Dave's Transformers Titanium Series Rant: Assortment 4 (Movie 1) Ironhide (2007 Movie) Autobot Jazz (2007 Movie) Megatron (2007 Movie) Optimus Prime (2007 Movie) Bumblebee (2007 Movie version 1) Blackout (2007 Movie) Decepticon Brawl (2007 Movie) Autobot Ratchet (2007 Movie) Permalink: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Artifacts/3Ti4 Updated 9/28/07: Ironhide, Jazz, Megatron, Brawl, Ratchet added. This is the movie assortment, consisting of 8 figures broken up into three waves. I've got them listed in P/N order, but shipping order had Prime/Bee/Blackout first, then Ironhide/Jazz/Megatron, and finally Brawl/Ratchet. And yes, they're all movie versions, just listing them after every name to be consistent with the other 3Ti reviews. It's notable that every Autobot to appear in the movie got a figure in this assortment, but only three of the Decepticons, and not even the three with the most screen time. Barricade, Scorponok, Starscream, Bonecrusher and Frenzy get no love. And this'd be the ideal format for Scorponok and Frenzy, because it would make them much closer to scale with the transforming toys. CAPSULES Ironhide (Movie): Could use a little more paint on the face, but a good adaptation. Recommended. $4.99 at Target. Autobot Jazz (Movie): Off model in some ways, but I like the changes. Recommended. $4.99 at Target. Megatron (Movie): Nice, if insufficiently dramatic mold. Paint job a bit too dark. Mildly recommended. $4.99 at Target. Optimus Prime (Movie): Some molding iffiness, otherwise a decent translation. Mildly recommended. $5.88 at Wal-Mart. Bumblebee (Movie version 1): Best of the first three, only real flaw is that he's as tall as the other two. Recommended. $5.88 at Wal-Mart. Blackout (Movie): Dull static pose, doesn't translate so well due to weird proportions. Very mildly recommended. $5.88 at Wal-Mart. Decepticon Brawl (Movie): Some odd redesigns and missing the main gun, but otherwise pretty good. Mildly recommended. $4.99 at Target. Autobot Ratchet (Movie): Odd and unpleasant pose, so-so color matching, generally unimpressive. Neutral. $4.99 at Target. RANTS Packaging: Same sort of packaging as the previous assortments of 3" Titaniums, but with a few tweaks. First, the movie logo is used on the front of the blister, as a sticker. Second, the back has all new design, using a photo of the toy rather than a line drawing, and the movie-packaging style "string of beads" for statbars. However, they still only use six of the eight stats. P/N's start with 662430----. 1300 for Prime, 1400 for Bumblebee, 1500 for Blackout. There don't seem to be catalogs in any of these, annoyingly. Wave two (Ironhide, Jazz, Megatron) has 2200 through 2400 as the last four digits, wave three (Brawl, Ratchet) has 0900 and 1000. It just occured to me that the typeface used in the bio notes is awfully similar to that used on eye charts. A note on the bases that come with these. Still no pegs (and no peg-holes in the feet, a problem with the metal-booted ones), and the faction symbols are the new movie designs. The Autobot symbol is a little squintier, and the Decepticon symbol has four-sided eyes rather than triangular. The Autobot symbols are just held in by blister pressure, but the Decepticon symbols get a single rubber band across the "forehead horns". Side note, reviewing Titanium 3" figures in an apartment that's at about 80 degrees (hey, since losing weight I'm comfortable at warmer temps) makes it hard to figure out what parts are metal in some cases. So I stuck 'em in the freezer for a couple minutes. :) AUTOBOT: IRONHIDE To call IRONHIDE "gung-ho" would be something of an understatement. Even before the war with the DECEPTICONS, he was a weapons nut. During rest cycles, he would travel to asteroid fields with his newest toys and blast iron space rocks into dust. Those were his happiest days; alone in the silent depth of space, feeling the kick of a fusion cannon as explosions bloomed in the distance, without a care in the world. Granted, he still gets to try out the newest weapons, but now it's against moving targets. To be honest, the war has been going on for a long time, and blasting DECEPTICONS isn't as much fun as it used to be. STR 7 INT 6 SPD 5 END 9 COUR 9 FRB 6 Avg 7 Interesting deep backstory on Ironhide. Several of these bio notes are showing bits of story or personality not seen elsewhere (although others just repeat the same stuff). 