Dave's Transformers Classics Rant: Voyagers Wave 1 Optimus Prime Megatron Y'know, at the rate I'm finding these elsewhere, by the time the local Target deigns to sell Classics to me (the management has a hard stand on not letting people get stuff out of the back before the reset date, apparently due to abuse by Hot Wheels collectors), I'll have 'em all. CAPSULES Optimus Prime: Solid vehicle mode, interesting transformation, very good robot mode. Strongly recommended. $19.76 at Wal-Mart. Megatron: Good gun mode, shellformer transformation but with some virtues to it, decent robot mode. Recommended. $19.76 at Wal-Mart. RANTS Packaging: Like the Cybertron Voyagers, the "Classic Voyager" class uses keystone- shaped boxes. Unlike Cybertron, however, there's no faceting of the edges to create a gemlike effect. These boxes are strictly six-sided. 11" (28cm) across at the top, 8" (20cm) across at the bottom, 8" (20cm) tall, and 4" (10cm) deep. The lack of edge-trimming makes them sturdier and easier to pick up one-handed without crumpling. Three pieces of tape hold the lid shut. The front, top and right side (as seen from the front) are extensively clear-windowed. Both boxes are laid out the same way, as with the Deluxes (as opposed to the mirror-flopping used in Cybertron), with the color schemes being almost identical except for a few little details here and there being purple or red depending on faction. The top panel has the faction, name, faction symbol, and "Classic Voyager". The bottom panel has a little legalese and a lot of blank space. The right panel, where it isn't a window, has the faction symbol and color accents in the faction color. The left side has "Also available" and then a mostly red panel with the other five first wave Classics in robot mode, with yellow faction symbols and names. The other Voyager is at the top, with the Deluxes in a zigzag. From top to bottom: Starscream, Rodimus, Bumblebee, Astrotrain. The front has the logo at the top, with the relevant faction symbol. In the lower left is the mugshot of the robot mode, with name and function below that. In the lower right is the "Flip for robot mode" gimmick. In both cases, the robot mode is not fully shown inside, they opted for a "too huge to fit in frame!" layout. Unlike on the Deluxes, these flipcards are an integral part of the box, requiring some cutting if you want to save 'em. On the back, the top center has the logo and character name. The top left has the techspec numbers, and I'm glad to see they resisted the temptation to give either leader all 10s (each has two non-10 stats, in fact). The bio note and motto are in the lower right, with the altmode above them, including official term for the altmode (Prime's is called a Tractor- Trailer, despite the lack of trailer). The lower and middle left are dominated by the robot mode, with function reiterated between their feet. There are callouts for special features, as with the Deluxes. Inside, a bag with the instructions is taped to the back of the inner cardboard tray. As with the Deluxes, they're single-sided and done in two ink colors (black and either red or purple). AUTOBOT: OPTIMUS PRIME Altmode: Tractor Trailer Function: Autobot Leader Weapons: Laser Cannon, Ion Blaster Motto: "No sacrifice is too great in the service of freedom." The greatest in a long line of AUTOBOT leaders, OPTIMUS PRIME is a beacon of hope to those who suffer under the tyranny of MEGATRON. He is devoted to the defense of weaker creatures, and has dedicated his life to fighting against MEGATRON wherever he goes. He is unwavering in his compassion, which sometimes allows his enemies to take advantage of him, but he is also utterly without fear in the face of overwhelming odds. Where freedom is threatened, he is an unstoppable force, and a mighty defender of justice and right. STR 10 INT 10 SPD 6 END 10 RNK 10 COUR 10 FRB 8 SKL 10 Avg 9.25 Callouts are "Smokestacks become laser cannon!" and "Wind vane becomes ion blaster!" Two twist-ties hold the semi mode to the blister (which is not glued or taped down), two more hold the smokestacks/cannon to the blister. Two rubber bands help keep the cab and rear section together. The instructions reveal a combined weapon mode not shown on the package back, a set of shoulder cannons. (Not shown anywhere is that the smokestack cannon can be popped into two pistols if you want.) Semi Mode: Not being a student of semis, I couldn't tell you if this is particularly close to any model in specific. It is, however, a "cabover" style (to use the terminology I learned from Car Wars, and that seems to annoy the truck purists), with a long enough cab that it's clearly also a "sleeper" style with a tiny apartment in the back. Long haul