Addendum #2: Reprolabels for Bruticus
Normally, if I have something significant to add to a review, hopefully it will be very shortly after the review goes live. In such cases, I'll typically add whatever additional material I have onto the original review. When much time has passed, however, I do prefer to write up a new article. In this case, it probably works out for the best, anyway, as this addendum will be quite photo heavy.
In the recent review of the Fansproject Stunticons, I included a few group shots of Menasor standing with Devastator and Bruticus. I noted that Bruticus had had Reprolabels added to him since his review, and stated that someday perhaps I would get around to taking more detailed photos of this newly stickered up Bruticus. I have done so, and am now going to share these photos with you.
Before we get to Bruticus, however, we will first take looks at his individual components in both vehicle mode and robot mode. After that is done, we shall get to the gestalt.
I will make some comments, but I expect they will be limited and I will for the most part let the photos do most of the talking. When I do comment, please note that it will only be on what the stickers do to add to the figure(s). For actual reviews of the figures themselves, please refer back to the appropriate original articles:
In the recent review of the Fansproject Stunticons, I included a few group shots of Menasor standing with Devastator and Bruticus. I noted that Bruticus had had Reprolabels added to him since his review, and stated that someday perhaps I would get around to taking more detailed photos of this newly stickered up Bruticus. I have done so, and am now going to share these photos with you.
Before we get to Bruticus, however, we will first take looks at his individual components in both vehicle mode and robot mode. After that is done, we shall get to the gestalt.
I will make some comments, but I expect they will be limited and I will for the most part let the photos do most of the talking. When I do comment, please note that it will only be on what the stickers do to add to the figure(s). For actual reviews of the figures themselves, please refer back to the appropriate original articles:
Before we start looking at these photos, I ask you to recall that the Combaticons I am featuring here, official and third party alike, are all recent reissues with slightly differing color schemes when compared to their older versions. The reason this is worth mentioning is because these stickers were designed and released based on these older versions. So when ordering them, I have to admit that I was worried that the colors may not match. We'll see as we delve in if this would turn out to be the case or not.
Well then. This'll probably be a long one. Ready? Are you sitting comfortably? Good. Then we shall start the process by looking at the individual vehicle modes!
Well then. This'll probably be a long one. Ready? Are you sitting comfortably? Good. Then we shall start the process by looking at the individual vehicle modes!
Onslaught
New detailing available in this mode includes camouflage detailing around the cab, some chrome grating detail, and a few extra faction symbols. This (and the other two official figures) also had stickers that were designed to go inside of their Energon ports (artifacts of these molds' origins in the Energon toy line), but the interior of the ports contain convex pieces of transclearent plastic, which for the life of me I could not get a sticker to adhere to. Thus, I left those particular stickers off.
So far, the stickers visible on Onslaught's vehicle mode do a good job of matching him. The main worry here would have been the camouflage stickers, but I guess the chances were good that one of the four colors in the camo pattern would match well enough!
So far, the stickers visible on Onslaught's vehicle mode do a good job of matching him. The main worry here would have been the camouflage stickers, but I guess the chances were good that one of the four colors in the camo pattern would match well enough!
Brawl
Brawl gains some detailing on his front end that is on a few stickers with green backgrounds... and the green doesn't quite match up with the color of the green plastic. Still, I feel it manages to work. The other main additions noticeable in vehicle mode are an additional faction symbol, and a bit of detail on the rear. The rear stickers to match quite well with the color plastic they are on.
Vortex
Vortex rounds out the trio of official figures, and he gets quite a few new details. Color matching definitely comes into play on him, with him having some stickers that have a light grey background that is slightly lighter a grey then Vortex's plastic. Fortunately, the difference is not quite as obvious in person then it is in photographs. You can see this the best probably in the front view photograph, on the stickers to either side of the cockpit. Other stickers include one on top of the cockpit (which should have really clashed with the purple paint on the cockpit, but somehow I think it works), faction symbols on either side of the tail, and a black sticker filling in an indented portion of the mold on the top, along what will be the front of the legs in robot mode.
Blast Off
Blast Off has probably the most radical changes, and so I want to talk about them a bit first before getting to the photos. As mentioned in his original review, the first release of Blast Off re-imagined him as an unmanned drone, where as this release gave him cockpit windows giving him back his proper shuttle mode. The Reprolabels for him supply stickers that cover the whole front of the shuttle, giving you a G1 cartoon accurate purple front end rather then a G1 toy accurate brown front end. These stickers came in two options, one that maintained Blast Off as a drone, and one that gave him cockpit windows.
Now, if I had the earlier version of Blast Off, it would have been a no-brainer. Blast Off needs to be a shuttle! None of this drone crap for me! But I already had a Blast Off who was a shuttle. And toy accurate coloring was just fine with me.
