Dave's Armada Rant: MaxCons Red Alert with Longarm Starscream with Swindle Monday night, I came across empty shelf space with the price tags for these guys, and figured the toys hadn't been put out yet. Turns out that two cases of them HAD been put out, and sold instantly. Fortunately, the stockroom guy was willing to go look in back to see if any were left, and one case was. CAPSULES Red Alert: Solid vehicle mode, decent gimmicks. Robot mode is a bit kibble-heavy, very reminiscent of an Autobot Brother from RiD. Longarm is pure Micromaster. Recommended. $19.76 at Wal-Mart Starscream: Vehicle mode has a bit more extra stuff than I'd like, transformation is pretty simple, robot mode looks good aside from the ramp off his back. Annoying sound gimmick is really easy to accidentally trigger. Swindle is very nice. Recommended. $19.76 at Wal-Mart RANTS Packaging: These MaxCons are in Ultra-sized boxes, but with a difference. The front of the box is curved outward slightly (for those who know what I'm talking about, I'd estimate a radius of curvature of about 40 cm or so). The toys are not in "nest-in" bubble trays, instead being heavily twist-tied to a cardboard backer with some support from partial bubble trays between them and the cardback. Starscream has an extensive tray, while Red Alert only has one for Longarm. The boxes are 11" (28cm) wide, 8" (20cm) tall, and go from 3.25" (8cm) thick at the top and bottom to 4" (10cm) thick along the center line. The shape of the boxes makes 'em a bit hard to get out of the cases without damage (as I witnessed), and they do tend to buckle a bit near the top or bottom. Because of the odd cross-section of the boxes, the side panels are held closed with three tabs and five pieces of tape each, so have a knife on hand when you open these. The inner tray is corrugated cardboard and has the blue energy ball on red background common to the rest of Armada packaging. Like the Deluxes (SuperCons), the MaxCons come with comic, instructions and a sticker with their artwork. It's worth noting that the art for Starscream was done by a Transformers fan who's just starting to get an "in" with Dreamwave (Don Figueroa, who will be doing the art for The War Within, written by Furman. Okay, it's a BIG "in"). Interestingly, where Starscream's right wing might poke against the side of the tray there's a plastic square glued to the inside and an extra square of cardstock taped to the outside, to make sure that the wingtip doesn't penetrade the box. At LEAST nine twist-ties hold Starscream in, plus two more for Swindle. To undo them all, you need to peel the bubble tray off the cardback, not all go all the way through to the cardback. Or just get a wirecutter like I did. A mere six ties hold Red Alert down, plus two more for Longarm. And a rubber band or seven. However, the one tangled around the front wheels is a bear to get off. Reminder: When I say "connector" I refer to the PowerLinx sockets mostly found on the Mini-Cons. When I say "hardpoint" I refer to the pegs found on the larger toys. Some hardpoints trigger gimmicks, others are just solid posts for mounting Mini-Cons. AUTOBOT: Red Alert Altmode: Rescue SUV Mini-Con Partner: Longarm - Crane Quote: "All life is precious." RED ALERT is a valued doctor and science officer who has saved the lives of many AUTOBOTS. His quest to save lives has led him to find new ways to repair damaged circuitry. He has risked his life many times to retrieve wounded comrades during battles. An old friend of OPTIMUS PRIME, RED ALERT was once a fierce and heroic fighter, until he was seriously wounded in battle and saw the preciousness of all life. But will this new battle reawaken his warrior's heart? STR 8 INT 10 SPD 7 END 8 RNK 7 COUR 10 FRB 5 SKL 9 Avg 8 Remember, kids...valuing life makes you a wuss. Vehicle Mode: A solid SUV with rescue/emergency accessories and coloring, 7" (18cm) long and 3" (7.5cm) wide, with 1.25" (3cm) diameter hard plastic wheels. The main colors are white, red and dark gray, with pale gold bits and some blue and silver accents. Clearly meant for serious offroad work, ther's six shock absorbers on each wheel. It rolls well on most flat surfaces. The front window is clear red plastic, as is an assembly on top that includes the flashing lights. There are four hardpoints on the vehicle mode. One storage peg on each door, a trigger peg on the right side of the hood, and a trigger peg near the back of the roof on the central pile of stuff. Placing a Mini-Con on the hood hardpoint (or inserting a thin object into the hole) pops open the front of the vehicle in a manner similar to Hot Shot's "driving claws". Once the panels are open, the hardpoint can be pushed back with or without a Mini-Con on it. This launches a disc and triggers a firing sound effect and flashing lights on top of the vehicle. Range is a couple of feet. The disc looks kinda like a steering wheel, with a cross in the middle and an Autobot symbol molded onto the center of the cross. The top of the disc is painted bright safety orange, but red would have