Barricade (Interrogator)
Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen (Hasbro) - Deluxe Class
Rated 4.00 stars by Collector1
Had some spare cash Thursday, shocking I know, and picked this guy up. Barricade is just a rerelease of the original mold for the character from the first movie. I would have prefered the Premium version of the mold that had frosted windows but I'll take what I can get. In place of a Frenzy minifigure from the original release, the gril can now be changed into the probes seen when Barricade attacked Sam. Simply lowering the front fender will cause the gril to be pushed out and can be removed. The probes are folded up behind the gril thanks to a double hinge on the side and a hinge in the middle of the arms. There is also a swivel joint were the arms meet the connection point with the double hinge joint. Also, the probe heads have a swivel joint. The probe arms can be deployed in either...[See More]

Starscream
Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen (Hasbro) - Voyager Class
Rated 4.50 stars by Collector1
Okay, this guy is a great toy straight up, no questions asked. Starscream transforms into a very accurate F-22 Raptor Fighter Jet covered in weird, Cybertronian Runes which makes up for his relatively bland body color. There is no firing missile gimmick in this mode and it's really a bare bones alt. mode which I really don't mind. I prefer minimal addition gimmicks, transforming being the preferred gimmick in fact. Starscream's transformation from fighter jet to robot is actually very complex and fun, but not overly hard. Breaking the mold from having most of his parts stuffed up under a jet plane's body, Starscream is similar to Transformers Animated Blurr, layer upon layer of robot mixed with a plane. There are a lot of subtle tricks to get a complete robot mode like two panels that...[See More]

Rampage
Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen (Hasbro) - Deluxe Class
Rated 3.00 stars by Collector1
Got Rampage a few weeks ago when money was a bit more plentiful for me and seeing as how I'm down with a cough, figured I might as well pass the time with a few toy reviews. Rampage turns into a bulldozer, don't know what model as I'm not a construction vehicle buff, but I'm fairly certain it is indeed an actual model. It's really a wonderfully detailed figure. The drivers room is a block of translucent red plastic painted black which gives it some level of light pipping, something rarly seen in a toy's vehicle mode. The plow can be moved up and down some which uses the mech alive gimmick for the line with two pistons that will rise and fall in tune with the plow if a really finiky connector piece is in the proper place. The treads are made of actual rubber, but the wheels they are...[See More]

Megatron
Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen (Hasbro) - Leader Class
Rated 2.50 stars by Collector1
So I was in Wal*Mart the other day and had some cash to burn, figured I pick up some more Revenge of the Fallen figures and broke down, picked up Leader Class Megatron. Let me tell you something: He's not that great. It's not a bad toy, just not that good. Megatron's alt mode is a Cybertronian tank which looks pretty impressive. It's a big, grey, hulking thing that looks like it crawled out of the mind of a mad scientist. A pair of what I'm guessing are jet thrusters are mounted on its back, which becomes his back in robot mode, and a massive turret mounts the top of the tank. When properly transformed, the turret is unmovable. A pair of wheels on each of the treds allow Megatron be to rolled about on the floor or table top pretty easily. Now on to robot mode. Megatron's robot mode is...[See More]

Optimus Prime
Transformers - Animated (Hasbro) - Voyager Class
Rated 4.00 stars by Collector1
I missed my chance to pick him and a few others up when they first came out by my Wal-Mart apparently found a hand full of them in the back I guess and put them out for sale. Not on clearance mind you, but at full price. Still, I picked up Optimus and Starscream because this would probably be my last chance to grab them under fifty bucks of the web. So, Optimus Prime is a good, solid toy with only some minor faults. His vehicle mode is a truck cab of no really make or model. In the show, he has a number of trailers used to further the disguise but the most common is that of a fire engine. Still, it's a very vague form so it can be assumed it's a multi-purpose hauler. The back end of the vehicle mode is made up of a combined form of his axe and water gun that looks kind of odd but not...[See More]

