Ruminations #1: Hasbro's
Combiner Wars Superion and Menasor
Howdy folks, Yotsuya here! This is a bit of a strange article, as it is not a review, as much as it is a preview! (Hopefully you'll forgive my listing it on the "All Reviews" index. I don't exactly have a "Ruminations" index.) This is me presenting my thoughts on some newly announced figures scheduled to come out next year.
Hasbro dropped a bombshell at the recent San Diego Comic Con (SDCC). No, not this Bombshell:
Hasbro dropped a bombshell at the recent San Diego Comic Con (SDCC). No, not this Bombshell:
Although I do look forward to getting him when he comes out!
The bombshell I speak of is... Combiners! That's right, Hasbro's doing "Classics" style combiners! And there was much rejoicing. (Yay...) |
It wasn't long ago that Hasbro toyed a bit with a Combiner, releasing a set of Combaticons styled after their appearance in the Fall of Cybertron video game. These were not figures I picked up myself (they were a design that would not, I felt, fit well in with a Classics collection, for which I already had a lovely group of Combaticons, anyway.) And there were some definite problems with the set, the biggest of which (in my opinion) being that all five figures in the set were the same size class (Deluxe) making for a figure that was not well proportioned. The central figure (in this case, Onslaught) of any five-member team of this sort really should be at least one size class larger then the others!
Still, for those into the Fall of Cybertron aesthetic, or perhaps those hungry for a new combiner team but not willing to go third party, this set was very much a success. So much so that there were multiple recolors and even a retool into an Autobot team:
Still, for those into the Fall of Cybertron aesthetic, or perhaps those hungry for a new combiner team but not willing to go third party, this set was very much a success. So much so that there were multiple recolors and even a retool into an Autobot team:
From left to right: SDCC Exclusive Bruticus, mass retail Bruticus, Amazon.com exclusive G2 Bruticus, and Autobot team Ruination. Photos from TFWiki.
The success of these toys must have shown Hasbro that there was a market in modern day toy lines for combining teams. Because earlier this year they hinted, with a very Superion-ish silhouette, that something was coming... And then at this past weekend's SDCC they made the big reveal! 2015 was to see a release of at least two new combiners in the form of a modern update of both the Aerialbots (Superion) and the Stunticons (Menasor)!
This was met, as mentioned, with a lot of rejoicing! Now obviously, with it still being only the middle of 2014 as I write this, unless I am hiding a Police Box in the yard or a nice DeLorean in the garage, I do not yet have any of these figures. So, why am I talking about them on a review site?
Simple. There are other (mainly) third party options available for these characters now, and some people may be asking themselves, "Should I go for these new Hasbro ones next year, or explore what is available to me now?"
First thing to get out of the way is cost. If that is an issue to you, wait for the Hasbro ones. Most third party combiner options will set you back close to (if not well over, depending on the company) $400.00. The Hasbro options, while I cannot say for sure until they hit shelves and we see what they are priced, will be unlikely to exceed $100.00 per team. So that is quite a significant savings!
Now, how about if price isn't the main concern? Well, let us look at each team. First, we'll take a look at the Aerialbots.
For this team, there are two good third party options. One is an add-on kit for an official set of toys from Fansproject, similar to what they did with Bruticus. In this case, however, the add-on is purely extra parts, and does not go so far as replacing two members of the team with new figures.
This was met, as mentioned, with a lot of rejoicing! Now obviously, with it still being only the middle of 2014 as I write this, unless I am hiding a Police Box in the yard or a nice DeLorean in the garage, I do not yet have any of these figures. So, why am I talking about them on a review site?
Simple. There are other (mainly) third party options available for these characters now, and some people may be asking themselves, "Should I go for these new Hasbro ones next year, or explore what is available to me now?"
First thing to get out of the way is cost. If that is an issue to you, wait for the Hasbro ones. Most third party combiner options will set you back close to (if not well over, depending on the company) $400.00. The Hasbro options, while I cannot say for sure until they hit shelves and we see what they are priced, will be unlikely to exceed $100.00 per team. So that is quite a significant savings!
Now, how about if price isn't the main concern? Well, let us look at each team. First, we'll take a look at the Aerialbots.
For this team, there are two good third party options. One is an add-on kit for an official set of toys from Fansproject, similar to what they did with Bruticus. In this case, however, the add-on is purely extra parts, and does not go so far as replacing two members of the team with new figures.
Now, while not the most "G1" looking Superion, definitely better then how he looked without the upgrades. And overall, not a bad take on the Aerialbot team. But there is a bit of a problem with this set. Even with the upgrade kit, he's kind of small. You can see this when he is standing next to the Fansproject augmented Bruticus. This may not be so bad when it is just those two, but when you consider that Bruticus is a bit small next to other third party combiners, and then figure that Superion is even smaller... Well, it leads to a problem for him to look good with other combiners. Now, I am not as much as a stickler for scale as some people out there, but I at least like my combiners to look okay standing next to each other!