stuff. It's a bit more aerodynamic than the classic G1 Optimus, though, with front windows that angle back a bit. It also has a wind vane, one of those scoops on the top that's designed to reduce turbulence at the leading edge of the trailer. Mind you, there's no trailer, nor is the trailer hitch too good for hooking any existing trailer to (it's square-ish). The smokestacks are rectangular and clearly gun-parts, evoking the idea of stacks more than actually embodying it. And there's the inevitable toes pointing out the back. There's also some kneecap chunks ahead of the hitch. No real fifth wheel, though. The truck is 6" (16cm) long and 2.25" (5.5cm) wide. The height is 3.5" (9cm) at the stack tips, or a minimum of 2.5" (6cm) if you ignore the stacks and the vane. Sticking to the 8 foot width I used for estimating the scale of 20th Anniversary Prime (seriously, I googled for "semitractor dimensions width" and my 20th Prime rant was on the second page), that makes a 5.5cm width give us a scale of about 1:44. That makes the tires about 90cm in diameter at scale, or just under three feet. Reasonable for a big rig (I can't find direct figures, but I did find specs for a 1/14 scale big rig that had 88mm diameter tires, or 123cm to scale). Most of the rear and underside are made of a darkish blue plastic (0033CC), some of which glows brightly under UV, some of which doesn't glow at all. No rhyme or reason, so we're looking at a change in plastic batches during the assembly. The vane and rear half of the cab are made of a bright red (FF0000) plastic that glows a little under UV, except for one little bit of the vane (that becomes the gun handle) and some of the joint pieces which glow a lot (the separation is more consistent than for the blue, though). The front half is mostly clear blue plastic that glows a little, painted over extensively with red paint (very good match to the plastic). Silver stripes run along the sides of the cab and the rear of the vane. The grille and bumper are light gray plastic (a bit lighter than CCCCCC) that glows a little. The headlights are painted yellow (FFFF00) with silver borders, and the roof lights are all painted yellow. The tires and smokestacks are black plastic with silver paint. The rubsign is on the passenger side, below the door. This contradicts the position shown on the driver's side in the indent behind the door as seen on the packaging photos. There are seats molded inside the cockpit, and a tiny steering wheel, but there's also a big chunk between the seats forced by the fact the robot head is stored there. The head is not visible, though, it's in a block. If you remove the wind vane, the default is to have Prime's face staring up through a gap in the roof, but you can always turn the head around so it's just an irregular blue sunroof panel. All six wheels turn freely. For the most part, the truck holds together well. However, the vane is really only held on by one peg and some loose guidebars, so it flops around a bit. The smokestacks can be a bit tricky to peg on as well, since their pegs are tiny and on movable bits of the stacks. Transformation: The rear section swings down, separates, and has the feet fold down...pretty much canonical Optimus Prime. There's a few tweaks, though, such as the blue panels along the sides of the cab fold down to cover the wheels, and a couple of chunks fold up as kneecaps. Unlike the canonical Prime transformation, however, there's a lot more to do for the upper body than just pull out the arms. The arms have a lot of panels attached to them and involve several joints to deploy. The upper half of the torso spins around to make the cab windows into the chest, but the front wheels remain in back, folding up into a sort of fanny pack. My British readers may now take a moment to snicker. It's a good idea to pop the head up before twisting around, though, as it can get kinda wedged into place otherwise. Some of the panels on the forearms wrap around, but there's still big "side of the cab" slabs hanging off the arms. The smokestacks fold together to form the laser cannon, with energy pack halves flipping out first, and the handle halves swinging up. There's a small red piece connecting the halves, and while it's pinned on one side, it's only pegged on the other. So it's possible to split this into two smaller guns for two gun mojo that has symmetry. The wind vane does some origami of its own to become a rifle, with a gray barrel tip flipping out at the front. The instructions also show a way to plug the smokestacks onto the vane without transforming either, resulting in a shoulder cannon assembly. It's a real pain trying to get them to clip together, though, as both the pegs and the holes