Dave's Wal-Mart Exclusive Transformers Rant: Cybertron Movie Recolors Divebomb Grindcore Jolt Big Daddy (w00t) Permalink: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Movie/DeluxeW1 As the movie line peters out into recolors, Wal-Mart's grabbing a few last exclusives, including a quartet of Cybertron mold recolors (and another Robot Heroes set, but that's another review). Divebomb is Thundercracker, Grindcore is Landmine: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Cybertron/Deluxe1 Jolt is Crosswise: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Cybertron/Deluxe4 Big Daddy is Downshift: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Cybertron/Deluxe5 Update 3/7/08: Wonkimus decided he wanted all four after all. CAPSULES Divebomb: Decent mold (originally Mildly Recommended), but I have too many to want another. I picked one up for Wonkimus Major, though. $9.96 at Wal-Mart. Grindcore: Good mold (originally Strongly Recommended), but while the name interests me, it's Yet Another Green Construction Vehicle, so I only got it because Wonkimus Major wanted one. $9.96 at Wal-Mart. Jolt: Good mold (originally Recommended), but I already have two decos of it, I only got one because Wonkimus Major wanted one. The transformation is still kinda tricky. $9.96 at Wal-Mart. Big Daddy: Not only is it a Strongly Recommended mold originally, it's the first reuse of Big Daddy as a character (a Micromaster muscle car with something of a cult following). While black and orange is often a garish combination, I think it works here. Strongly recommended. $9.96, expect it to go for more on eBay than the other three. RANTS Packaging: Standard AllSpark Power Deluxe packaging, with a blue "Only at WAL*MART" sticker on the front. There's endcap "point of purchase" displays for these, but expect older non-exclusive Deluxes to be mixed in as well, to fill out the endcap. The co-sells are of the other three exclusives, plus Overcast and Jungle Bonecrusher. There's no catalog packed in with these, at least not with the two I got. Each comes with a Cybertron Autobot or "Planet X" Planet Key in red or purple as appropriate. No paint on the Keys except for silver printing of the faction symbol on the Autobots or pale metallic lavender printing of it on the Decepticons. The package backs show the Autobots with the "Matrix Key" mold that Optimus Prime had, but both have the Cybertron Autobot mold instead. Later note: the endcap displays have three Jolt, three Divebombe, two Big Daddy and one Grindcore each. Decepticons outnumber Autobots two to one, providing more evidence that Wal-Mart is on the side of eeeeevil. ;) As always, Function and Motto are either my inventions or the G1/G2 info. DECEPTICON: DIVEBOMB Altmode: Flanker Fighter Jet (mix of Su-34 through Su-37 elements) Licensor: None Previous Name Use: G1, Energon Homage: G2 Hooligan (so I hear) Previous Mold Use: Cybertron (twice) Package Callouts: "(Key Activated) Reveals missile launcher with firing missile!" "Insert key to activate features!" Function: Tactical Air Wing Motto: "Where'd everybody go?" DIVEBOMB tries his hardest to make friends with the other DECEPTICONS, but they go out of their way to avoid him. Everyone recognizes his skill as an aerial fighter, his intelligence as a tactician, and his positive attitude towards the goal of total DECEPTICON domination. Unfortunately, his reactor containment is so bad that other robots can't stand to go near him. Wherever he goes, he leaves a trail of toxic fumes, and he emits so much radiation that it short-circuits the sensor systems of those nearby. STR 6 INT 7 SPD 8 END 6 RNK 2 COUR 6 FRB 8 SKL 7 Avg 6.25 I read online that this was intended to be a G2 Hooligan homage, albeit a very loose one, but it got named Divebomb instead. Packaging: Missile and Key just held in by the blister. Two twist-ties hold the jet mode into the blister, no rubber bands. Color Swaps: Gray becomes a slightly pale yellow except for on the arms, torso and landing gear, where it becomes very light gray. Blue becomes dark grayish brown. Clear orange becomes clear greenish blue, and all the rubbery bits are now very light gray. Paint Apps: Reddish brown desert camo pattern on the top of the jet, a pattern I'm informed is used by real Flanker jets. Yellow and brown paint with a pretty good match continue the camo onto most of the rubbery tail