looked better. The bottom has the same molding, but no paint. If the launcher is not loaded, you can trigger the sound and light with the front panels closed, too. Only when the disc is loaded and the front is closed do you need to plug in a Mini-Con to get things working. The other trigger hardpoint is at the back of the roof, and you need to have a Mini-Con inserted (or a thin object pressed into the hole) to work it. When pushed forward, it triggers a voice gimmick: "Red Alert! " The voice is very deep, sounding like it should be saying "Please step away from the car! This car is protected by Viper!" Pulling back on the triggger lightly releases the big missile launcher that takes up much of the driver's side of the vehicle. Pull back all the way and you also get a firing sound and flashing light. The missile does NOT autolaunch, thankfully. The range is about a meter, and the missile supposedly opens up to clamp onto targets. However, the joint on it is too stiff, and it remains closed through flight. The internal mechanism telescopes out as it launches, a nice extra trick. When sitting on the roof peg, you can position Longarm so that his crane arm hangs out the back as a tow truck hook (Armada Hoist recolor!). This works best when Longarm faces forward and the crane is rotated around to the back. The vehicle doors can open (revealing legs, basically) and then be rotated up to form better battle platforms for any carried Mini-Cons. This also lets you deploy the robot arms. Transformation: The doors and rear side panels make this a very "Shellmaster"-ish transformation, and the entire roof of the vehicle forms a backpack. Some have called this a G1-like transformation, but that's really only because the hood of the car becomes the chest. Other than that, it owes a lot more to the Autobot Brothers. Getting the windshield and head worked around is a bit tricky, especially when transforming back to vehicle mode. It's a subtle point, but be sure to rock the head forward so it snaps into place on the blue and gray "collar" molded onto the hood, or it'll flop around and look stupid. And unless you have long nails, you might need to get a tool to pry out one of the tools to plug into the left wrist socket (more on these later). While the instructions have the rear wheel panels folded back, I recommend having them straight out to the sides like boot wings. This looks a little more impressive to me, plus the panels are less in the way of the backpack. Robot Mode: At 7" (18cm) tall, Red Alert is comparable to many of the old Ultras, and certainly bigger than most of the old Megas. There's a LOT more blue in the color scheme in this mode, with the limbs being almost entirely blue. In keeping with his more RiD-ish heritage, he looks more like a blue robot wearing SUV parts as armor. He only has a right hand (more G1 Hoist similarities), with a socket on his left wrist designed to take one of two clear red tool bits stored on his right leg panel. One is a single-barrel device, probably a welding laser, while the other has three narrower barrels and is likely a multitool. Red Alert is very poseable. Shoulders have ratchet joints that let the arms lift, and the entire door assembly is on a swivel and hinge joint that effectively gives full shoulder articulation if you're willing to live with a so-so appearance. There's mid-upper-arm swivels and double hinge elbows that can fold 180 degrees. The head swivels (and can also pop up on a more complex joint, but that looks dippy). The hips are restricted ball joints that let the legs spread apart about 45 degrees total (20-25 degrees each). The knees are hinges, and there's a swivel just below the knees used for transformation that gives some improved posing ability. The ankles are hinged so that the toes can come up, but not down from the at-rest right angle (the heel spurs can also be folded independently to give his foot some arching). While the figure is a bit top-heavy, the heel spurs are long enough to keep him standing in even fairly extreme poses. All of the gimmicks continue to work in this mode, and the missile launcher may be removed and held in the right hand (or by any figure capable of holding the Star Saber). The roof hardpoint is now at the bottom of a long backpack, but the door hardpoints are now on shoulderpads so there's three hardpoints along the top of Red Alert's shoulders, including the hood (Longarm gets on one of 'em and lets Red Alert pretend to be Devastator, woot). Additionally, the left leg panel has a hardpoint and can be rotated up to form an additional battle platform. It even has a a clear red targeting screen that folds up in front of the hardpoint. The right leg panel has no hardpoint, but it can still be rotated up for Mini-Cons to stand on. Unfortunately, both of these leg panels run right up against the sound backpack when rotated up like this. Red Alert can hold the Star Saber either in his right hand or plugged into the socket on his left wrist. As a side bonus, if you don't put anything in the left wrist socket, Red