Review #72c: Takara Unite Warriors Superion
Part Three: Skydive & Air Raid
This is part three of a multi-part review. So if you somehow got here without seeing the previous two parts, and wish to do so now, part one is here and part two is here.
There. Now that that is out of the way, on with the show!
There. Now that that is out of the way, on with the show!
Here we have Skydive. I am starting to run out of things to say a bit... because at this point, the pictures really speak for themselves. He's another jet! He has two weapons that plug in under his wings. Not much we haven't seen before in this set, although at least now we get a different type of jet.
Don't take the above to be negative. This is what I expect from the Aerialbots, after all! It is just that, as a reviewer, it does get a little repetitive to keep saying, "This is an awesome looking jet!" (And I can think of a few people over at the Seibertron.com forums who would now say, "Well, it'd be less repetitive if one of them was a helicopter, wouldn't it?" Insert dry laughter here as my response.) I suppose I do have a few other comments I can make. |
Skydive has an additional 5mm port on the top of his vehicle mode. Of course, he has two weapons, and I prefer to attach them in as close to a symmetrical way as possible, so I tend to stick with the under-wing ports for his vehicle mode weapon storage. But the port is there if you wish to use it. (Who knows? Maybe someday I'll even find a use for it, the reviewer hinted cryptically...)
Skydive sports two vertical tail fins, and it is worth noting that they are made of a softer plastic. This isn't the first such plastic in these toys. All of their nosecones (and Silverbolt's similarly pointy tail end) have been this type of plastic. But for those, the softer plastic wasn't worth making that much of a fuss over as those pieces were shapes that end up not being that flexible. A nice long, wide, and thin tail fin, on the other hand? Now that can be a bit more flexible. This hasn't really caused much fuss yet, but I do worry a bit if they may warp over time. Hopefully not... but unless I wait five or ten years before I write these reviews, I can't really say for sure! As for why this plastic was used for the tail fins, I imagine (as is usually the case in these matters) that it has something to do with U.S. child safety laws. (Yes, I know this is the Japanese version of the toy, but since it uses the same molds, the same plastic types are likewise used.) Perhaps if those fins had been regular, hard plastic, they couldn't survive a drop test, and broke off into nice swallowable pieces?
Unlike any of the previously looked at figures in this set, Skydive does not have a fold down front landing gear. He is still able to sit flat on a shelf, so this is not the worst thing ever... but I do find it a sad omission.
Skydive sports two vertical tail fins, and it is worth noting that they are made of a softer plastic. This isn't the first such plastic in these toys. All of their nosecones (and Silverbolt's similarly pointy tail end) have been this type of plastic. But for those, the softer plastic wasn't worth making that much of a fuss over as those pieces were shapes that end up not being that flexible. A nice long, wide, and thin tail fin, on the other hand? Now that can be a bit more flexible. This hasn't really caused much fuss yet, but I do worry a bit if they may warp over time. Hopefully not... but unless I wait five or ten years before I write these reviews, I can't really say for sure! As for why this plastic was used for the tail fins, I imagine (as is usually the case in these matters) that it has something to do with U.S. child safety laws. (Yes, I know this is the Japanese version of the toy, but since it uses the same molds, the same plastic types are likewise used.) Perhaps if those fins had been regular, hard plastic, they couldn't survive a drop test, and broke off into nice swallowable pieces?
Unlike any of the previously looked at figures in this set, Skydive does not have a fold down front landing gear. He is still able to sit flat on a shelf, so this is not the worst thing ever... but I do find it a sad omission.
And now, as has become standard for this review, some comparisons.
The first obvious difference is to the animation model: it only has one vertical til fin, as opposed to the new toy's two! While Takara didn't do anything drastic like remold the toy to drop one of the tail fins, they at least matched the animation model in color: Takara's sports blue fins, where as Hasbro's has dark grey.
The next quite obvious difference is in the detailing on the wings and tail fins. Hasbro's just has large gold wings with dark grey outer edges, and a gold stripe on the tail fins. Takara, as usual, sticks closer to the animation model by having very dark grey wings with yellow lightning bolt details, and additional lightning bolts on the tail fins. The lightning bolts are all also nicely outlined in black.
There are some other differences, but these are mostly minor, such as a bit on one that is red where as on the other version, that bit is black. Still, overall Skydive is probably the figure in this set who has the most striking differences in alt mode. And again, Hasbro's version is not a bad interpretation... I just like Takara's better!