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Then there was the TFC Toys version, known as Uranos. If the issue with the Fansproject version was that it was too short, this figure would certainly not have that problem! TFC Combiners tend towards the taller end of the Combiner spectrum. They also tend towards the more expensive end, however. And, while certainly more "G1" looking then the Fansproject upgraded set, it must be said that TFC Toys does tend to be a bit revisionist in their interpretations, so much so that they also sell additional kits to undo some of this revision, costing extra money to some people for them to get a figure that matches "how it should have looked in the first place."
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Here, at last, we have the upcoming Hasbro one. A quick note before I continue: Hasbro stock photography is ofter taken by, to be kind, idiots, and yes, it looks like this set has the same figure twice for the arms. This is not the case in reality, and on other photos we have seen five distinct members! So he will have two different arms! (If you want to see separate images of the figures making up any of the combiners featured here, such photos are out there. Here's a good place to look, on Seibertron.com.)
You may also notice one of the legs is a helicopter, not a jet. Yet this team is supposed to be all jets! This is not the end of the world, and if I have to live with one of this team as a helicopter, so be it. That being said, there is definitely hope amongst the fandom that we might get a recolor of one of the other jets in the proper color for the missing one, and we can then swap it out for this interloping helicopter. Also not in this picture is a new member of the team: a new version of Powerglide who, in addition to his usual two modes, can also become a Targetmaster partner for Superion. Unnecessary, but cool. |
Size-wise, it is hard to say for sure how big he will be, not having had him in hand yet. But what little photo evidence there is this far would lead me to speculate that this set will not look too out of place with third party combiners in the Fansproject / Maketoys scale.
The Fansproject upgrades and the figures they upgrade are well out of production. You might be able to find them on the secondary market for $200.00 - $300.00. It is even possible, if you really want them, that if you wait until the new Hasbro one comes out more of the Fansproject ones may hit the secondary market and the price could drop a bit if you can be patient. The TFC version, expect to pay around $500.00 for the whole set. Also, add to that another $50.00 if you feel you want the "Wings of Uranos" upgrade kit. The Hasbro version: as I said, we can't say for sure yet, but probably around $100.00. So the Hasbro version is the cheapest, looks definitely better then the next priced option, and looks arguably better then the most expensive option. So if you are still in the market for a Superion, I'd suggest that unless you really can't get over that helicopter leg, you continue to wait until next year and pick this set up!
These new Hasbro combiners are fully in the "Scramble City" style. This means a larger figure for the central torso, already an improvement over the recent Bruticus. Also, like Bruticus, you can swap the limbs around. Legs can become arms, and vice versa. An exciting additional callback to the G1 "Scramble City" combiners, they are designed so that you can swap limbs between them. An arm from Superion can become a leg on Menasor, for example. This is not backwards compatable to the recent Bruticus, but should presumably also work with any other combiners Hasbro does in the near future. And on that note, onto Menasor!
The Fansproject upgrades and the figures they upgrade are well out of production. You might be able to find them on the secondary market for $200.00 - $300.00. It is even possible, if you really want them, that if you wait until the new Hasbro one comes out more of the Fansproject ones may hit the secondary market and the price could drop a bit if you can be patient. The TFC version, expect to pay around $500.00 for the whole set. Also, add to that another $50.00 if you feel you want the "Wings of Uranos" upgrade kit. The Hasbro version: as I said, we can't say for sure yet, but probably around $100.00. So the Hasbro version is the cheapest, looks definitely better then the next priced option, and looks arguably better then the most expensive option. So if you are still in the market for a Superion, I'd suggest that unless you really can't get over that helicopter leg, you continue to wait until next year and pick this set up!
These new Hasbro combiners are fully in the "Scramble City" style. This means a larger figure for the central torso, already an improvement over the recent Bruticus. Also, like Bruticus, you can swap the limbs around. Legs can become arms, and vice versa. An exciting additional callback to the G1 "Scramble City" combiners, they are designed so that you can swap limbs between them. An arm from Superion can become a leg on Menasor, for example. This is not backwards compatable to the recent Bruticus, but should presumably also work with any other combiners Hasbro does in the near future. And on that note, onto Menasor!
The first option to consider is Fansproject's recent release. Unlike their Aerialbots upgrade kit, this is a whole new set of figures. Here we have the one combiner team I am discussing on this page that I do have personal experience with, so for a more detailed review you can click here. Here's the short version:
He's going to set you back (currently) around $380.00. Some of his parts can be fiddly as hell, and potentially even fragile, during transforming. Once he is transformed into any mode, however, he is a solid set of toys. His limbs can swap around, but when swapping arms with legs you get connections that are a lot less solid. Also, unless Fansproject releases future combiners using the same connectors, any swapping will be limited to within Menasor. There is a newer company, Warbotron, that has announced intentions to do a Menasor. Not much is known at this point. (Thus, no photo can be presented.) But if he is anything like the Combaticons currently being released by the same company, he will likely as a team set you back around $500.00, and he will be one freakin' huge gestalt. Frankly, especially if you care about the individual members as well as the gestalt, I don't think the Warbotron figures would look good in a "Classics" style collection. Sizewise, they're almost Masterpiece in scale... but their design is not G1 faithful enough to fully fit in with that line, either. |
Moving on, we get to the upcoming Hasbro option. The results are... well, if nothing else, an interesting take on Menasor. But "interesting" does not always translate as "good."