So I get the stickers, and I start applying everything other then the purple front end stickers. But then, I start looking at it. And I look closely at the painted on cockpit windows. And it starts dawning on me that Fansproject didn't really paint them on well. I know I said I would talk mainly about the stickers (as I'd already reviewed the toys) so forgive me this digression... But frankly, since the original review, I had begun to become dissatisfied with the painted on cockpit. Normally, Fansproject does a good job with such things, but the cockpit windows were painted on with such a thin coat of red paint that they really didn't look good against the brown plastic. If Fansproject had used a thicker coat of paint, or a brighter red (or both) this likely wouldn't have been an issue... But it was, and it had started to bug me. And having had to look very closely at the toy as I applied the other stickers, it really started to bug me. And so, I thought to myself, "I guess I can try putting on the purple stickers... I wasn't sold on them before now, but if I find I don't like 'em, I could always peal them back off."
And so I put them on. And my goodness, they ended up looking a heck of a lot better then I thought they would!
Now, if I had the earlier version of Blast Off, it would have been a no-brainer. Blast Off needs to be a shuttle! None of this drone crap for me! But I already had a Blast Off who was a shuttle. And toy accurate coloring was just fine with me.
So I get the stickers, and I start applying everything other then the purple front end stickers. But then, I start looking at it. And I look closely at the painted on cockpit windows. And it starts dawning on me that Fansproject didn't really paint them on well. I know I said I would talk mainly about the stickers (as I'd already reviewed the toys) so forgive me this digression... But frankly, since the original review, I had begun to become dissatisfied with the painted on cockpit. Normally, Fansproject does a good job with such things, but the cockpit windows were painted on with such a thin coat of red paint that they really didn't look good against the brown plastic. If Fansproject had used a thicker coat of paint, or a brighter red (or both) this likely wouldn't have been an issue... But it was, and it had started to bug me. And having had to look very closely at the toy as I applied the other stickers, it really started to bug me. And so, I thought to myself, "I guess I can try putting on the purple stickers... I wasn't sold on them before now, but if I find I don't like 'em, I could always peal them back off."
And so I put them on. And my goodness, they ended up looking a heck of a lot better then I thought they would!
In addition to the aforementioned purple front end with cockpit windows you get three ovals on the nose (which I think are RCS thrusters), silver striping down the sides, silver striping with faction symbols on the rear, silver stripes on the tail fin, and (You guessed it!) silver stripes on the wings. In these photos you can see the stripes on the top of the wings, there are also matching stripes added to the bottom.
Swindle
Finally we come to Swindle. The stickers add some purple detailing to him, with stripes on his hood and patches on the rear of each side. The side patches also contain faction symbols. Swindle also gets some particularly nifty stickers that add the word "Combaticon" to his tires multiple times.
That's everybody, so let's see how they all look together!
That's everybody, so let's see how they all look together!
Looking really good! The official toys get some nice finishing touches, but the Fansproject toys in particular really benefit from the additions these stickers supply. I'm particularly surprised how much I like the purple nose on Blast Off, a feature that as mentioned I had initially planned to not use.
Well, that covers the vehicle mode... so we're half way done with the individual members of the team! For now we shall move onto robot mode!
Well, that covers the vehicle mode... so we're half way done with the individual members of the team! For now we shall move onto robot mode!
Onslaught
In addition to what we already saw in vehicle mode, Onslaught gets detail added to the tops of his shoulders, to his chest, to his abdomen (including a faction symbol), to his forearms, and to his hips. There's also a bit of silver grating on the outside of his legs and the tops of his feet that wasn't visible in vehicle mode. Finally, there's a sticker that it occurred to me I failed to photograph at all: there's a sticker that goes inside the handle area of the big double barreled gun. This sticker is not visible in vehicle mode, or when the gun is being held, so really the only time it might be visible is when you are looking at the gestalt mode from behind. And as you will see when we get there, in the only photo I took of the gestalt from the rear for this addendum, I have one of his guns stowed on his back covering where this sticker is!
Brawl
Brawl's additional detailing is subtle... So subtle that it didn't really photograph well! I suppose the sticker on the outside of each of his shoulders isn't too hard to see. There are also a pair of stickers on his stomach, one of which is just barely partially visible in the first photograph above. (If I'd photographed him from a more head on angle, you might have gotten a better view!) Finally, there is a faction symbol on his left forearm, but it cannot be seen because he is holding a gun in that hand. I guess I failed at photographing his Reprolabels! But that might also just go to show that the differences on him in robot mode are not that revolutionary.
Vortex
Also visible on Vortex as a robot are a sticker on the outside of each of his upper arms, a sticker on his groin, and a faction symbol on the front of his left arm. It sounds like not much, but many of his vehicle mode stickers remain prominent in robot mode, as well.
