After a long, LONG week filled with empty PO Boxes, finally my BT Hound got in. I gotta tell ya, it was worth the wait. This is easily the most kick ass toy in my collection. The painted die cast parts are almost impossible to tell from the molded plastic ones due to some good color matching. The die cast parts are most of the front clip and the doors. The bad thing here is that he can be a little tough to balance in robot mode as he's top heavy as hell. But the good thing is BT Hound has an overall solid, heavy feel that along with the detail lets you know this is a model moreso than a toy, although he's got lots of play value. The directions werent so hot. First off most of it is in Japanese, and its white line pictures over a black background, but I managed it pretty easy. Too bad his bio card is also in Japanese, I'd have liked to known what it says. Translations, anyone?

 

In Jeep mode, this guy is impossible to tell from any other high-quality die cast model of this size. The interior is a real good representation of the inside of my own '00 Wrangler, all the major details are right there. I like how they made the fragile shifters, steering wheel and mirrors out of a flexy plastic not likely to break. The shade of grey they used (WAY releived they didnt use tan) here is pretty close to the grey used when this body style came out in '96, but nowadays its almost black. The grey looks better against green for more contrast though, so I think it was a good choice. I'm not too swift on the color dark green, but thats what Hound always was and thats what he's gonna be now.

 

The exterior proportions of the Jeep are dead on. All the details are there from the hood catches and windshield tie down hardware to the gas cap and tailgate details. He has the hardtop style full doors that I wish my own Jeep had, and the door surround is even represented althouth that part doesn't open with the door on the real thing. They did this most likely to strenghten the thin upper door frame. You can tell he's an overseas-spec Wrangler due to the extensions that go from the bottom of his fenders to the bumper. I thought about dremeling these out to make him a US spec model, but that would add to the sorta hollow look his chest has in robot mode. I like how the rollbar is made of metal for the center piece and a stout plastic for the spreaders and the rear cage. I'd wondered how fragile that would be. Under the hood, his engine detail doesn't look a lot like a 4.0 6 cyl engine, but given his transformation what're ya gonna do? The working suspension is a neat gimmick although it functions like a 4 wheel independent setup rather than the solid axles the real thing has. Again, being a TF you're gonna have that sacrifice. The good part is that he sits up nice and tall, like he's got about a 3' lift kit. The downside to that is he uses replicated stock tires and wheels which look kind of puny. Some 1/24 scale 33' boggers on MT Challengers would have looked bitchin'. The one part on his Jeep mode that feels not so solid is his tailgate. The way it rotates around leaves it a little loose on its hinge.

 

Transforming Hound to robot mode is involved and intricate, but not so hard that its bothersome. Its about right for this caliber of TF. That transformation uses many of the same key movements as the G1 version, but with a lot more twists and turns. the front wheels still pivot back behind him, and his windshield still folds to his back, but not as flat this time. The front clip is still his chest and the rear is still the legs, but the way it was done actually makes sense this time, as do his arms.

 

Once in robot mode, his reseblence to the cartoon version is amazing. His head looks like a perfectly updated version of the original. Different in a lot of ways, but the sculpt has all the little cues that make it look like Hound. He has those big green forearms with the yellow stripes again, and of course has the Jeep's front clip for his chest. His upper arms have that same cylindrical shoulder with biceps around just slightly smaller than the forearms. The way his shoulders swing out is a little unnerving though. The pivot is on a thinnish looking plastic piece that really should have been metal, since the ball joint is big, and tight. But at least it is high quality plastic. No BW type watch-me-crack-apart stuff here. His wrists rotate, and his forefinger is articulated separately from the middle thru pinky fingers. Speaking of articulation, he's got stout ball joints at his shoulders and hips and hing joints at the elbows, and wrists and double hinges at the knees and feet. The feet swing side to side and backwards and forwards to accomodate different leg poses and still stay flat footed. Some of the movements are limited by the way the joints are made, but you still wont run out of new ways to pose him.