One spot where I will give props to both companies: Skydive has little missile racks molded onto the undersides of his wings, and both Hasbro and Takara chose to pick them out in gold. They actually look quite nice, I think, peaking out from under the wings.
Now, onto robot mode!
The next quite obvious difference is in the detailing on the wings and tail fins. Hasbro's just has large gold wings with dark grey outer edges, and a gold stripe on the tail fins. Takara, as usual, sticks closer to the animation model by having very dark grey wings with yellow lightning bolt details, and additional lightning bolts on the tail fins. The lightning bolts are all also nicely outlined in black.
There are some other differences, but these are mostly minor, such as a bit on one that is red where as on the other version, that bit is black. Still, overall Skydive is probably the figure in this set who has the most striking differences in alt mode. And again, Hasbro's version is not a bad interpretation... I just like Takara's better!
One spot where I will give props to both companies: Skydive has little missile racks molded onto the undersides of his wings, and both Hasbro and Takara chose to pick them out in gold. They actually look quite nice, I think, peaking out from under the wings.
Now, onto robot mode!
Out of the four limb-bots in this set, Skydive probably has the most complex transformation. Not that any of them are the most complex transformations in the world, but Skydive does add an extra step where you have to swing the upper portions of his broad chest into position. It helps Skydive stand out a bit in this group, adding some rather nice visual diversity.
Even though he is a different mold, his articulation is almost unchanged from the two figures that we looked at in the last part of this review. However, since that is on a whole different page that is a gigantic one click away, allow me to save you the trouble with the magic of copy and paste!
He has a ball joint in his head that allows for 360 degree rotation, and little bit of wiggle. (One slight change in articulation: While he can still look up a bit, he can't look up quite as much as the Fireflight/Slingshot mold..) His shoulders are also ball joints that allow for 360 degree rotation forwards or backwards, and decent outwards movement. He has upper arm rotation right above the elbow, and then a ratcheting 90 degree bend in the elbow itself. He has a waist swivel, ball jointed hips, and very nice bending knees.
Finally, like previous figures in this set, he can hold his weapons in either hand. Of note concerning his weapons: While the larger one is still the same slightly-off white that everyone else had, Skydive is the one limb-bot in this set who gets a black gun for his smaller gun! On one hand, I do wish that everyone could have gotten black guns. But on the other hand... I do also kind of wish that they'd stuck with white for Skydive's! But for the reason why... well, you'll have to wait until the next part of this review.
Even though he is a different mold, his articulation is almost unchanged from the two figures that we looked at in the last part of this review. However, since that is on a whole different page that is a gigantic one click away, allow me to save you the trouble with the magic of copy and paste!
He has a ball joint in his head that allows for 360 degree rotation, and little bit of wiggle. (One slight change in articulation: While he can still look up a bit, he can't look up quite as much as the Fireflight/Slingshot mold..) His shoulders are also ball joints that allow for 360 degree rotation forwards or backwards, and decent outwards movement. He has upper arm rotation right above the elbow, and then a ratcheting 90 degree bend in the elbow itself. He has a waist swivel, ball jointed hips, and very nice bending knees.
Finally, like previous figures in this set, he can hold his weapons in either hand. Of note concerning his weapons: While the larger one is still the same slightly-off white that everyone else had, Skydive is the one limb-bot in this set who gets a black gun for his smaller gun! On one hand, I do wish that everyone could have gotten black guns. But on the other hand... I do also kind of wish that they'd stuck with white for Skydive's! But for the reason why... well, you'll have to wait until the next part of this review.
It is funny. I commented above that this figure probably had the most striking differences in his jet mode. Yet now that we come to robot mode, he is probably the one with the most subtle differences of the bunch! That is not to say that there are not differences, of course! But before we get into that, a quick note about the image of the Hasbro version.
Hasbro stock photographers are notoriously bad at getting figures transformed correctly! As you can see in the photo above, one thing they did was that they didn't fold the figure's wings back. Of course, if you like that look, that is a perfectly valid display option. And, in fact, you could do that with any of your Aerialbots if you wished! It is not my preference, however. For one thing, I think they look better with the wings folded back. And for another thing, leaving them spread out could interfere with arm articulation if you wanted to swing the arms back at the shoulders.
Of course, that won't be a problem for the Skydive above, as they didn't transform the arms properly, either! They didn't fully extend the shoulders, making it look as if the outer edges of his broad chest were his shoulders. But, of course, there isn't any articulation there, so good luck posing his arms in any way where his wings would get in the way, anyway! (Oh, you crazy Hasbro photographers... Will you never learn?)