Blast Off
The only additional sticker visible in Blast Off's robot mode is a faction symbol... except it isn't terribly visible in these photographs! It becomes a victim, I think, of the fact that these stickers were originally designed for slightly different colored versions of these toys. It is a silver faction symbol, and it goes on the silver patch on his chest! I did, when applying the stickers, briefly consider trying to find a small purple one somewhere. (I usually have left over faction symbols lying around.) But when I applied it to see how it looked, I found that it did catch the light differently then the paint, and I could see it. Alas, this doesn't translate well to photographs. If you squint a bit, you can see it there, but you have to really look for it.
With the wings folded up, you can now see the stripes on their undersides. Not that they're any different then the stripes that were on the tops of the wings! The stripes on the tail fin translate to an edged blade on Blast Off's axe, and will serve the same purpose when the axe becomes a dagger for the gestalt mode.
With the wings folded up, you can now see the stripes on their undersides. Not that they're any different then the stripes that were on the tops of the wings! The stripes on the tail fin translate to an edged blade on Blast Off's axe, and will serve the same purpose when the axe becomes a dagger for the gestalt mode.
Swindle
Swindle only has one additional sticker above what was discussed when looking at his vehicle mode: a faction symbol just above his waist. But you know what? Swindle doesn't need anything else. With what he does have, he's now just about perfect!
So, here's everyone all together:
So, here's everyone all together:
Reprolabels sells these stickers as two separate sets*, so I suppose before we go on to the gestalt, I'll give some final thoughts on the two separate sets.
One set is for the three official figures. These stickers do add some nice touches, and I certainly don't regret buying them... but I would not call them essential. If you have the funds, sure why not? They make the figures look a bit better, and there's also some detail you will see that looks nice on the gestalt. But if you're on a budget, I'd call them skipable.
The other set is for the two Fansproject figures. This set, if you have these figures, I would go so far as to declare a must have! They really add great finishing touches to both figures, bringing their vehicle modes to life! With Blast Off, the purple nose came out really well! And the silver striping just pops on him. Swindle gets nice accents with the added purple, and the stickers on his tires are just an awesome touch!
* There are also available two separate sets designed to take the original, discarded Blast Off and Swindle figures and turn them into new characters. I did not get these stickers, however, so I could not comment on them beyond saying they look kind of cool in the photos on Reprolabel's own website. (You can view Blast Off, now named Quake, here. Swindle, now named Spinster, is here.) It should be noted, however, that I cannot comment on if there would be color matching issues if you try to use these stickers with the cast off figures from the Asian Exclusive Combaticon set.
Anyway, that's enough on the individual figures! Let's look at some photos of Bruticus!
One set is for the three official figures. These stickers do add some nice touches, and I certainly don't regret buying them... but I would not call them essential. If you have the funds, sure why not? They make the figures look a bit better, and there's also some detail you will see that looks nice on the gestalt. But if you're on a budget, I'd call them skipable.
The other set is for the two Fansproject figures. This set, if you have these figures, I would go so far as to declare a must have! They really add great finishing touches to both figures, bringing their vehicle modes to life! With Blast Off, the purple nose came out really well! And the silver striping just pops on him. Swindle gets nice accents with the added purple, and the stickers on his tires are just an awesome touch!
* There are also available two separate sets designed to take the original, discarded Blast Off and Swindle figures and turn them into new characters. I did not get these stickers, however, so I could not comment on them beyond saying they look kind of cool in the photos on Reprolabel's own website. (You can view Blast Off, now named Quake, here. Swindle, now named Spinster, is here.) It should be noted, however, that I cannot comment on if there would be color matching issues if you try to use these stickers with the cast off figures from the Asian Exclusive Combaticon set.
Anyway, that's enough on the individual figures! Let's look at some photos of Bruticus!
Bruticus
A lot of the added details from the individual members are still visible on the gestalt form. Most prominent is the purple nosecone on Blast Off. It really pops on Bruticus's shoulder! Really glad I decided to add it after all! If you look closely at the leg made from Brawl, you'll be able to see the added faction symbol on Brawl's arm that wasn't visible on his individual photos.
Bruticus, who already looked awesome, looks even more so now! As I often say when talking about Reprolabels, they really give him the finishing touches he needed to take an already great toy and bring it to the level of outstanding. That being said, I suppose in the end they aren't absolutely necessary. You can still have a perfectly serviceable Bruticus without the stickers. But if you can get them, you should do so! Or, if by chance you want them but are on a budget, you could be just fine with just the set for the Fansproject figures.
Well, that about wraps everything up. Don't forget the Yotsuya's Reviews Kickstarter, running until August 20th! It would be awesome if you at least take a look at it, and even more awesome if you could see your way to contribute, even a little bit. If nothing else, though, tell your friends! Heck, tell your enemies! Wouldn't you like to part your enemies from their money? I thought so. So tell everyone you dislike all about it! Addendum added 12 July 2014 by Yotsuya. Comments are welcomed! (Comments page shared with original Bruticus review.) |
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