are on parts that have wiggle room. You can also just leave the vane on his back like a shield, although the peg isn't long enough to let him hold the vane as a shield in robot mode. Of course, with those cab chunks on his arms, he doesn't need another shield. Robot Mode: 6.75" (17cm) tall, and one of the best-proportioned Primes. His abs are sculpted (literally, of course), and made to look like a narrower version of his truck front. The abdomen is red plastic with silver paint. The pelvis is light gray with yellow paint on the codpiece area and on the headlights molded to either side. The upper arms and thighs are made from gray plastic, although much of the thighs is painted a dark blue that matches the plastic on the boots very well. There's black plastic panels on the shins, and the fists are also black plastic. The head is blue plastic with silver faceplate and yellow crest. The eyes are lightpiped light blue, but don't light well. The faceplate looks a bit pinched. The figure looks a little more "lit up" than most Primes, with yellow accents on the forearms and kneecaps in addition to those already mentioned. The head turns, and thanks to the transformation joint on the piece it's connected to, the head can tilt forward so Prime is looking down at puny humans. There's a swivel at mid-torso an the waist, and while kibble interferes with both, between the two of them Prime can turn his upper body fairly far. The shoulders are swivel and hinge universal joints, with upper arm swivels and hinge elbows below them. There is no wrist articulation. The hips are universal joints that look like they should ratchet, but don't. There's a swivel just above each knee (the knee joint section itself being black), and the knees are hinged. The ankles have transformation articulation, basically letting the toes point. Additionally, the assembly that holds the wind vane is articulated enough to act as a sort of scorpion tail, holding one of his guns. Overall: While some have called it small for a Voyager, it makes up for that with detail and actually managing to bring something fresh to the almost thirty year old concept of the transforming cabover semi (remember, the design predates Transformers). Not without flaws, mostly relating to the accessories, but an outstanding toy in general. DECEPTICON: MEGATRON Altmode: Fusion Blaster Function: Decepticon Supreme Commander Weapon: Anti-Proton Pulse Cannon Motto: "Lesser creaters are the playthings of my will." MEGATRON is the most feared and powerful leader in the history of Cybertron. His might is legendary, and his name is spoken only in whispers. He will stop at nothing in his drive to conquer the universe. So great is his will to power that even his own followers are little more to him than fuel for his war machine, and his enemies are less than the dust he grinds beneath his feet. He is always at the front of any DECEPTICON charge, soaring into the sky and vaporizing enemy positions with his antiproton pulse cannon. The mere sight of his snarling face is enough to break the spirit of many an Autobot. STR 10 INT 10 SPD 6 END 10 RNK 10 COUR 10 FRB 10 SKL 7 Avg 9.125 Callouts are "Working scope becomes anti-proton pulse canon!" (yes, canon), "Cylinder becomes wings!" and "Clicking trigger!" (Yes, it clicks. Whee.) And someone's clearly been reading Nietzsche...what with the "will to power" blatantly used here, and the heavy protect-the-weak counterpoint in Prime. Two twist-ties hold the gun mode to the backing tray, with one of them being wrapped around the scope. No rubber bands. Gun mode: As has been noted by fans for months, this bears a strong resemblance to the Nerf Maverick dartgun, although it's not an exact match even if you leave aside the scope (which the Maverick lacks). When you get right down to it, this looks like an energy blaster designed by someone who was trying to evoke 20th century revolvers in terms of little details, but then got those details wrong. The trigger guard is too small, even proportionally. The cylinder is actually two semi-cylinders that have the wrong curvature to be part of the same cylinder. The hammer is permanently cocked back and cannot move forward. That sort of thing. In the meantime, the chunky bit under the cylinders (formed by the leg that doesn't make the grip) looks like an energy cell, and the clear plastic reinforces the energy weapon feel. Most of the visible gun is either a very light gray plastic that glows a little under UV or clear yellow-green plastic that's mostly painted over in that same gray (the clear bits glow under UV). The only unpainted clear plastic is found on the cylinder halves and in the scope. The grip and energy clip sections are a combination of purple (6633FF, glows strongly) and black plastics. The barrel tip and the front of the scope are safety orange (FF9933) that glows like gangbusters under UV. There's some purple and gold paint accents in various places. A large Decepticon symbol is molded onto each side of the scope, painted purple (the purple paint glows a little). Total length is 8" (20cm) with the scope being 5" (13cm) long. If it was scaled for adult hands, it'd probably be about 12" (30cm) long. Coincidentally, the Maverick is that long. :) The scope "works" in the sense that you can look through it and see a crosshairs, but the plastic is kinda warped and this blurs the image. Pulling the trigger makes a clicking sound, as if Megatron was shooting blanks...maybe he should have a talk with Smilin' Bob? (Aside: David "Megatron" Kaye does the narration in the Smilin' Bob ads, as far as I know and have been informed.) The trigger has to go almost all the way forward to reset the click, so you need to either use just a fingertip or have fingers less than a centimeter thick to get multishot. Deploying the toes and heel on the grip allows for an AA emplacement mode. There is no rubsign. There is a square indentation on top of the scope that looks like it may have been intended to hold one, but I guess they decided that all the molded symbols were enough. Despite the fact it doesn't shoot anything or make impressive noises, it's still kinda fun to point and click with Megatron. :) Transformation: Total shellformer. You open up the sides of the gun and there's a pile of robot mode bits contorted to fit inside. To give some credit, there's a lot of work needed to get them into robot formation, but it's still a shellformer. I was able to transform it correctly without opening the instructions by simply following the dictum, "If it can move, move it." Going back to gun mode was a little trickier, you may want to transform it back right away before you forget, and go back and forth a few times before leaving it in robot mode for a while. One thing I just noticed is that the clips that hold the gunshell halves together fold down for robot mode, be sure to fold them back up for gun mode. Robot Mode: 7.25" (18.5cm) tall at the head, add another inch to the wingtops. Wingspan is 7.5" (19cm). The proportions are a little on the leggy side, especially the big kinky boots. The scope is attached to the underside of the right forearm, rather than the traditional top side. The torso, shoulders, upper arms, head and thighs are made from very light gray plastic. There's black and gold paint on the thighs, and purple accents on the shoulders. The right shoulder has the safety orange gun tip on it, while the left has the hammer. The face is painted silver, with black evil eyebrows. The package photos have the eyebrows unpainted, with the classic two black triangles on the forehead, which I like better. The eyes are light green lightpiping. The toes, heel spurs, knee joints, chest panel and forearms are purple plastic. There's a molded Decepticon symbol on the chest panel, painted in white and purple. The purple paint glows more brightly under UV than the purple plastic. There's very light gray paint accents on the toes. The pelvis is black plastic with silver and gold accents. The fists are black. The default position of the wings shows the clear green plastic unpainted side, giving the impression that these are energon wings. The hip joints are safety orange. Balance is an issue, even with the heel spurs, thanks to the mass of the wings. It helps to have the arms pointed forward at least some. The cannon and wings tend to interfere with each other as well. The Dreamwave Crouch pose shown on the package is stable, though. The head is on a ball joint, and can head-bang. The shoulders are ratcheting swivel-and-hinge universal joints, with non-ratcheting upper arm swivels. The elbows ratchet, but there's no wrist articulation. Due to the way the transformation works, waist articulation isn't possible...there's a joint in there, but everything's locked down. The hips are ratcheting universal joints, the knees are ratcheting hinges, and there's a non- ratcheting swivel above each knee. The feet don't have meaningful articulation, the transformation hinges are a bit too loose to support poses. [Later note: the pegs on his wings that go into the sides of the scope happen to be dead Mini-Con hardpoints too. So he can collect a few himself.] Overall: A shellformer with kibble issues, but decent within those limitations. I wish the trigger click would reset a millimeter or so sooner, to accomodate larger fingers, but am otherwise happy with the gun mode. Worth picking up. Dave Van Domelen, amused that Megatron has the power of Canon.