Review #72e: Takara Unite Warriors Superion
Part Five: Perfect Effect PC-05
Perfect Combiner Upgrade Set (white version)
We come to it at last. Unless the company formerly known as Reprolabels releases a sticker set specifically for the Takara versions of these guys that is so good I have to get it, this is likely to be the final word I have to say on Superion. If you've missed any of my previous words on him, though, you can catch up with part one, part two, part three, and/or part four of this review.
Third Party manufacturer Perfect Effect released an accessory set to go with Combiner Wars / Unite Warriors gestalts. This set consists of six weapons for use with the individual figures that can then transform into new hands and feet for the gestalt form. Initially Perfect Effect released this set in black (patterned after Hasbro's Superion) and purple (for Menasor). Fortunately for my tastes, they then also announced a white set to go along with Takara's Superion!
We start today by looking at the six guns. There are two smaller guns and four larger guns. |
A really nice thing about the white version of this set is that it actually has two colors. The black and purple versions are just that: only black, or only purple. But on the white version, the large guns are very nicely colored in silver.
In robot mode, I like to give two of the large guns to Silverbolt, and one each to Skydive and Air Raid. The other guns then go one each to Fireflight and Slingshot.
Silverbolt then, has a bit of an excess of guns. Sometimes, I will pose him with his stock gun in one hand and one of these new guns in the other. The second new gun can hide quite well on Silverbolt's back. Or, maybe Silverbolt's stock gun will go on his back and he will hold both new guns in his hands. Or, if he wants to be extra armed, he can peg the two new guns into the peg holes on the sides of his arms, and still hold his original gun in one of his hands. Options!
In robot mode, I like to give two of the large guns to Silverbolt, and one each to Skydive and Air Raid. The other guns then go one each to Fireflight and Slingshot.
Silverbolt then, has a bit of an excess of guns. Sometimes, I will pose him with his stock gun in one hand and one of these new guns in the other. The second new gun can hide quite well on Silverbolt's back. Or, maybe Silverbolt's stock gun will go on his back and he will hold both new guns in his hands. Or, if he wants to be extra armed, he can peg the two new guns into the peg holes on the sides of his arms, and still hold his original gun in one of his hands. Options!
The four large guns are a little odd in their handle distribution. Two of them have three pegs on them, and two of them have only one peg on them! You'd think that maybe they could have designed them with the handle distribution a little more even. Still, I tend to only use the one peg on any of them, anyway, so it is only an academic annoyance.
When it comes to using these guns in vehicle mode, frankly I don't think that the large guns work with the Aerialbots. So what do I do with them? Well, I do know a good buddy of theirs who would be happy to hold on to them when they aren't otherwise in use.
So Metroplex can gain a pair of cannons under each of his forearms!
Normally I am not a huge fan of sharing accessories between figures like this, but back in the G1 days Metroplex was kind of designed to interact a bit with the Scramble City gestalts. Heck, Metroplex could even wear Scramble City limb-bots over his own limbs, as if they were little more than armor to him! That isn't a functionality that has carried over to their modern toys, but storing the unused guns like this is, to me, a nice nod to that. Now, if I am not using any of the large guns with the Aerialbots, where does that leave Silverbolt, Skydive, and Air Raid? Well, Silverbolt I think looks just fine as he's always been, with just his stock weapon stowed under his jet's nose. As for Skydive and Air Raid? Remember how they had that unused 5mm port on the tops of their jet modes? |
And how about Fireflight and Slingshot? Well, I swap weapons around just a wee bit between them, so that they each have two of the same, and then...
And guess what? Just like that, all my Aerialbot boys are nice and symmetrical in their jet modes! If you recall, the lack of this when storing their weapons in jet mode was something I lamented much earlier in this review series. Now... Now things feel right!
Here's a couple of group shots in vehicle mode:
Here's a couple of group shots in vehicle mode:
And, just for fun, here they are paired off against their Decepticon rivals, the Stunticons!
Obviously, a little bit of a scale issue between these two teams... but it is no worse than usual between jet Transformers and car Transformers in vehicle mode.
(A quick note regarding the Stunticons. Just so you know not to be on the look out for a review of them, I don't have any intention of getting the Combiner Wars or Unite Warriors version of that team. If the official version had come first, it would have demanded my priority no matter what. But when the third party version comes first, I don't feel obligated to get the official version unless I really think it looks good! And frankly, I was not impressed by what I saw, so I'll stick with my Fansproject Stunticons. But don't worry, I will have all of the molds in the Combiner Wars Stunticon team eventually. There are repaints of them all I am quite keen to get, so I suppose I'll be able to review it for you eventually that way!)
Anyway, how do these two teams look together in robot mode?
(A quick note regarding the Stunticons. Just so you know not to be on the look out for a review of them, I don't have any intention of getting the Combiner Wars or Unite Warriors version of that team. If the official version had come first, it would have demanded my priority no matter what. But when the third party version comes first, I don't feel obligated to get the official version unless I really think it looks good! And frankly, I was not impressed by what I saw, so I'll stick with my Fansproject Stunticons. But don't worry, I will have all of the molds in the Combiner Wars Stunticon team eventually. There are repaints of them all I am quite keen to get, so I suppose I'll be able to review it for you eventually that way!)
