Transmitte

I got Autobot Skids last night and he's a mixed bag. He's become a line filler in the ground war for the Autobots to front linesman with all the weapons his frame is carrying now. Two shoulder mounted weapons, the under slung forearms weapons, two retractable missile pods along with two hand held weapons that combine for a larger rifle. This bot is ready to lay forth with the damage. He makes for a nifty little squat racer too and has some nice designs and the G1 inspired red/white on the sides of the doors. I appreciate the red paint apps for the rims on the wheels instead of just full on black plastic all the way around and the silver for the grill and lights(I was hoping they would not do a TF Prime Rumble set up on again and low and behold, they didn't!) His bot mode is pretty nice too and he has a very well designed head and face. Now the real business: He's a bit back heavy with the roof/windshield back piece and the wings/doors and without some form of a heel spur, you have to find a way to balance him so he doesn't topple backwards. Speaking of those feet, the transformation to get his feet out and how they engineered it is neat/fun, so that does help as well, and not to mention it looks like he has thrusters in the bottom of his feet to boot! His shoulders are limited in movement and hamper pose-ability but we've all come across before. One thing I did come across was the hip pieces were not allowing him to bend his upper legs forward do to a small plastic ridge design on the top of them and rubs the top inside of the pelvic area*. This was causing a lot of issues with balancing, so I popped the legs off, switched the upper thigh/hip joint parts on the legs and that made a huge difference(*the cup that the ball joint fit into are not centered in the hip socket on the leg joint, hence...) but now they won't quite bend backwards, which is not a total loss/deal breaker. Upside is that this did not alter the altmode and it fits together and transforms just fine. I would have to give him a B-. possibly a C due to having to do some parts switching and work with him on his balancing issues, but the sheer amount of firepower he brings to the table keeps him in the game. I do recommend you get him if you see him.

:agree

Interesting fix I came across over this past weekend. Rubber bumpers. TFC's Not Superion and Not Devastator we're having issues not standing up right/doing the splits due to being on surfaces that are not conducive to polished plastics standing upright without a serious base on things slick/easy to slide surfaces like a shelf or a desk top(and also because the plastic is somewhat shiny/slick as well). I found these little bumpers at wal-mart(about 2.50/3.00 a pack) in the hardware section and applied them to the bottom of their feet, one in front, one in back. Granted, this does not fix the real issue with the hips being a little loose on the combiners themselves but it does keep the feet planted instead of trying to just slide out from under the torso and crotch area where the weight distribution begins on these combiners. The minor downside is that it looks like the are just ever so slightly floating, but in the midst of multiple figures around them, that gets lost in the clutter. Perhaps a little shaving down may help that. So far so good after five days and no sagging of the stance of the figures and they even seem somewhat more stable. Hope this helps some of you out!

That's sad when a KO company is improving on your toy for you.

I like the look over all but I'm iffy on the half track/treads however.

Horrible shoe color and design(IMHO) and yet another high priced repaint. Go out for a PASS "megatron".

He's kinda rough in alt mode but it is prototype stage after. Bot mode looks kinda beefy however.

Ugh, seeing them side by side, I'm getting a serious dislike of "Butter Thighs" even more.

I'm already debating selling this guy. I don't think a new head will help with his overall looks.

If these are a fairly decent representation of Grimmy at half or so the cost, I'm okay with this. If not, take a leap you toad.

I'm really starting to get combiner fatigue. I'll finish getting "Diesel" for the FP Menasor, but after that, my wallet is on hiatus for several months.

Yo dawg, I heard you like add ons...

I'm going to get this simply because it's a markedly better look for the combiner mode, but this will most likely be my last TFC purchase. I feel like they're taking advantage of the fan base by throwing on this add on for yet more cash. The price they charge for these figures should already have these added in.

I finally found an Orion Pax locally last night. I was initially going to pass on this figure due to size and modest indifference but after seeing some reviews and actually seeing it in person, I gave in. This is a fun figure despite nearing scout class in size but having better than average deluxe figure joint capabilities makes up the difference. Having two weapons, his Ion Blaster and enrgon Axe(more like a halberd) really helps round out the toy. I would have liked to have seen a voyager Pax, but I'm not sure where he would fit on the shelve in the size motif of things, but that's nothing new to us buyers of all things bots. Great articulation from ankles all the way to his ball jointed neck with the only real draw back being no rotation joint above or below the knee joints, but his has hips and thigh rotation, so a fair trade off(not to mention it might have made the transformation a bit odd/difficult). Even his wrist have rotation which is a nice touch to the stow away hands feature which normally is not added. His head is on the small side but it does have excellent detail for a decent trade off. His alt mode as a truck of sorts is kinda nifty and is a fun transformation to and from with a healthy nod to how Optimus transforms to and from. I've seen a custom of this mold made into Kup, and to be honest, it really suits it damn nicely(Ya listening repaint happy Hasbro?) If you're on the fence about him, I'd say do it, especially since they are only 12.97 at wal-mart, but if the IDW line is not your thing, fair play there too, but as a TF fan, you would be doing yourself a disservice by skipping on him.

Hate to sound like a basher of movie toys but unless they are supremely kick ass, I'm off that wagon. Too much other good stuff I would rather get than what they have put out toy wise of late when it comes to movieverse items.