Alert can grab other Transformers by their hardpoints! Longarm: A dark brown and pale gold crane truck. The connector is on the underside of the vehicle, just behind the middle. The Mini-Con symbol is behind this (on the robot chest). The vehicle body is a little over 2" (5cm) long, with the "turreted" crane unfolding to be 3" (8cm) long with a movable hook. There are silver windows painted on the crane control area, but not on the driving compartment. It rolls along on six wheels, all of which are real wheels. The transformation is pure Micromaster, with the driving compartment folding down and separating to become the feet, and the arms just swinging up. Even folded, the crane is a bit too long and has to trail behind a little. It can also be deployed over the top of the robot's head. Robot mode stands about 2" (5cm) tall, with a distinct Micromaster look to it. The torso and head are the same blue as Red Alert's limbs, and he has an orange visor and some orange accents. The shoulders swivel and the hips bend 90 degrees independently of each other. The knees kinda bend, but they just flop loosely when not locked into position, so I don't really count that point of articulation. As mentioned above, the crane can either be a third leg or rotated up and over the head. The ladder doesn't quite completely cover the head, so it can't drop to a totally horizontal position. The gaps in the heels are not wide enough to slot around a hardpoint, unfortunately. If you sit Longarm down, the gap between his thighs is just wide enough to straddle a hardpoint, but too wide to lock on tightly. Still, he can easily sit on daddy's shoulder. Overall: Better than most Megas, very poseable and possessed of many gimmicks. However, the big panels and backpack hanging off the toy are both inelegant and get in the way a lot, which reduces my enthusiasm for the toy. Still, I'd say it's worth $20. DECEPTICON: Starscream Altmode: Hyperjet Mini-Con Partner: Swindle - Racecar Quote: "My destiny is leadership." STARSCREAM uses his speed and maneuverability as a jet to launch aerial attacks on the AUTOBOTS. No one can compete with him when it comes to speed and skill in the air. He slices through the sky, chasing the enemy and even endangering any DECEPTICON that gets in his way. As the second in command, he pretends to be loyal to MEGATRON, but is always looking for an opportunity to weaken his leader's rule and take control of the DECEPTICONS. STR 6 INT 8 SPD 10 END 7 RNK 9 COUR 8 FRB 7 SKL 8 Avg 7.875 Gee, between Cyclonus and Starscream, you get the feeling that the Decepticons just don't practice safe flying. Also, note that Screamer breaks the pattern of having a question at the end of his note. Vehicle Mode: 9" (23cm) long, 8.5" (22cm) wingspan, and the vague lines of an F-15. Basically, the wings and tail have the proper F-15 silhouette, but little of the rest is like any real jet. The nose end has canards (like a Gripen) and a cockpit that's much farther forward and proportionally smaller than that of an F-15. There are no vertical tailfins, as these would get in the way of the missile launchers. Also, there's pods under the wings (the robot arms, basically). The main colors are gray, red and black, with yellow accents and purple Decepticon symbols (wing symbols only, the ones on the arm-pods are unpainted gray). The overall effect is that of taking the original Starscream and upgrading it with bolt-on boosters, weapons and extra fuel, at the expense of clean lines. Small wheels under the tail and the arm-pods let it roll along nicely. The canards and tail fins are made of softer plastic for child safety. The wings are rigid, but about a centimeter thick. There are three hardpoints. One on the side of each arm-pod and one at the very back between the missile launchers. The arm-pod hardpoints are just for storage, and placing a Mini-Con on the other hardpoint will release the missile launchers to spring forward. Pulling back on this hardpoint will make jet sounds. A quick pull results in a short takeoff sound, a longer pull has it take off and reach steady flight...and never, ever stop. Well, okay, it stops. But it stays on annoyingly long. Neither of these gimmicks actually require a Mini-Con, however. The hardpoint will pull back with or without a Mini-Con on it, and you can release the launchers by simply pushing them slightly towards the centerline (in fact, you can pinch 'em together to release both at once). In addition to the standardized hardpoints, there is a clip underneath the cockpit that you can snap Swindle's race car mode into. Shades of G-02 on the Phoenix in Battle of the Planets. With the launchers deployed, Starscream's jet mode looks strikingly like Jetfire (Super Valkyrie), especially given the color scheme. The missile fire independently and not automatically, with a range of about a meter. The launchers are held by standard clips, not magnets, despite the presence of big metal disks where the launchers attach to the frame. Pushing on the cockpit activates one of two sound gimmicks. Normally, it