed that I can't bend this joint so the ankle touches the backside but that's the only real issue I have here.

Ankle: 360o horizontal rotation and great than 90o front and back rotation.

Robot mode: with all the joints this is one kick as posable robot! Not only that but the color combinations are cool as hell. There's a plunger on the back. Push this and the little minion pops out. He is also transformable. The little guy has wrist, shoulder, hip and ankle joints. Not too posable but he's really tiny standing about as high as a standard lego figure. The head lights up and is bright as hell. Could do with some black paint on places where it shows on the box but other than that and the knees as spoken of above this gets a KICKASS!

Transformation is medium and fun. That's all I'll list here. I don't like spoilers in this area.

The sphere mode is cool and holds together very well. The armor doesn't cover the whole sphere so you can see inside. This isn't such a bad thing as it gives it a good look with all of the colors visible and you can still use the light up feature in this mode. My only gripe here is that in some places it's pretty open down the middle. Particularly the crotch but that's a pretty small complaint given that this is kind of a Bionacle copy.

Over all I am very impressed and very happy to have this in my collection of toys and models. It's fun in every way and with all of the added touches like the light and the minion I just can't complain. One thing is for sure: I shall be buying more of these guys!

Have fun!





Edit: pics

Pics:















more on next post...

I'll pick one up. Mostly for the minion. Those are kinda cool.

it's head looks a bit "off" but not bad...

That is actually pretty neat. Might have to check it out.

I like the themes that Mega Bloks comes out with but in the past the quality has been dubious. The thing from them I last bought the most of was Blok Bots and while they were cool, the quality was much less than Lego. Though I got my son some of their dragon eggs and they are not bad.

The Quality is really good on these. No issues at all and the plastic is good and durable. Tight joints....like I said no issues.


It looks good on the box. to my suprise that was the only paint they skimped on and as a result I think that's where and why it looks off. I have already customized mine with those black paint apps. I put some on the minion too. mainly between his joints to make him less monochromatic orange.

[Wayne]It shall be mine. Oh yes, it shall be...[/Wayne]

Those are cool! How big is the planet mode (for lack of a better term)? Maybe have a couple gang up on Cybertron Primus, huh? How much?

Custom paint












They're smaller than Primus. A little larger than softball sized.

They're 9.99 each. I plan on getting at least two more.

Size comparrison for your viewing pleasure:

Never mind the dust





Really: i just wanted to play him some more

Just got around to checking the actual site (didnt' have Flash in my browser on the computer I was first checking on). Are they all the same figure / how many are there? The one they showed on the site was green but looked mostly like the one you have.

wow... really cool... i mean, he definitely works as a "moon" for unicron and primus. love the predacon like faction symbol on his chest.

and for $10... seems like a no brainer. thx for the review, death.

They are all the same model using different colors, face plates and light colors. I saw four different ones at TRU but I think there may be a few more.

Saw these at TRU today. They had the blue/white/orange one above, the green one, and the red/black one. Thought about getting the latter, but decided I will hold off for now.

Four colors are pictured on the packaging, though I can't remember what #4 is.

I got one today! At Toys R Us in Bloomingdale, IL. They had several each of 3 different styles, I got the blue/yellow one. The only problem is, it's missing a piece, an elastic blue bad that serves to spring the main "wings" open and also to keep the minion launch plunger in place. I'm bummed, and I know I'll never get around to returning it, so I'll rig something up.

That aside, it really is cool, very skeletal and robotic, much like the original Terminator chassis. Looks like great articulation, too, and the little chest minion is neat. A nice companion to the planetary TFs; I'll need to rig up a way to make it orbit Cybertron/Primus.

I picked up two a few weeks back. They're pretty neat for a Mega Brand toy.

I picked up the Yellow and blue one(Atlas::Raan)...and the green one, I think. I don't remember exactly. It's still in the packaging.

The official site refers to them as being Satellites. There's a few problems with mine, though. One of the wings is bent slightly, so it doesn't fit as well as it should. Any attempts to straighten it makes it feel like it's going to break. Atlas::Raan's mask keeps falling off too. My other figure's lightup head was dead-in-box.