2 twist-ties hold him to the blister, no accessories. Height: 2.25" (6cm). Parts: Torso above waist and legs below knees are metal. Everything else is black plastic. Paints: Gold, silver and metallic blue. The gold is mainly an accent color, on the antennae, knuckles, arm gears and other small details. Metallic blue is mainly on the face, fists, torso bits and various accents. The eyes are actually more of a bright blue, although it's hard to tell. Silver on bumpers, thighs, gunbarrels and many details. There's black paint on the metal parts as well. A black Autobot symbol is on a silver panel at the center of the back, making this one of the few 3" Titaniums to have a faction symbol. The face could stand to have a bit more paint on it, most of the detail is lost. Pose: In a bit of a squat, both arms bent 90 degrees with weapons in split configuration rather than combined. Head and waist turn, although the head's a bit blocked in by shoulderpads. The arms swivel at the shoulders, but the big shoulderpad block much of the range of motion. You can take advantage of the softer plastic and force the arms up into a slot on the shoulderpads for a slightly expanded range. Accessory: Just the base. Overall: Pretty nice. And unlike the Voyager version, the hood halves stay where they're supposed to. :) AUTOBOT: AUTOBOT JAZZ If a thing can't be done in style, then it isn't worth doing, thinks AUTOBOT JAZZ. That's why he's so happy to be on Earth. Humans may be small and soft, but they make up in incredible design what they lack in built-in weapons systems. Take his alternate mode, for example. He's been discovering new features every day since he scanned it! And look at these lines! You know, once MEGATRON and the DECEPTICONS are defeated, AUTOBOT JAZZ might just consider retiring here. STR 6 INT 6 SPD 9 END 7 COUR 9 FRB 6 Avg 7.33 1 twist-tie holds him in. No accessories. Height: 2.5" (6.5cm). Parts: The torso is metal, as is the piece from waist to knees. The res is silvery medium gray plastic. Paints: Silvery gray paint on the metal parts is a good match to the plastic. Extensive black paint in the crevices and joints, and on the face and pistol. Light metallic blue on the visor and headlights (both the ones on the chest and the ones on the forearms). There's some copper details here and there, and red on parts of the back that I suppose are the taillights. There's no paint on the small Pontiac hood ornament (and no Pontiac licensor note on the package). Pose: Right leg leading, left leg bent a bit more than right. Left arm bent tighter than 90 degrees with three-clawed hand open and grasping. Not the four claws seen on the Robot Replica, hm. The right arm is bent only a little and holding a black pistol not seen on any other Jazz representation I can recall. Articulation is the usual four swivels: neck, waist, shoulders. Accessory: Just the base. Overall: Even less leggy than the Robot Replica, I definitely prefer these proportions to any other toy version. A bit odd on some of the details, but given that I'm not exactly in love with all the details on the movie design I don't see that as a problem. DECEPTICON: MEGATRON TRANSFORMERS do dream when in stasis lock; strange machine-thoughts influenced by the baseline sensor feed that remains active even when all other systems are in full shutdown. So it was with MEGATRON, his vast, sleeping intellect dreaming sweeping fancies of power and conquest, his systems striving to connect with the energy web surrounding the nearby AllSpark - the prize for which he has searched so long. When he wakes, it is with an anger at his captivity terrible to behold, and a hunger for final victory that will not be stopped. STR 10 INT 10 SPD 10 END 10 COUR 9 FRB 10 Avg 9.83 2 twist-ties hold him to the blister. Height: 2.75" (7cm) tall, one of the bigger ones. Parts: Torso above waist is metal, as are the shins (the feet are plastic). Everything else is black plastic. Paints: The metal parts are basepainted in black, and then everything gets the equivalent of a gunmetal drybrush. There's a few bronze details, mainly the hands and feet. The eyes are red, but so small and deepset that they're hard to notice. This is kinda the opposite of all the other Megatron toys so far. Those are too silvery, not enough black in the cracks. This one is way too dark, and the highlighted details all sort of run together when you're more than a foot away. Could stand another run of drybrushing with bright silver. Pose: Slightly crouching, left leg a bit out to the side. The left arm is almost straight, with the hand in a somewhat relaxed position. It's not a weird mess of spiny claws, though, it looks like a proper clawed hand. The right arm is bent about 90 degrees with claws in a raking pose. Standard four swivel joints: neck, waist, shoulders. Accessory: Just the base. Overall: A bit muddy and murky, but that's fairly fixable. Decent mold, although the pose is a tad passive and non-menacing for such a character. AUTOBOT: OPTIMUS PRIME OPTIMUS PRIME has lost a lot of friends to MEGATRON and the DECEPTICONS over the long centuries of