activates a six-shot weaponfire sound. And it'll do this about a dozen times when you transform the toy, it's REALLY easy to accidentally trigger. When Swindle is stored under the cockpit, the sound is supposed to represent explosively launching the race car. However, the sound triggers with only light pressure and heavy pressure is needed to pop the car off. Transformation: Most of the transforming involves the legs, which do a lot of unfolding and rotating. The rest is pretty quick and simple. A gerwalk mode is possible, but not really a "chicken leg" version, since the rolling rear wheels get in each other's way if you try to pose the legs that way. Also, you can pop Starscream's head up just by pushing a button on the jet's underside (it's pushed by locking the pelvis in place), so Screamer can mock you while flying. Robot Mode: Screamer's got BACK...pack. The entire assembly that holds his missile launchers sticks out his back, giving him a profile like a capital gamma (or like the starting shape for Hangman). He stands 7" (18cm) tall and the yellow bits on him become a bit more prominent. If you look at him face on, he looks great. Only from the side does he look kinda dippy. Also, the "brain sucker" effect of Swindle's attachment is a result of excessive foreshortening in the early pictures. In fact, the very front of Swindle sits more than an inch behind Screamer's head. His hips are ratchet swivels, he has swivels just above each knee, and the knees are ratchet hinges. His heel spurs can swing down a bit, but he otherwise has no real foot articulation. The inability to move his legs out to the sides does hinder poseability some. The shoulders have hinge and swivel, but the swivel is horizontal rather than vertical, so he can't really raise his arms much. He has manu hinges in his upper arms for transformation, so he has elbows to spare. His head goes up and down, turtle-like, but that's it. Poseability is fairly good, and the heel spurs and generally long feet ensure good stability. No new hardpoints are revealed in this mode, nor do any of the sounds or gimmicks change. Screamer's hands can hold the Star Saber, but it almost looks like this was a late addition...the holes are almost too big for his hands, and I can already see stress marks where the plastic is getting ready to tear from when I put the Saber in his hands. Swindle makes a good shield on either forearm peg, especially if you fiddle with his arms but otherwise leave him in car mode. Screamer's hands can also loosely hold his missiles, but as they look like giant red Q-tips, this isn't really worth doing. Finally, the left wingtip can be removed and unfolded into a really thick sword. It almost makes more sense if you don't fully straighten it and call it a flail. It's kinda a pity that only one wing comes off, as he looks lopsided with one wing sticking out the right side. Maybe having the right wingtip open up into a big shield would have been good. Because the sword peg is standard size, it can be used by anyone who can use the Star Saber. You can also stick Grindor on the hold where the wing normally pegs on. [LATE NOTE: With a Mini-Con on the rear peg, the sound effect changes from engine noises to a long drawn-out barrage sound effect. I missed it because on my copy, you really have to smash Swindle down onto the peg to get the sound to change. Thanks to Doug Dlin for pointing this out to me.] Swindle: A red and black sort-Indy racecar with dragster rear wheels. The connector is on the bottom at the very rear, and the Mini-Con symbol is on the left side of the vehicle, very hard to make out (but not as hard as Sureshock's). Vehicle mode is 2.5" (6.5cm) long, with small front wheels (about the size of the wheels on Longarm) and bigger 1cm diameter rear wheels. Only the outer 2mm thickness of the rear wheel actually turns, the rest is static and part of the structure. A little bit of gray picks out the rocket engine at the back, reinforcing the funnycar/dragster look of the car. Plus, as mentioned above, he can clip under Starscream's cockpit. Transformation has the sides lift away and fold to become the arms, the front airdam folding down to become the feet, the rear spoiler clicking down to reveal the face. The legs also split apart, quite a lot farther than they need to. This allows an undocumented "scissors" mode that can attach to Screamer's forearm. Robot mode is a little over 2" (5.5cm) tall, with a red face and no eye detail. Swindle has no hands, instead having twin blades at the end of each arm. Swindle Scissorshands. His arms swing out to the sides and his legs do the splits, and that's it. He looks nice, but doesn't move much. Finally, if you really want, you can always sit Swindle on top of Screamer's head for brainsucking, although there's no hardpoint for it. Overall: A good solid Transformer. The long back shelf and the less than smooth lines of the vehicle mode are minor points against it, keeping me from wholeheartedly recommending it. Dave Van Domelen, now to review Megatron, King of Gimmicks....