Destro (Gold Helmet) / Iron Grenadier
G.I. Joe - 25th Anniversary (Hasbro) - Comic 2-Packs - Wave 5
Rated 4.50 stars by Collector1
Everybody knows who Destro is, that guy with the metal helmat with the scottish accent and was dating the Baroness. This version of Destro had a very diffrent outfit with a red cape and a golden helmet instead of the usual silver. Destro comes with two weapons: a black snub nose pistol and a sabre. The pistol is pretty standard fair and fits in his left hand the best. I really like the saber on this guy. The handgaurd is made from silver plastic and the blade is painted gold. It fits best in his right hand. Both weapons have holders. For the pistol, a holster is sculpted onto his lower left thigh with a thing flap at the top that you have to lift up before putting the pistol in or taking it out, and a scabbard is attached to a belt to hold the sword. On the figure's left shoulder are...[See More]

Optimus Prime (20th Anniversary)
Transformers - Masterpiece (Takara) - Exclusives
Rated 5.00 stars by Collector1
I really don't know how to properly express how incredible this figure is. Partially made of die-cast metal and about a foot tall in Robot Mode, Masterpiece Optimus Prime is perhaps the greatest Optimus Prime toy ever made. In an attempt to make it as cartoon and comic accurate as possible, Takara and Hasbro have lived up to the lines title of "Masterpiece". The insane level of detail and articulation on Optimus Prime make it seem as if you just pulled it right out of the classics comic and cartoon series. The Autobrand is sculpted on his right shoulder and painted flawlessly red and white and the head is just spectacular in design. A small button on the back of the head allows you to make it seem as if the mouth plate is moving up and down like it did when he spoke in the show. The...[See More]

Grimlock
Transformers - Classics (Hasbro) - Deluxe
Rated 5.00 stars by Collector1
Grimlock, leader of the Dinobots, ultimate warrior and the love of Simon Furman's life, how can you go wrong with a updated version of his original G1 toy based in the original Marvel Comics continuity?! The answer it that you can't and I if you did you deserve a short, sharp lesson followed by a whole world of pain! Hasbro has created one of the best versions of everyone's favorite saurian so can I do no less than give my best review to date? Grimlock's got a complex but down right fun transformation. Expect to get hung up when it comes to getting his arms in place until you figure out that the chest plate can spine and brings his left dino-mode leg into position for his right arm. He has two weapons, his bayonet blaster and whip which is formed from his tail. The whip is probably my...[See More]

Autobot Jazz
Transformers - Animated (Hasbro) - Deluxe
Rated 4.00 stars by Collector1
What can be said of the character of Jazz other than he kicks much skidplate. He's a jive talking, alien, robot, ninja, sports car. That it like...twelve different kinds of awesome right there! Jazz is the counterbalance to Sentinal Prime's ego, organophobia and specisim with his own laid back attitude and love affair with Earth culture. Jazz has got a great car mode that's a fun update from his original G1 mode. The paint is minimal but well done with not run overs or smears. It's all relatively seamless and a tricky transformation is a great bonus. The only real hard part of it is getting it started with pulling the roof and rear end backwards and up but it goes much smoother from there. The roof and rear become his legs, the front becomes his chest with the head popping up from the...[See More]

Autobo Ratchet
Transformers - Animated (Hasbro) - Deluxe
Rated 4.50 stars by Collector1
Ratchet here was part of the second wave of Animated Deluxes and a pegwarmer in my area that never really appealed to me until recently when he became one of the best characters on the show in my opinion. So I grabbed him and was pleasantly surprised by his over all quality. Not the best toy in the line, but far from the worst. Like most deluxes from Animated, his transformation is simple but fun. He's got a surprisingly good amount of detail work on his body with the only real missing paint is from his head which I can just paint easily with some black on his cheeks and under his eyes. The head is probably my favorite of the Animated line so far. His face clearly depicts a bot long in the tooth that has seen far more violence and bloodshed then anyone should have to. Scars cover his...[See More]