But getting back to the point of all of this, as I said, differences here are a bit more subtle. His chest is mostly red and black on both figures, but Takara's has more back and Hasbro's has more red. Takara also threw in a few very subtle blue accents in his pectoral region. And one last note on the chest: There are a few promanant screws in the chest. On Hasbro's figure, they are very obvious in a, "Hey, look at me! I'm shiny!" kind of way. Takara, however, used matte black screws, so that they stand out less.
Both figures have a part of the forearm painted black. Hasbro has more of theirs so painted, including the entire outer edge, where as Takara's just has a bit of a black stripe on the wrist that matches the animation model nicely. Takara's has a splash of red on the legs which does look nice, but is an odd case where Hasbro actually is more accurate to the animation model.
Last but not least, we come to Air Raid.
Hasbro stock photographers are notoriously bad at getting figures transformed correctly! As you can see in the photo above, one thing they did was that they didn't fold the figure's wings back. Of course, if you like that look, that is a perfectly valid display option. And, in fact, you could do that with any of your Aerialbots if you wished! It is not my preference, however. For one thing, I think they look better with the wings folded back. And for another thing, leaving them spread out could interfere with arm articulation if you wanted to swing the arms back at the shoulders.
Of course, that won't be a problem for the Skydive above, as they didn't transform the arms properly, either! They didn't fully extend the shoulders, making it look as if the outer edges of his broad chest were his shoulders. But, of course, there isn't any articulation there, so good luck posing his arms in any way where his wings would get in the way, anyway! (Oh, you crazy Hasbro photographers... Will you never learn?)
But getting back to the point of all of this, as I said, differences here are a bit more subtle. His chest is mostly red and black on both figures, but Takara's has more back and Hasbro's has more red. Takara also threw in a few very subtle blue accents in his pectoral region. And one last note on the chest: There are a few promanant screws in the chest. On Hasbro's figure, they are very obvious in a, "Hey, look at me! I'm shiny!" kind of way. Takara, however, used matte black screws, so that they stand out less.
Both figures have a part of the forearm painted black. Hasbro has more of theirs so painted, including the entire outer edge, where as Takara's just has a bit of a black stripe on the wrist that matches the animation model nicely. Takara's has a splash of red on the legs which does look nice, but is an odd case where Hasbro actually is more accurate to the animation model.
Last but not least, we come to Air Raid.
Despite being different molds, Air Raid does share a lot of similarities with Skydive. They both have two tail fins made from softer plastic. They both have the additional 5mm port on their top. They both lack a font landing gear. They both have little missiles molded on to the undersides of their wings. And even though they are in fact different molds, they do have a few shared parts (although this won't be as apparent until we get to robot mode).
Even with all of those similarities, however, Air Raid definitely comes off looking very different from Skydive (outside, of course, of the obvious fact that they are both jets). One more similarity is that Air Raid comes with the same to weapon accessories as Skydive, although Air Raid's smaller gun goes back to being molded in white plastic. |
Since the smaller weapon that Skydive and Air Raid both have is a double barreled one, and since Air Raid's gun is white, while still far from symmetrical he does come closest to looking so.
Although not visible in these photographs, there are also two more 5mm ports on Air Raid, one on either side of the jet's body under his wings. They aren't positioned in a way where you can plug his own accessories in there when he is in jet mode, but they do perhaps offer some options if you have other 5mm compatible accessories you may wish to use with him.
One area where Air Raid stands out from all of the other limb-bots in this set is that he is the one jet who has variable wing geometry.
Although not visible in these photographs, there are also two more 5mm ports on Air Raid, one on either side of the jet's body under his wings. They aren't positioned in a way where you can plug his own accessories in there when he is in jet mode, but they do perhaps offer some options if you have other 5mm compatible accessories you may wish to use with him.
One area where Air Raid stands out from all of the other limb-bots in this set is that he is the one jet who has variable wing geometry.
And now to compare versions of Air Raid.
The main difference here is that the Hasbro version has red and gold stripes not visible on either the animation model or the Takara version of the toy. These stripes are more accurate to the G1 toy, however. So I suppose it is a matter of which look you prefer. The stripes on Hasbro's do stop a bit short, only being present on the variable portion of the wing and not continuing forward to the rest of the wing like Takara's silver stripe.
On to robot mode!
On to robot mode!
I mentioned some shared parts between these two molds. They are the white portion of this figure's chest (which was black on Skydive), the crotch, the upper legs, and the front half of the lower legs.