the hunt for the AllSpark. All of those friends were warriors and soldiers, though, who knew the price of their quest. This is the first time they've brought their war to an inhabited planet. MEGATRON may not care about the destruction he leaves in his wake, but OPTIMUS PRIME will be rusted if he's going to let the DECEPTICONS harm one, single human. STR 10 INT 10 SPD 7 END 10 COUR 10 FRB 10 Avg 9.5 Hm. That line about no other inhabited planets already contradicts at least a little of the existing movie-setting fiction, and really puts a damper on fanfic. So I will likely just ignore it. :) Besides, if Prime never had to protect another race, it's harder to explain his strong committment to doing so from the word go. 2 twist-ties hold the legs. He has a weapon morphed around his arm, but his right fist is still visible on one side. Height: Just shy of 2.75" (7cm). Parts: Boots and torso are metal. I suspect all the plastic pieces are made of silvery light gray plastic, although the wheels on his thighs might be black plastic. His backpack is also plastic. Paints: His torso and boots are painted silver, red and blue with some black wash in the details and a flame boundary between blue and silver in several places. His chest windows are simply silver. The helmet is blue and the eyes are light blue. The plastic limb parts are painted more of a darker gunmetal gray for the most part, with only a couple silver bits. He has some gold on his knees and ankles. Whether painted or made of that color plastic, the tires on his thighs are black, with no separate color on the hubcaps. Pose: Knees slightly bent, leaning a little to his right. Left arm akimbo, right bent slightly and intended to have the gun raised to bear on target. Shoulders, waist and neck turn. Accessory: Just the base. His gun is fused into his arm. Overall: He has some mold flash issues on the head, which looks a little misshapen in general. Still, translating movie-greebled designs down to this size is a difficult task, and they do a decent job of it. AUTOBOT: BUMBLEBEE As an advance scout and spy for the AUTOBOTS, BUMBLEBEE is as comfortable incognito as he is unshakeable in the heat of battle. he has taken more wounds than almost any other AUTOBOT - not because of his lack of skill as a fighter, but because his courage and drive to win take him into far more dangerous situations than most of his comrades are willing to go. STR 6 INT 7 SPD 6 END 5 COUR 10 FRB 3 Avg 6.33 2 twist-ties on the legs. This is the 1970s Camaro version, I think. The headlights are about the only part I'm certain about, though. I suppose he could keep the same robot chest elements after picking up the 2009 model altmode. Oddly, unlike other toys I have of the character so far, he has four wings, not just two. As if he has rear doors that shrink down into smaller wings, for a butterfly effect. His right forearm is morphed into a big gun that belies his Fireblast of 3. Height: A little over 2.5" (6.5cm) tall, which makes him look weird next to Prime and Blackout. His head is much larger than theirs, since he's not in the same scale as they are. Parts: Torso and pelvis/thighs chunk are metal. I think all the plastic parts are black plastic, including the butterfly wings. Paints: Bright yellow, black and silver all mixed together. The windows on his upper wingdoors are silver, but the lower ones are just yellow all the way. His cannon hand is mostly silver with some black wash. He has the full silver "beard" going on, and light blue eyes. Pose: Right leg bent a little, leading the left leg. Left arm bent 90 degrees at the elbow and fist curled up a little. Right arm bent only a little, with cannon-hand. The head, waist and shoulders turn. Accessory: Just the base. Overall: In terms of mold and paint job, cleanest of the lot. I'd prefer it if they'd molded it maybe a half centimeter shorter, though, so the scale different wouldn't stand out so much. DECEPTICON: BLACKOUT Few DECEPTICONS have the single-minded focus of BLACKOUT. When he is given a target, he will stop at nothing to reach and destroy it, no matter where it is. Across a continent, or on the other side of the galaxy, BLACKOUT will go, destroying whatever gets in his way, and in his wake leaving only ashes. STR 8 INT 6 SPD 8 END 7 COUR 5 FRB 9 Avg 7.33 One twist-tie around the waist. He's holding a three-bladed rotor weapon in his left hand, and the left arm has a weird reversed jointing system with a long forearm and short upper arm. Height: Just over 2.5" (6.5cm). Parts: Torso, boots, and most of the shoulder mounted engine thruster are metal, but the tips of the thrusters aren't. Plastic plug where his rotor would attach. I'm pretty sure all the plastic parts are a dark gray plastic, although the thruster