I'm just a bit disapointed with the minions(since that was a huge reason in me picking them up.) I was expecting them to be 2" tall or so. I kind of wish Mega'll release minion-style figures at a larger scale.

Aoi

I got the red and black one today. Mine had a couple extra parts (one of the double-ended plugs you attach the "spinning wing blades" with, and one of the arm hoses), and he's actually pretty neat.

Fixed mine, just used a regular rubber band to replace the missing elastic cord. Works perfectly, lets the wings spring open upon pressing a pair of levers. And he is very cool, but no match for Primus. Maybe 3 of them together.

Mine came w/ an extra missile and an extra double-ended connector as well, and it also had one of the wings a little warped. There are a couple cardboard stiffeners that keep the wing from getting bent in the box, and they were out of place on one wing. NBD, you can barely tell.

Seems like QC might be a little lacking in the Neo-shifters packaging dept....

Mine was exactly the same. Extra missile, extra connector (clear blue?), and a warped wing. Which one did you get? I got the blue and yellow one.

Especially with how deeply rooted I am in LEGO heritage... I'm kinda surprised I'm thinking about picking one up.

Yep, blue and yella. The best combo IMHO.

I've always been into Lego and all the other building sets. Bionicles was OK, only got one of those, but these are much cooler bec. of the whole planet-robot thing. I need more Neo-shifters! And Unicron, ugh!

My GF liked mine so much she went and got one. She got the Green one and no issues with hers. We've already had a battle.

Honestly, seems like QC is near hasbro level on these hit or miss.

I'm definately getting the Red one Friday. I need a Star gone nova to asplode some bots. I'm also think about picking up the other two just for mix and match color combos. Kind of sucks that the joints are rivetted in. Would've been nice to be able to customize. I'll have to see if I create a replacement for the joints. Or, i could just paint them......

I looked for these at my East Wallyworld. No dice. Has anyone seen them at Target or TRU? I think aside from the Movie TF figs, my retailers are a little behind on new product releases.

Altho all they have are 3 Swindles and some Cyber Stompers, as far as TFormers go. So eventually they have to restock.... right?

But then again, regarding these Mega Block sets.... I may just have my brother build me something.

Bwahahaha.

Saw at TRU, didn't look for them anywhere else though

I have only seen these at TRU. I've looked at Wallycron and Target, no dice.

Kinda reminds me of Rocklords~ ;P

I've seen them at K-Mart.

Meanwhile, I'm considering using them to represent the moons of Cybertron... maybe have one half-assembled, being eaten by Unicron.

I have to hit Toys R' Us.

For ten bucks these look like a steal.

Okay, I want. BADLY. I was hesitant, but now I definitely want to pick up at least one. Will they be making more of these?

He can beat the crap out of my Bionicle stuff, and Transformers, too!

These would make great protoforms. Am I right?

I'm none too sure. If they do though, I'd hope for more than just four more repaints. It'd be nice to get some mold changes. Anyone here knows about as much as I do on future releases of these guys.

Mine is still getting eaten by Unicron at the moment. My GF's however is playing with alt Ravage....or maybe that should be the other way around....

*Imagines Ravage playing with ball of yarn*

They're planning on making new molds...
You'll see one of the possibles if you look in the latter pages of the instructions.
I think page 27.

has anyone tried making something out of their set other than the robots?

It could be done but you'd need two sets and really the only thing you could make is a beast. And I'm not sure how well that would translate into ball form.

For those of you still looking for these guys: I found them today at K-mart. They had all four and that's a feat for my local store.....they're carry nothing.

On another note: I bought Blaze::Axx today. I haven't put it together yet but I'm stoked, I love the colors.

I don't really care if you can make your new creation into a ball again, I'm just looking at the creative aspect of making new things (beasts ships whatever) since this is suppose to be a building set...