I'm not going to lie, I personally don't care for how this guy looks. And that puts me in a bit of a moral quandary, as when there are both third party and official options, I tend to want to prefer the official ones. (Although I am helped in this quandary, I suppose, in that I purchased the third party one well before the official one was even announced.)
I have a couple of issues with this guy. His head sculpt looks terrible. It reminds me more of Unicron then it does Menasor. His proportions seem a bit funny. As an individual, Motormaster looks okay in robot mode, but his vehicle mode lacks a trailer. (Even more then Optimus, who I obsessively love trailers for, since G1 Motormaster's trailer did not detach for transformation, it is hard to picture his vehicle mode without it.) Finally, there is the member of the team that makes up (in this photo) his right leg. Like the helicopter on Superion, this new set of Stunticons has an interloper in the place of an original member. Wildrider is gone, replaced by a robot with a very similar deco, but whose alt mode is a pickup truck! Somehow, even while I can forgive the helicopter, I have a hard time accepting this new member within the Stunticon team. He just doesn't seem to fit in with the theme! |
That being said, other then the interloping pickup truck, and Motormaster's lack of a trailer, the individual members of this team don't look bad. Also, much like Powerglide joining the Aerialbots, the Stunticons get a new member: His gestalt mode chest plate is formed by a little black car (much like the G1 version), but now that car even has its own individual robot mode! So there is some cool stuff to be found within this team.
Will I be getting these new Stunticons? I don't know. Honestly... while I'd like to say yes, I cannot deny that I already have a really awesome Menasor on my shelf. Still, it could be fun to play with these new Hasbro ones, as well.
What I may do is wait and see what recolors Hasbro may make. Heck, Motormaster himself is already a recolor of a previously announced new Optimus Prime... So I may just go with that Prime, who will presumably still be able to form a gestalt's head and torso, and see what limbs may become available for him.
If you don't already have the Fansproject version, and you're not overly bothered by the interloper pickup truck limb like I am, then by all means I am sure that this new Hasbro set will be a fun set of toys. And you'll also have the ability to swap limbs around with Superion if you wish. On the other hand, if you dislike how this Menasor (who is a lot less "G1" looking then the upcoming Hasbro Superion) looks, and you don't mind spending extra money, the Fansproject set is one I would happily recommend. (With a few caveats that you can read in my review of those figures.) Or there is still the wildcard of the Warbotron release, you may wish to see how that one shapes out as we learn more about it.
(Although personally, while the Fansproject one came first and thus gets a pass, I dislike when third party companies release versions of figures Hasbro has already released or announced. Warbotron is in a slight bit of a grey area, I suppose, since while we haven't seen anything yet, their figures were at least announced before the Hasbro one was known about and they may be far enough along in the design process that they would loose money if they canceled their plans for it at this point. As with any such grey area, your mileage may vary.)
Will I be getting these new Stunticons? I don't know. Honestly... while I'd like to say yes, I cannot deny that I already have a really awesome Menasor on my shelf. Still, it could be fun to play with these new Hasbro ones, as well.
What I may do is wait and see what recolors Hasbro may make. Heck, Motormaster himself is already a recolor of a previously announced new Optimus Prime... So I may just go with that Prime, who will presumably still be able to form a gestalt's head and torso, and see what limbs may become available for him.
If you don't already have the Fansproject version, and you're not overly bothered by the interloper pickup truck limb like I am, then by all means I am sure that this new Hasbro set will be a fun set of toys. And you'll also have the ability to swap limbs around with Superion if you wish. On the other hand, if you dislike how this Menasor (who is a lot less "G1" looking then the upcoming Hasbro Superion) looks, and you don't mind spending extra money, the Fansproject set is one I would happily recommend. (With a few caveats that you can read in my review of those figures.) Or there is still the wildcard of the Warbotron release, you may wish to see how that one shapes out as we learn more about it.
(Although personally, while the Fansproject one came first and thus gets a pass, I dislike when third party companies release versions of figures Hasbro has already released or announced. Warbotron is in a slight bit of a grey area, I suppose, since while we haven't seen anything yet, their figures were at least announced before the Hasbro one was known about and they may be far enough along in the design process that they would loose money if they canceled their plans for it at this point. As with any such grey area, your mileage may vary.)
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Anyway, my final thoughts: This is an exciting time to be a fan of combiners! Third party companies keep cranking them out, and with Hasbro finally entering into it things can only get better! For Superion, even with the issue of the helicopter, I cannot wait to have these guys. (And hopefully someday I shall be writing for you a full review of them!) For Menasor, however, I fear I must stick with the Fansproject version. But if you are on a budget or just have an objection to third party items all together, you could do worse than what Hasbro is offering here. It probably won't be a bad toy, it just doesn't say Menasor to me.
Ruminations published 29 July 2014 by Yotsuya. Comments are welcomed! (The photo of the Fansproject Menasor is from Yotsuya. Other uncredited photos on this page are from various online sources. If any of these photos belong to you and you object to their uncredited use, please let me know so that I can either credit them properly or replace them with a similar photo that is not yours. Thank you.) |