I also mentioned two 5mm parts that, in jet mode, were on the sides of the jet's body. In robot mode, one of these ports ends up on the outside edge of each of his forearms.
He's a great looking robot. His articulation is pretty much the same as Air Raid's. And like everyone else, he can hold his weapons in his hands. (Or, if you wish, you can use the ports on the outside edge of his arms, as they are much more accessible in this mode.)
His variable wing geometry can come into play in robot mode, as well, giving you a few different display options if you wish to explore them.
I also mentioned two 5mm parts that, in jet mode, were on the sides of the jet's body. In robot mode, one of these ports ends up on the outside edge of each of his forearms.
He's a great looking robot. His articulation is pretty much the same as Air Raid's. And like everyone else, he can hold his weapons in his hands. (Or, if you wish, you can use the ports on the outside edge of his arms, as they are much more accessible in this mode.)
His variable wing geometry can come into play in robot mode, as well, giving you a few different display options if you wish to explore them.
And here are the different versions:
Hasbro's Air Raid sports a white gun, being the one figure in Hasbro's set to do so.
As far as details on the figure itself, the basic idea of each figure is not dissimilar, but there are some differences in execution. Hasbro's features a lot of gold on the shoulders, on the outer edges of the forearms, around the chest, and on either side of the waist. In contrast, Takara's has a dark metallic grey on the shoulders, and leaves the forearms white. Takara's has a white bit on his waist, patterned completely differently then the gold detailing on Hasbro's. Takara's still has some gold in the chest, but a smaller area, and sharing that area with some blue.
Other differences are that Hasbro's has a bit of blue on his forehead while Takara's doesn't. Takara's has silver hands while Hasbro's doesn't. They both have red knees, but where Hasbro's also has some red lower down on the legs, Takara's has more of the dark metallic grey.
Air Raid has a screw on the underside of his nosecone that is rather visible on Hasbro's version, but again Takara has used a matte black screw. Since it is in an area where it is surrounded by black plastic, the screw on Takara's version practically disappears! Looking back on the figures reviewed in the previous two parts of this series of reviews, I noticed that they, too, used matte black screws. (They just didn't jump out at me earlier, since they aren't in areas where they would end up visible from the front of the robot mode.) The matte black screws are just a really nice touch above and beyond typical expectations that gives this set of figures a premium feel.
Going back to just Air Raid, overall when it comes to robot mode, both versions are acceptable interpretations of the character, so it more comes down to a decision of which one you think looks better in vehicle mode. And, well, I continue to be of the opinion that Takara is winning.
Heh... way back at the top of this review, I lamented that I thought I was running out of things to say about these toys. Looks like I found some stuff, huh? Well, that wraps things up for this installment. See you again soon with the next part of this review!
On to part four: Combined Mode
Review added 30 July 2015 by Yotsuya. Comments are welcomed!
As far as details on the figure itself, the basic idea of each figure is not dissimilar, but there are some differences in execution. Hasbro's features a lot of gold on the shoulders, on the outer edges of the forearms, around the chest, and on either side of the waist. In contrast, Takara's has a dark metallic grey on the shoulders, and leaves the forearms white. Takara's has a white bit on his waist, patterned completely differently then the gold detailing on Hasbro's. Takara's still has some gold in the chest, but a smaller area, and sharing that area with some blue.
Other differences are that Hasbro's has a bit of blue on his forehead while Takara's doesn't. Takara's has silver hands while Hasbro's doesn't. They both have red knees, but where Hasbro's also has some red lower down on the legs, Takara's has more of the dark metallic grey.
Air Raid has a screw on the underside of his nosecone that is rather visible on Hasbro's version, but again Takara has used a matte black screw. Since it is in an area where it is surrounded by black plastic, the screw on Takara's version practically disappears! Looking back on the figures reviewed in the previous two parts of this series of reviews, I noticed that they, too, used matte black screws. (They just didn't jump out at me earlier, since they aren't in areas where they would end up visible from the front of the robot mode.) The matte black screws are just a really nice touch above and beyond typical expectations that gives this set of figures a premium feel.
Going back to just Air Raid, overall when it comes to robot mode, both versions are acceptable interpretations of the character, so it more comes down to a decision of which one you think looks better in vehicle mode. And, well, I continue to be of the opinion that Takara is winning.
Heh... way back at the top of this review, I lamented that I thought I was running out of things to say about these toys. Looks like I found some stuff, huh? Well, that wraps things up for this installment. See you again soon with the next part of this review!
On to part four: Combined Mode
Review added 30 July 2015 by Yotsuya. Comments are welcomed!