In the back of the instructions there's one page that contains a 'build challenge'. Looks like a bird type thing. So, yeah, you could certainly make something else out of it. I've yet to try the 'build challenge'. I'm having too much fun with the bots as they are.

FWIW: the red one pwns. Awesome color scheme. I still had to add some face paint but that's the model maker in me coming out.

Wow. hate to bump, but was wondering. Has any of ya'll picked up the new Neo Shifter sets?

I picked up one of the new sets last night, 6320 Hydrowave. (It seems like it's same as the 6317 Neo Quad Pod) I suspect the Duneskiff and Turbofly might be a similar duo in which either model could be done by altering the transformation.

Eitherway, I love these new vehicular sets. It's actually fun to play with, seems to be of decent quality. Kind of makes me tempted to get another big one.

Only downsides are: The figure's cockpit seat doesn't stay in place that well. (Oh well, just need a bit of nail polish to fix that.) and Mega forgot to include the weapon launcher, so I got to wait till Mega sends me one to comment.

Aoi

Have you noticed that on the Satelite bots, their eyes project their symbol when you push the button? If you watch the animations on their site and Youtube you will see things you dont expect.. I love em! I cant wait till the other varients hit the shelves, I have 3 so far Blaze AXX, Atlas Raan, Magna Rexx need the Scarr Dorn and I have all I have seen in the UK!

I still have only two, the red/black and blue/white.

And there's a new wave that just hit store shelves. I've seen them at 3 different Walmarts.

The new gimmick is that each gun has a fan type projectile.

There's a new size class also! They're about half the size of the 10$ ones and instead of morphing from bot to ball they're vehicles that morph into balls and come with the little mini bots that of course morph too. I haven't decided if I'm going to pick them up yet. I may get one just because they're only 6$ but I need to wait until after I move.

The vehicles aren't that bad. They're about $6 at Wal-Mart. (The only place I've actually seen the new sets.) Y'kind of got to pay attention to what you're getting. I was going to get both the Neo Quad Pod, and the Hydrowave...but realized they were the same exact pieces.
Also, the Duneskiff and Turbofly has a weapon similar to that of the Bionicle Zamor launcher.


I never noticed that about the satellite figures, Freefall. I'll have to dig mine out again and check it out. (or just make things simple and buy one of the new wave robot sets.)

Aoi

These are my vitches:





Mongra + Tek



Atlas + Raan



In battle:




These things are very versatile, strong, and...just awesome.

Spotted a new set today of the very large variety. found it at Walmart, retail price was around 20. You get two larger bots with two mini dudes. One of the larger ones morphs into a bot, ball and scorpion like looking thing and the other one is a mech/odd shaped sphere. I'm pretty stoked that they're taking this in different directions. I'd still like to see more variety though in terms of the robots not looking like each other with different masks but still, it's a step in the right direction.

The big thing looks like da bomb.
I'm going to get it when I get paid, and I'm gonna take pics of it if y'all be patient.

Said Ratchet when he found a hole in the Fembot showers wall....

I LIKE the same bot different face thing, it screams of US, we are basically the same body with different heads. It also fits in with the storyline, Satellites of the same design but different functions. It shows us that they are made by the same company, think like Boeing producing multiple versions of the 747 one has Air-Force-1 with its extras, they also have those with casino's inside, they also have them with a Bar and spiral staircase. All are the same externally all have virtually identical interiors but at the neck they are vastly different.

Is this the big set ya'll were talking about a few days ago? http://tf08.figures.com/showphoto.php?photo=3355

Aoi

Yup. That's the one! March 08 for me.

And check out this slew of new shiz comin' our way:


Some look like Blot, others look like Gold, obviously no one is gonna collect all of 'em.

I like the Trans armor ones.
http://tf08.figures.com/showgallery.php?cat=599

Yea. I'm certainly passing on the playset. The next ones I'm interested is the Turbofly, and then maybe that bigger $20 set.

Hey, Dinobot Leader, on Mongra + Tek, is it the new style mini-figure, or is it old style?

Aoi

Same style. Lil' guys are all the same.