Review #51: e-HOBBY G1 Orion Pax and Dion
Hello, everybody! Back again with another review! "What's this?" you all say. "Over a year with no new reviews, then three in less then a week? Am I dreaming?" No, no you're not. I really did want to get back to doing this, so I am trying to be consistent about it. Also, I launched a Kickstarter last night that is related to this website, so if I dare to ask for people's support, I'd better be willing to show that I am, indeed, back in the reviewing business!
So what is this Kickstarter? What ignoble purpose do I have in mind? What lofty goal, upon which the fates of absolutely no one rests? Simple. I want the internet to buy me a toy. Why? Well, in the words of my favorite Youtube video reviewer, "Why not? Dare I say, why not?" And this is another good reason to keep at the reviews... If I want the internet to buy me a toy, I'd better get through more of the toys I already have to justify the need! Incidentally, if you're interested in checking out the Kickstarter, and its many semi-sweet rewards, please do so! Well, with the shameless plug out of the way, shall we get onto the review? Yes! Let us do so! But for this review, first we shall need a bit of background information. |
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Who are Orion Pax and Dion? Well, Orion Pax is, simply, Optimus Prime. He is a younger, more idealistic and peaceful version of Optimus from before Cybertron was overtaken by war and he had to step up and become the leader of the Autobots. Dion was young Orion Pax's best friend. As for who he became... well, there are theories. Although a few years ago the official word came down that Dion was only ever Dion.
To the left we have Orion Pax. (And his girlfriend, Ariel.) It has been a while since I've watched the one episode in which he appeared, but I cannot recall if they ever showed his vehicle mode. (Certainly the internet was no help in finding if he had one.) To the right is Dion, and as you can see they did show both of his modes.
Back in the original days of the G1 toy line, these characters never had toys. This is not terribly surprising. Technically, Orion Pax is Optimus Prime, and we did have a toy or two of him! As for Dion, he was just a one-off character. There were many of those who never had toys, and I doubt many were ever much upset by this. |
Two figures that were in the G1 toy line were a pair of characters introduced in the 1986 film, Kup and Wheelie. Why is this relevant to a review of Orion Pax and Dion? I won't say quite yet... but don't worry, we'll get to that.
In 1986 Kup and Wheelie were available separately. Kup was again sold in the 1987 assortment, loosing his original gun accessory and this time becoming a Targetmaster with a new gun that could transform into a robot. Another thing that 1987 Kup lost was any die cast parts, which in this version were replaced with plastic. In 2005, Kup and Wheelie were both reissued in Japan, now sold together in one package. Aside from a minor color difference, Wheelie was unchanged. Kup regained all of the die cast from his original release, and also came with both of his weapons -- the regular gun and the Targetmaster partner. |
At this point, you're probably saying to yourself, "Okay, this is all well and good. But what the heck to Kup and Wheelie have to do with Orion Pax and Dion? Well, in the same year that the reissue of Kup and Wheelie came out, Japanese online retailer eHobby took those two toys, recolored them, and sold them as an exclusive release of a G1 Orion Pax and Dion. So, how do these two fair? Let's delve in and find out!
I should mention that the figures have been modified. I put a Reprolabels faction symbol on Dion. Orion Pax has been more heavily modified, but the only thing visible in vehicle mode will be quite a few Reprolabels. Where as originally he just came with Kup's sticker sheet, he now has stickers of his own. |
Looking more closely at Orion Pax, the new coloring of this mold really looks good and -- when combined with the new stickers that bring over some of that Optimus-y detailing -- really help give this version of the mold a unique identity. I say again, I think he looks good! Particularly amusing to me is the sticker, visible from the rear, that is the word "Go!" with a big arrow, modeled after a sticker from the floor of the G1 Optimus's trailer. Here it just looks absurd... but somehow wonderfully so!
The coloring of the toy does a pretty interesting trick. Where as with Kup, the toy is primarily one color and the vehicle mode seems like a unified whole, on Orion Pax the red front end and the greyish rear very much brings to mind the cab and trailer of Optimus Prime. The Reprolabel on each side that is reminiscent of Optimus's trailer's stripes really helps sell this. All together it makes a vehicle, that while physically is identical to Kup, really takes on a different vibe unique to this release of the mold.
As this release comes with everything that came with the reissue Kup, he gets to have recolored versions of both of Kup's weapons. Quite heavily armed for a peaceful, pre-war version of the character who had yet to become Optimus Prime! The Targetmaster Partner, who with Kup was named Recoil, is now named Barrelroller. One assumes that this is a homage to Roller, although I never associated him with barrels before. Perhaps he likes playing Donkey Kong? (Trying to find a less silly explanation: Orion Pax was a dock worker, perhaps this work included rolling barrels.)
Since the Kup mold was originally designed with the idea that he would come with one weapon, there is only storage for one of them on his vehicle mode. (But heck, for a G1 toy, even one is pretty good!)
As this release comes with everything that came with the reissue Kup, he gets to have recolored versions of both of Kup's weapons. Quite heavily armed for a peaceful, pre-war version of the character who had yet to become Optimus Prime! The Targetmaster Partner, who with Kup was named Recoil, is now named Barrelroller. One assumes that this is a homage to Roller, although I never associated him with barrels before. Perhaps he likes playing Donkey Kong? (Trying to find a less silly explanation: Orion Pax was a dock worker, perhaps this work included rolling barrels.)
Since the Kup mold was originally designed with the idea that he would come with one weapon, there is only storage for one of them on his vehicle mode. (But heck, for a G1 toy, even one is pretty good!)
