Dave's Superlink Transformers Rant

     Kicker

     I ordered this from Knock-Out Toys via the AllSpark.com.  There's
rumblings that we might get this toy in the U.S., but it's listed as a
Deluxe, making me think perhaps we'll get a larger toy (or maybe two-packed
with a Perceptor recolor, who knows).

CAPSULE

     Kicker: Insanely articulated Microman body with a few bits of armor and
a chromed Energon Saber.  Main drawback is that many of the joints are
actually PVC-like pegs, so body parts come off easily.  Strongly
recommended.  Price depends on importer, and my recommendation does not take
price into account (since it might be coming here for $10 or less).

RANT

     Packaging: I can all but guarantee it'll be on a blister card if we get
it in the U.S., but here's the Japanese packaging info.  The box is 4cm deep,
5cm wide and 12cm tall for the main body, with a hang tab in back another 2cm
tall.  There's a partial window on front and top to let you see the head and
shoulders of the figure.  The front art is a picture of the toy with a
half-strength image of the cartoon version in the background.  "Kicker" is in
English on the front.  The picture from the front is repeated on the left,
with the imprint SC14 (Superlink Cybertron number 14).  The right side has a
cartoon image of Kicker with helmet off, and SC14 again.  The back has
various legalese in Japanese, and tiny pictures of the figure and sword.  On
top of the box is a Transformers 20th Anniversary logo...and a Microman 30th
Anniversary logo.  The bottom has the safety info.  (Side note: Takara's
using the Microman body to do licensed stuff as part of the anniversary year,
including Casshern and Batman in addition to Transformers.)  [Side Side Note:
Turns out they started doing it last year, not as a 30th anniversary thing at
all.  Ah well.]
     Inside the box, a plastic blister is twist-tied (one tie) over the
figure who rests against a cardboard backer tray.  There's no tape involved
in securing the blister, nor glue.  It's a bit difficult getting the tray
back into the box.  Behind the tray is a taped bag with the Energon Saber.

     Figure: At 10cm (4"), this is taller than the previous Microman lines by
2cm, probably a necessity to accomodate all the new joints.  Sadly, this
makes him too tall to ride Arcee.  The main plastic colors are black and
white, with blue and red paint, as well as some white paint on the black
parts and vice versa.  This is clearly a Kicker toy from the word go, not
just something they hacked together out of available pieces to get close.
The head is just the helmet, they don't provide a spare unhelmeted head as
with the Casshern figure.  There are two parts that can be split in two and
removed, the chest armor/backpack and the belt.  These are a little on the
brittle side, but I've managed to remove and replace them without damage.
These armor bits do impede motion a little.
     Okay, here's a rundown of all the joints.  All THIRTY of them.
     Head - The head is mounted on a peg (and therefore slides off easily)
which itself goes into a ball joint.  So the head can turn all the way around
and nod up and down, side to side.
     Torso - There's a folding joint between chest and abdomen and a GIJoe-
style waist (but it seems to use a ball joint, not a rubber band).
     Shoulders - Double ball joint, really neat.  The joint has a big ball at
the end that goes into the torso and a small ball at the end that goes into
the upper arm.  This gives astonishingly good range of motion for the arms
without having big obvious slots and gaps.  And he can shrug.
     Arms - The bicep piece pegs onto the deltoid as a swivel joint, and is
removable.  The elbows are double hinges, so the arms can fold almost
completely double.  The wrists peg into the forearms for another swivel, and
tend to fall out because of the soft plastic used.  Finally, there's a hinge
where the hand meets the wrist so the hand can flap back and forth (and
adjust for holding the sword with two hands).  The arms are the most
susceptible to falling apart at the peg joints.
     Legs - Ball joint hips, with a non-peg swivel just below them.  The blue
kneecaps are double hinged so the legs can bend double.  The ankles are a
combination of a hinge with nearly 180 degree range and a ball that pops into
a socket in the foot, giving some wiggle room and the ability to rotate the
feet.  There are 3mm pegholes in the base of the feet, but no corresponding
pegs on the sword for surfing.

     Sword: All silver chrome and 10cm (4") long, it's not quite
proportional.  In fact, the Mini-Con forming the top third of the weapon is
stretched out to be slightly more than half the length of the entire sword.
Still, it looks pretty good, although gold would have been a more appropriate
chroming color.
     The handle has two parts.  The part closest to the body of the sword is
a 5mm peg suitable for holding in regular TF hands.  Well, ALMOST.  The
chrome layer makes it just a little too thick for many hands, a real
stress-mark-maker.  The lower part of the hilt has a smaller diameter, so
that Kicker can hold it.  At 12mm long, this part is long enough to
accomodate both hands at once, and Kicker's poseable enough to pull it off.
His hands are made of softer plastic to (in theory) better grip the handle,
but it can be iffy.
     The "kibble" side of the sword has three Mini-Con connectors that are
intended to let it connect to hardpoints.  However, once again the chrome
comes into play and makes it difficult to attach.  Even Demolishor's kinda
small hardpoints won't take any of the connectors.
     Minus the chrome and plus some pegs for him to use it as a surfboard, it
would have been an excellent accessory.  As it stands, it's merely decent.

     Overall: Really good figure marred only a bit by the fact that bits can
fall off.  Sword could be better, but is good.  If you can find it for a
reasonable price, get it.

     Dave Van Domelen, notes Kicker is too big to ride Arcee, but just right
to dance with her....