Heroes of Cybertron wave 5 Review

[Tortle]

I was in Kroger's (a Virginian grocery store) a few days ago, when my eye caught the familiar purple grid of Decepticon packaging. Shore nuff, it was the Devastator Heroes of Cybertron PVC. I had never actually seen any HOC figures in the store and given the reports of horrible distribution, I doubted I ever would.

 

But after a late-night toy quest across Charlottesville, I managed to get the entire Metroplex wave (each figure comes with a piece of Metroplex). The wave consists of Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Omega Supreme, Megatron, Emperor Starscream, and Devastator.

 

I apologize if this review is just rehashing old news. Like I said, I've never seen HOC figures before so this is new, exciting stuff for me.

 

Company: Hasbro

Size: ~3" tall for the basic figures, and 4.5" tall for Metroplex

Price: $4 each at Kroger's

Packaging: Carded (classic red and purple grid style)

 

Looks: 3.5 out of 5

The figures are sculpted to match the cartoon and as such, there isn't much detail. Regardless, the sculpts are pretty sharp with nice, clean lines, and the animated-style sculpt works well for figures of this size. The color schemes are cool, with nice basic colors representative of each character. The paint application is good considering each figure is entirely painted, but paint sometimes bleeds into other areas and looks sloppy. Why Hasbro painted the whole figures instead of casting them in colored plastic and painting the details is beyond me.

 

Articulation: 3 out of 5

I don't expect any articulation from PVC figures, but these little guys all have some sort of articulation. All of the basic figures have shoulder, wrist and neck swivel joints. Omega Supreme also has fore-arm articulation. Metroplex has the most articulation of them all, with swivel joints at its hips, shoulders, wrists, and neck. Unfortunately, given their sculpts, the number of poses the figures can utilize is very limited.

 

Accessories: 3.5 out of 5

Again, I don't expect much in this category with PVCs, but the Heroes of Cybertron all come with a section of Metroplex, which you can build if you buy all the figures. This is my favorite aspect of the line: a bonus figure for buying a set! Unfortunately, the figures don't come with any character-specific accessories.

 

Value: 2 out of 5

These guys are way too expensive. As a comparison, Star Wars figures are larger, more detailed, and made of better quality plastic, but are still over-priced at $5. Four bucks for a 4" PVC is a rip.

 

Coolness: 4 out of 5

HOC has a good deal of "cool" going for it. As mentioned before, Metroplex is a sweet bonus for (and incentive to buy) a completed collection. Also, I really dig the scale. And I love G1 Transformer stuff!

 

Overall: 3.2 out of 5

Despite the reaming at the cash register, these guys are cool enough to warrant a place in my collection. I hope more of them become available in the stores, since the card back shows about 32 figures total. I know I could pick them up online, but they're not quite cool enough to fork over extra for shipping.

 

On with the pics! In the first pic, we see the Autobot team...

[Tortle]

Here's the Decepticons...

[Tortle]

And finally, here's Metroplex!

[Bonecrusher]

where about in kroger did you find the H.O.C figures?

[Quickshift]

I'll have to have my mom check in Columbus, OH for these - no Krogers around Cleveland, and Walgreens (the only known retailer carrying them) has since stopped carrying them. :(

[Bluestreak_26]

Hey there,

 

Found some in Bellingham, Washington -- Fred Mayer (the newer one on the north side of town near Bellis Fair). There was one complete set plus others (possibly a second).

 

I almost bought them because of the big-three, Omerga, Deva and the 'plexinator. It would just be nifty to have those -- but then I'd have to get the complete set.

 

I didn't buy them because, firstly, I agree bang-for-the-buck they fall a bit short for me; secondly, I've yet to buy any PVC stuff, and frankly I'm kind of afraid I'll like them and want more (I have far too much on the list with Energon, Alternators, Takara Reissues, and TRU Reissues); and thirdly, I might as well leave them for someone who's dying to get them (just like someone will leave me the Alt Hound/Streak that they don't really want -- right?).

 

Enjoy!

[Bonecrusher]

were in the store are they located?

[Bluestreak_26]

There're right beside the Energon stuff in the toy department in the last isle before the sporting goods.

 

Happy hunting.

[Tortle]

where about in kroger did you find the H.O.C figures?

It varies depending on the specific store. They were usually found in the toy section, but I'd have to do some looking around to find them. They seemed to camoflague themselves pretty well with the other toys, and often they weren't on the pegs but had fallen to the shelves below. In some stores, I found them in the seasonal section next to the pool and swimming toys. But although they were hard to find, every Kroger I went to had them, so you probably have a good chance of getting them.

 

I hope that helps!