Anyway, how do these two teams look together in robot mode?
Personally, I think they look good! Motormaster is a bit larger then Silverbolt, and the rest of the Stunticons are a bit shorter then the rest of the Aerialbots, but I think it still works.
How about how they look together in their combined mode? That would be telling. We'll get to it eventually, though. First we need to take a look at Superion all by himself with his new hands and feet!
Well, here he is all dolled up. The new feet are quite a bit bigger than his original ones, adding to his height and lengthening his legs. The new hands, based on the size of the fingers, are about the same size of the original hands but they are a lot less bulky and visually come off as a bit smaller. With those various factors, the slight proportion problems Superion may have had when he was using his stock hands and feet are greatly minimized.
The hands gain a lot more articulation. The thumb has a ball joint at the base and can bend at the mid point. The rest of the fingers all individually bend at the base and at the mid point. The hands each have a partially open hole that is sized to accept a 5mm peg. He can hold Superion's gun, but alas does not hold it as tightly as one might hope. The gun will be held just fine when Superion is sitting on display on your shelf, but if you pick him up and move him around at all, the gun is liable to flop around a bit and possibly fall out.
The feet, meanwhile, have a great ball joint in them that allows for a deep ankle tilt, allowing Superion to take full advantage of his leg articulation. And with a large base, his feet also are quite easy to balance on. The only complaint about the feet is that the ball joints could have been a bit tighter. Superion can lean a bit if his pose is one in which his center of gravity is off balance. It isn't too hard to find a stable pose, but one cannot help but wish those ankle ball joints were tighter to allow for a few more options.
The hands gain a lot more articulation. The thumb has a ball joint at the base and can bend at the mid point. The rest of the fingers all individually bend at the base and at the mid point. The hands each have a partially open hole that is sized to accept a 5mm peg. He can hold Superion's gun, but alas does not hold it as tightly as one might hope. The gun will be held just fine when Superion is sitting on display on your shelf, but if you pick him up and move him around at all, the gun is liable to flop around a bit and possibly fall out.
The feet, meanwhile, have a great ball joint in them that allows for a deep ankle tilt, allowing Superion to take full advantage of his leg articulation. And with a large base, his feet also are quite easy to balance on. The only complaint about the feet is that the ball joints could have been a bit tighter. Superion can lean a bit if his pose is one in which his center of gravity is off balance. It isn't too hard to find a stable pose, but one cannot help but wish those ankle ball joints were tighter to allow for a few more options.
Still, it is hard to complain too much, since even if they aren't perfect, they really are a hell of a lot better than the stock feet!
Anyway, let's scramble things up a bit!
Anyway, let's scramble things up a bit!
And finally, here's the promised pic of Superion facing off against Menasor.
The Combiner Wars / Unite Warriors gestalt scale fits in very well with the Fansproject / Maketoys third party gestalt scale. Which is awesome for me, since the three third party gestalts I have are all of that scale! So now that Hasbro is finally making awesome combiners again, I'm not stuck having different gestalt characters being disparate sizes from one another.
(Really, the only disadvantage I can see to not getting an official version of the Stunticons if I already had this version is that I can't swap limbs between them. But honestly, the only time I'd have used that was to take a few photos highlighting it to show off in a review! So it is no great loss to me.)
I said "finally" for the above photo, implying it to be the last one, but I suppose I do have one more. Here's a split screen comparison of Superion comparing him with the stock hands & feet against him with the third party hands & feet. Also included is a standard sized DVD case for a size comparison.
(Really, the only disadvantage I can see to not getting an official version of the Stunticons if I already had this version is that I can't swap limbs between them. But honestly, the only time I'd have used that was to take a few photos highlighting it to show off in a review! So it is no great loss to me.)
I said "finally" for the above photo, implying it to be the last one, but I suppose I do have one more. Here's a split screen comparison of Superion comparing him with the stock hands & feet against him with the third party hands & feet. Also included is a standard sized DVD case for a size comparison.
So, final thoughts on the Perfect Effect hands and feet! I like 'em! They aren't perfect, to be sure, but they (especially the feet) are sure as hell an improvement over the original ones. And even if the larger ones don't fit in with the individual members of the team when they are in their jet modes, I like that these hands and feet do have the option of becoming something to use outside of the combined mode.
If you do want new hands and feet but don't care about using them outside of the combined mode, apparently there are other options coming. (Including an option by the same group that produced the new antennae for Superion that I haven't had to use yet!) But me? I am quite happy with this set, so much so that I already have a black set also in hand waiting for the end of the year when I can get my hands on a Defensor.
Review added 1 August 2015 by Yotsuya. Comments are welcomed!
If you do want new hands and feet but don't care about using them outside of the combined mode, apparently there are other options coming. (Including an option by the same group that produced the new antennae for Superion that I haven't had to use yet!) But me? I am quite happy with this set, so much so that I already have a black set also in hand waiting for the end of the year when I can get my hands on a Defensor.
Review added 1 August 2015 by Yotsuya. Comments are welcomed!