tips might be a pale blue-gray plastic. Paints: A mix of dark gray and pale blue-gray for the most part, intermixed pretty aggresively as one would expect from a movie design. There's a few silver accents, mainly on the upper arms, chest and rotor core, plus a couple little splashes on the hips. Pose: Arms are more or less straight, although weirdly jointed. He holds his rotor weapon in his left palm. Both legs are at "ease", but he's digitigrade (chickenlegged). Most static pose of the first three. Turns at waist and shoulders. Looks like the head theoretically turns, but it's crammed in between kibble bits and my fingers are too big to get it to move. And I don't feel like getting out the needlenose pliers. Accessory: Just the base. Either his rotor weapon is glued to his hand, or it's the worst case of paintlock I've ever seen. Either way, not messing with it. Overall: So-so translation, I guess the inhuman jointing of the limbs doesn't lend itself as well to shrinking down. And while "stepping forward a little" is already done on the other two, some sort of non-static stance would have been nice. DECEPTICON: DECEPTICON BRAWL If there's one thing DECEPTICON BRAWL loves, it's a nice, big explosion. The bigger the better. He doesn't really care if he's the cause of the explosion, but it does make for a more pleasing experience in general if it's his shells at ground zero. His favorite part is the visible pressure wave of compressed, heated air rushing away from a blast, pushing debris ahead of it and pulling dust and smoke after. He also really likes the part where the tiny bits of whatever it was just blew up come raining down out of the sky, smoking and twisted. Oh yeah, that part rules. Jaime wants big boom! He is SUCH a Mythbusters cast member. 2 twist-ties secure him. Barely! BOOM! Height: 2.25" (6cm) at the head, 2.75" (7cm) tall including the cannon barrels on the back. Parts: Core torso and the legs below the knees are metal. The rest is olive green plastic, including shouldertreads and turret backpack. Paints: Good olive green match on the torso. Lots of appropriate black, silver and gold details, plus red eyes. The minesifters on the chest kinda blend into the body, though. Pose: Arms akimbo and bent a bit, feet apart but otherwise not too dynamic. He has his missile pods coming out of the shouldertreads instead of the turret. The arms have the weapon loadout found on Leader-class Brawl, but the main tank gun barrel is entirely missing. Oddly, only two of the four barrels on his left arm gun are extended. Standard four joints, but the head's wedged between treads and doesn't turn much. Accessory: Just the base. Overall: The placement of the rocket pods is kinda offputting, and I wish they'd found a way to include the main cannon. Otherwise a nice toy. AUTOBOT: AUTOBOT RATCHET AUTOBOT RATCHET is a healer before all else. Wherever fighting is thickest, that's where you will find him. He'll be there not because he glories in combat, but because the thickest fighting generates the most casualties. When a robot falls - AUTOBOT or DECEPTICON - AUTOBOT RATCHET will be there to patch his wounds and ease his pain. To him all life is sacred. To protect it is his purpose. No sacrifice is too great, no allegiance too strict and no journey too long to sway him from that purpose. 2 twist-ties again. Height: 2.5" (6.5cm). Parts: The torso above the waist and legs below the knees are metal. The rest is made of metallic chartreuse plastic, including the spare tire on the back. Well, I'm pretty sure it's not black plastic. Paints: The metal parts have a slightly darker chartreuse paint on them than the plastic it's trying to match. Plenty of black and silver paint, red accents on the arms, chest and head, dark blue eyes. There seems to be silver accents on the face, but they're almost impossible to make out, and the face comes across looking nearly unpainted. Pose: A sort of lurching Frankenstein thing (legs together and bent a bit at the knees, arms bent a little but otherwise straight), with hands curled into "cat claws" of some sort. It's zombie Ratchet! Has the narrowest stance of the lot, and can stand on the roof of T.J., the Cars Hummer (from Sarge's boot camp at the end) toy I got today too (and might repaint into a Cars-style Ratchet). Accessory: Just the base. Overall: The whole Frankenstein's Monster deal might work okay with some characters, but not this one. If they couldn't try for a "rendering aid" pose, maybe a sumo thing would have worked. Combine with the head looking fairly unpainted in a sea of black on the upper torso, and it's generally not that impressive. Dave Van Domelen, really wishes the pegs were still there on the bases, even though all the figures stand stably without 'em.