Review #17: Reveal the Shield Perceptor
So since the first two reviews in March were both Optimus Prime reviews, I had considered making March an Optimus themed month... but today I was like, "Eh, the heck with that idea. I feel like reviewing Perceptor right now." So, without further ado, Reveal the Shield Perceptor!
The Reveal the Shield line is, of course, one of the spiritul successors to the Classics line, which were modern day reimaginings of Generation One characters. G1 Perceptor was a microscope, and of course in modern times Hasbro alas seems to have a prejudice against non-vehicle alt-modes. So now he becomes some sort of scientific expedition vehicle. As a nod to the G1 version's second "tank" alt-mode, the rear of this vehicle has treads rather then wheels. |
Reprolabels took some inspiration from the vehicle's design and Perseptor's deep red colouration to make his alt-mode spicifically into a vehicle from the United States Antarctic Program, complete with logos on his doors. Before this I was kind of lukewarm towards his new alt-mode, what with it not being a microscope. But the added touch of being connected to a real-life research organization makes this Perceptor, who has always been a scientest, extra cool.
Additional detail Reprolabels added to the vehicle mode includes an Autobot logo on the hood, better looking headlights, chrome for the side mirrors, mechanical detailing over what was the rear side windows, and three stickers that read, "14X," as a nod to his microscope history. |
Even aside from the additions from Reprolabels, this is a nice looking vehicle. It did, I will admit, take some time before I liked it. Some of this was, I suppose, a bit of my being stoubern because of his lack of being a microscope. (For a while I considered not even getting him, but since I found him in a discount store I gave into an impulse.) A lot of this, however, was because for the longest time I wasn't quite transforming him right and thus his front end didn't quite fit together as it should. (Oddly enough, what was preventing the front from coming together was a mistransformtion in the rear of the vehicle.) The moral here is take your time when you first get this toy and make sure you're putting everything together as it should be. If you do it right, everything will fall nicely into place. And if it isn't falling into place, don't force it! Although I was lucky enough to not have anything break, this toy does have a few thin tabs that I could see being fragile if stressed.
He's got himself a nice paint job. Of particular note is the rear treads that, on a lazier painted toy, would likely have been all black. Here, however, while the treads themselves are black, the detail inside of the treads has a very dark metalic paint. It looks very good, even more so in person then it does in the photos here. Sitting atop the vehicle is a search light which, if you wish for the vehicle to have an attack mode, can be transformed into what, in Perceptor's robot mode, will be his shoulder cannon. On this cannon you can see some chromed parts, which is somewhat unusual on a modern day Hasbro figure. Generation One Perceptor had ample chrome, himself, so this (and much additional chrome that will become visible in robot mode), in addition to the excellent paint job, make for a figure that is an excellent homage to the original. (And, interestingly, while Takara usually loves the chrome on these figures, in this case their version of this Perceptor has silver painted plastic, or even unpainted gray plastic, rather then chromed parts. This makes for an inversion of the usual hardcore fan perceptions that Takara's toys always have superior decos.)
He's got himself a nice paint job. Of particular note is the rear treads that, on a lazier painted toy, would likely have been all black. Here, however, while the treads themselves are black, the detail inside of the treads has a very dark metalic paint. It looks very good, even more so in person then it does in the photos here. Sitting atop the vehicle is a search light which, if you wish for the vehicle to have an attack mode, can be transformed into what, in Perceptor's robot mode, will be his shoulder cannon. On this cannon you can see some chromed parts, which is somewhat unusual on a modern day Hasbro figure. Generation One Perceptor had ample chrome, himself, so this (and much additional chrome that will become visible in robot mode), in addition to the excellent paint job, make for a figure that is an excellent homage to the original. (And, interestingly, while Takara usually loves the chrome on these figures, in this case their version of this Perceptor has silver painted plastic, or even unpainted gray plastic, rather then chromed parts. This makes for an inversion of the usual hardcore fan perceptions that Takara's toys always have superior decos.)