 

It's about time Hound got a decent looking robot mode. Hound stands tall and stout this time around; finally he looks like the big bruiser of a robot you'd expect an offroad vehicle to become. He's about a half inch taller than Armada super prime's cab robot, and just about as broad at the shoulders. In the pictures online his legs may look a little thin, but once in hand, his proportions are right on. He gets accused of being sort of hollow in his chest, and thats true to a point, but its not that noticeable unless you stare at him from the side. Its a small and unavoidable consequence of having to stuff those massive arms under the hood. He's got some kibble on his back, but good luck trying to hide an exposed interior with a rollcage. I thought the tailgate issue could have been handled better; if they would have placed the middle hinge closer to the pivot, it would lay flush against his left leg instead of kind of sticking out. I'd just as soon they 86'd the spare also, never did like those on the back of a Jeep. And speaking of that, it is a pretty clever place to hide his weapon. Which like the other BT/Alt weapons is pathetically small compared to the robot. Can you say "noisy cricket"? Having Hound retain his rifle, shoulder rocket and turret gun would have been better, even if 2 of those parts couldnt store on the vehicle.

 

Sitting next to BT Hound, his G1 version looks a little like one of those power wheels Jeeps. The BT version is about 2 and a half times bigger. And when you compare the robot modes, the G1 version looks like he's a minicon. Or his Mini-me. Either way, this is the perfect example of what the BT/Alt line is supposed to be about. He's radically different in engineering from his G1 counterpart, yet is instantly recognizable as Hound. His vehicle mode is the perfect upgrade, and his robot mode is everything he should have been the first time around.

 

If the Alt version would have been available when I got this, I'd have gotten it for $30 cheaper. There isn't as much die cast on him as you might believe and judging from the Alt versions of Sideswipe and Smokescreen the quality is pretty close. But to have and enjoy this guy right now, I don't miss the extra green. In the future the Takara version may even be worth more.

 

Overall this is a kick ass toy. I highly recommend this guy for anyone who is a fan of Jeeps, Hound, or just the BT/Alt series altogether. You can bet that I will readily purchase any repaints/remolds of him as soon as they come out.

My review would have been almost identicle. I liked Hound much better than either the Sideswipe or Smokescreen molds.

 

My only real gripe is his hip joints are already dangerously loose on mine, and i've only transformed him twice...~shakes fist at die cast top half~

 

:tfgrin

Too bad his bio card is also in Japanese, I'd have liked to known what it says. Translations, anyone?

Hound manual Translated :wave

He's my favorite BT/Alternator so far. My only complaint is the tiny gun, but other than that, it's an A+ TF easily.

I kinda like the little gun.

It wasn't my intension to buy him, but when I was in the store I had money left and I buyed him.

He's my only BT/Alt so I'm very proud that I've got him.

He's cool

Two more weeks, two more weeks, two more weeks...

Two more weeks, two more weeks, two more weeks...

You read my mind. I'm sick at my stomach with impatience...

Too bad his bio card is also in Japanese, I'd have liked to known what it says. Translations, anyone?

Hound manual Translated :wave

Thanx, Dewd! They actually did a pretty good job on the Jeep history write up. I should know, I know more about Jeeps than anyone on Earth really should.

 

The hip joints on mine are tight yet, but if they get loose, a little shot of silicone in there will tighten it right up. Been using that cheat for a while. And your right, that die cast top half makes balancing him like trying to balance a cinderblock on top of a baseball bat.

 

Believe me, he's well worth the wait. But now that I've had a taste of TF Jeep goodness, Im pining for the repaint(s)!

It's a Jeep thing...

 

yeah, this is my favorite Transformer right now, it's on hit...

 

Outrider74 i got a 00 wrangler too...

 

NayTron[HH]

It's a Jeep thing...

 

yeah, this is my favorite Transformer right now, it's on hit...

 

Outrider74 i got a 00 wrangler too...

 

NayTron[HH]

Rock on, Brotha! Always good to see another Jeep-head out there.