So far, with only the vehicle mode looked at, I am quite happy with Orion Pax! He took a preexisting toy and made good reuse of him to represent a different character. When I look at this, I definitely don't think to myself, "Well, that's a red, grey, and blue Kup!" Nope. I see this as Orion Pax. Well done, e-HOBBY!
Can the same be said of Dion?
Can the same be said of Dion?
Well, the coloring is good, and matches what you would expect to find on Dion... But... Well... Let me save my opinions on this for when we get to robot mode, so I don't have to repeat myself.
So then... Robot mode!
So then... Robot mode!
Now that's an Orion Pax! I know, he looks a bit funky from the back and, especially, the side, but from the perspective of a toy originally designed for 1986 this is all quite forgivable. When looked at from the front (or from an angle that emphasis the front) he looks like a boxy, not quite screen accurate, and thus perfect G1 Orion Pax toy. But I must note that, out of the box, this is not the case. And here we come to the largest modification made to this figure: a custom head.
To the right, you can see the original head. This was just a recolor of Kup's head, and with that head in place it really is hard not to look at the robot and just think, "red and dark blue Kup." But with the new head, along with some help from the Reprolabels, Orion Pax really comes alive as his own character! The new head was not a mass produced third party idem, but rather is a piece made by a member of the TFormers.com forums which he made available to the public. This was some time ago, so I could not say if they are still available. But if you happen to have this toy yourself and think you'd like a new noggin for it, it may be worth looking into!
To the right, you can see the original head. This was just a recolor of Kup's head, and with that head in place it really is hard not to look at the robot and just think, "red and dark blue Kup." But with the new head, along with some help from the Reprolabels, Orion Pax really comes alive as his own character! The new head was not a mass produced third party idem, but rather is a piece made by a member of the TFormers.com forums which he made available to the public. This was some time ago, so I could not say if they are still available. But if you happen to have this toy yourself and think you'd like a new noggin for it, it may be worth looking into!
Articulation... well, he's a G1 brick! You can kind of nod his head ever so slightly. (This is true whichever head you have on him.) Other then that, everything is in his arms. Most of what is there is mainly because it is also needed for transformation. His shoulders (which sit a little low on his torso) can rotate and can raise outward. He technically has an elbow, but it bends in the wrong direction to be very useful -- side to side rather then forward. Strangely, he does have one extra piece of articulation: his wrists can swivel. Other then that, though, all he does is stand there and look awesome.
In robot mode you can see one sticker left over from his Kup days: the large silver sticker in his collar area. I suppose, technically, with the new stickers you were supposed to leave this off. But since nothing else went there, I figured, "What the heck?" I think it still looks good on him, and doesn't stick out as out of place with everything else. Amusingly, if you look closely at this sticker, one of the details on it is a pair of 5" floppy disc drives. Ah, the 80's of it is astounding! Since he has two hands, an advantage he has as a robot is that he is able to hold both of his guns. |
Overall, without modification he does come off as a recolored Kup. But with the new head and stickers, he is an amazing Orion Pax!
Before we move onto Wheelie, let us take a closer look at Orion Pax's Targetmaster partner, Barellroller. So far we've seen him as a gun. But, of course, with Targetmasters you get guns that transform into robots! As mentioned above, Kup's partner Recoil was recolored to make Barrelroller.
Barrelroller is a good looking little robot. Obviously, he has no resemblance to the Roller that is associated with Optimus Prime, but using the name with this guy as a homage is still a nice touch. He features no articulation. (Unless you count that you can use one of his transformation joints to make him bow.) The faction symbol on his chest is a Reprolabel. |
So, Orion Pax is good! (Well, once modified.) Barrelroller is good! That's two thirds of what you get with this package. How about the third? Is Dion a good figure? Does he transcend his origins as Wheelie?
Eh... Not so much. Frankly, there is just no looking at this figure in either mode -- but especially in robot mode -- and not seeing Wheelie! That said, it isn't a bad recolor. The mold looks good in these colors. But it still comes off as just a differently colored Wheelie.
For articulation, Wheelie... er, Dion doesn't have much. His arms can swing around at the shoulders, and that's pretty much it. I suppose, technically, he had joints in his hips and his ankles, but these are mainly for transformation and good luck getting him to stand without his legs positioned straight. (Heck, sometimes it seems you need a bit of luck to get him to stand even when they are straight.
Frankly, G1 Wheelie was never a good toy. Even for a G1 minicar, he came off as ugly. Sadly, this carries over all too well with Dion.
For articulation, Wheelie... er, Dion doesn't have much. His arms can swing around at the shoulders, and that's pretty much it. I suppose, technically, he had joints in his hips and his ankles, but these are mainly for transformation and good luck getting him to stand without his legs positioned straight. (Heck, sometimes it seems you need a bit of luck to get him to stand even when they are straight.
Frankly, G1 Wheelie was never a good toy. Even for a G1 minicar, he came off as ugly. Sadly, this carries over all too well with Dion.
Well, that about wraps it up So here we have a photo of Orion Pax, Barrelroller, and Wheelie standing with a standard sized DVD case for size reference.
So, in the end, while it takes some modification to get him there this is an excellent G1 representation of Orion Pax. As an almost ten year old Japanese online retailer exclusive, he may be a bit hard to come by, but if you like what you see I would definitely recommend him. Especially if you can also get a new head for him. Barrelroller is a fun addition that goes well with Orion Pax. As for Dion? Well, let us just say that I doubt anyone would buy this set for him. If he was sold on his own, I would not recommend him. But as part of a set? Eh, why not? Review added 10 July 2014 by Yotsuya. Comments are welcomed! And don't forget, between now and 20 August, to check out the "Buy Me a Toy" Kickstarter! |