Well, the talk of the figure's deco above delved a bit already into the robot mode, so let us take a look at it, shall we? I think as a robot this is an excellent representation of Perceptor, taking many visual cues from his original animation model. As mentioned before, there is even more chrome visable now, with the knobs on his lower arms (on his original toy, the dials for his microscope mode) and the ample chrome around his chest. He also gains some blue in this mode that he didn't have in his vehicle mode, and in general his colour scheme matches his original toy's colours quite well.
In addition to the stickers talked about in his vehicle mode, in this mode you can also see some stickers that match some of his G1 detailing on his upper legs, and some additional chrome added on his belly. The mechanical detail that in vehicle mode was over his rear windows now is on the side of his legs, and is similar in detail to stickers that were in the same place on the G1 figure. A rubsign that was on his chest has been replaced with a standard faction symbol sticker. Finally, some detailing has been added to the targeting display on his shoulder cannon. (We'll ignore that this display is no where near his head... while not functional, it looks cool!) In a nod to this character's apearance in comic books, he also comes with a sticker to give him a monicale. I chose not to use this one, however. |
You may see he is holding a gun... This did not come with the figure, and is in fact a gun from the G1 fugure! When I noticed it fit in his hand, I quite liked how it looked. For a while, since I typically display my G1 Perceptor as a microscope, I was content having just one of these guns. Eventually, though, I decided to hunt down a second one on eBay for the newer figure to hold. (As an added accessory, there is of course no storage for it in the alt-mode.)
I don't normally include photos that directly compare a "Classics" style figure with its original Generation One counterpart, but because of the shared gun I thought I'd make an exception here. It works well with both figures but, because of the figure's smaller scale, I think it actually looks a bit nicer with the newer one!
To the right you can see that the panel on his chest can be opened. Previously this provided access to the rubsign, but doesn't have much practical purpose now that it has been replaced with a standard faction symbol sticker. |
As a somewhat less then practical matter, however, some fans have used this as part of their efforts to try and come up with their own microscope modes for this figure. To be honest, while it would have been awesome if these efforts had succeeded, I've yet to see one that doesn't in my opinion just look like a horribly mangled robot or the result of some terrible vehicle accident. Thus, I see no need to include photos of such a thing in my review. But I wished to make my readers aware of such a thing so that they could scour the internet in search of photos or instructions if they wish to do so.
In the one major drawback of this mode, the figure's arms and backpack (formed from the kibble of the vehicle's front end) don't really lock into place well. Once you get the figure posed and get the backpack in place, it will stay. But as soon as you touch the arms or backpack again, they're likely to become loose once more. Not a problem for adult collectors who will likely want to put the figure into a nice pose and stick it on a shelf, but I could see kids (who for some silly reason like to play with their toys) becoming frustrated with this.
Speaking of posability, on this figure it is decent but not outstanding. The head is on an extremely restricted swivel. The arms are the best part where posability is concerned, with ball joints in the shoulders, a 360 degree rotation below the shoulers, elbows that bend over 90 degrees, and wrists that rotate 360 degrees. Nothing in the waist, alas, but this doesn't bother me as much on Deluxe class figures and is extra forgivable here as it would have been difficult to implement because of the needs of the transformation. The hips have ball joints, with a 360 degree rotation just below them. The knees bend a bit less then 90 degrees, but enough to be serviceable. The ankles have ball joints, but they are mainly for transformation and provide limited use for posing. |
Well, here's the size comparison with a Sailor Moon DVD case. He's about standard Deluxe class size.
The robot mode looks outstanding. The transformation can be frustrating if you haven't quite figured it out, but if you do have it is no problem. The vehicle mode... for kids with no nostalgic atachment, it should be fine. For adult collectors, if they're hung up on him being a microscope, they're bound to be disapointed. I'll even admit I was a little disapointed at first. It quickly grew on me, however (especially once I finally figured out what I had wrong on the transformation!) and if you can get past his not being a microscope, it is a pretty good one. His vehicle is made even better by the touches Reprolables brought to it! (The same, of course could be said of the robot mode.) All in all, this is a figure I would recomend for both children and adults, and especially for adults you may find much to enjoy with the Reprolabels set as well. As a more recent figure, while it may be a bit above regular retail at this point, for the time being you should be able to find one for a not horribly inflated price. Review added 19 March by Yotsuya. Please comment! |