bits (just a little bit of each is left unpainted). The thigh fronts have light gray horizontal strips, and the face is light gray. Yellow paint accents are seen on the shoulder, and much of the helmet is painted yellow. In jet mode, just over the thrusters is a bit of brown-gray paint to match the thruster nozzles. This paint color is also used on the lower shins. A white Decepticon "air force" logo (winglike stripes flanking the symbol) is printed on right side vertical tail piece. Other Notes: The floppiness and general engineering issues of the mold are still present, in spades. Overall: A weak mold that I already have too many of (Thundercracker, Skywarp, and a TC I kitbashed into my own Skywarp before the official recolor was announced). The sickly color scheme doesn't grab me, nor does the personality of the character. AUTOBOT: GRINDCORE Altmode: Power Shovel Licensor: None Previous Name Use: None Homage: Every Green Construction Vehicle TF EVER Previous Mold Use: Cybertron Package Callouts: "Rear wheels flip up and key reveals spinning saw blades!" "Insert key to activate features!" "Blaster rifle with firing projectile!" Function: Construction Brigade Motto: "WHAT? YOU WANT ME TO TURN IT UP? SURE THING!" Whatever GRINDCORE is doing, he loves to do it loud. CYBERTRON was always a pretty noisy place, what with everyone revving their engines, and then the war. Earth peopl really know how to make noise fun though. Human heavy metal is way cooler than the shock-pop he listened to in his home city of Vos. It's easy to find him on any construction project - just follow the incredibly loud music. STR 8 INT 6 SPD 4 END 8 RNK 4 COUR 6 FRB 6 SKL 7 Avg 6.125 Grindcore is a spinoff from Death Metal, from what I've read. Sounds like the sort of thing Frenzy and Rumble (G1) would be into, though. Landmine is one of the few Deluxe molds from Cybertron that never got a mass-market recolor during Cybertron, and I was kinda hoping they'd go back to it eventually. Unfortunately, they hed to go with the dull as dishwater green and gray scheme. Packaging: Missile and Key are held in by the blister. The gun is not rubber-banded down, and had come loose to rattle around in the package. Two twist-ties hold the vehicle mode into the blister. No rubber bands at all. Color Swaps: Black stays black, medium cool gray becomes lighter warm gray. Yellow and brown become Constructicon Green, whee. Paint Apps: Rust brown on the shins, forearms, crest and the teeth of his shovel (which some have pointed out looks kinda like dried blood). Silver hubcaps, top of the head, face, vehicle windows, "paint scraped" bits on the shovel, accents on the gun and toes. The eyes are blue, and the lights that were orange on Landmine are yellow here. The Autobot symbol on the chest is silver on a black background. The ladders on the sides of vehicle mode are black, as are strips in the rear where the spinning gimmick rubber wheels are located. Other Notes: Compared to my Landmine, the spinning gimmick doesn't work as well, but the auxiliary rear wheels roll better. If you want to distinguish him more from Landmine in robot mode, there's alternate ways to position the shovel halves and the backpack to change the lines a bit and still look like an intentional mode. Overall: I get the impression that the toy was designed first, then Legal approved a name and the bio was written after that...if it had been meant from the start to be Grindcore, you'd think the color scheme would be more heavy metal. The most brutal thing about this is the "looks kinda like blood" on the shovel. DECEPTICON: JOLT Altmode: Bugatti Veyron (unlicensed "close enough" version) Licensor: None Previous Name Use: G1, G2, Armada, Cybertron Homage: Laser Rod Jolt (G2) Previous Mold Use: Cybertron (twice) Package Callouts: "Pop up mini-missile racks!" "Insert key to activate features!" "Roof becomes shield!" Function: Sneak Attack Specialist Motto: "Never give a sucker an even break!" Shortly after the final battle for the AllSpark, JOLT sought out BARRICADE for advice. Brought to life by the energy bursts thrown off by the AllSpark during the fight, he wanted to learn the finer points of lying and thrashing stuff. After BARRICADE was done beating on him, DECEPTICON FRENZY made fun of him for a while, and slashed his tires. That was his first and only lesson, and he took it to heart. STR 4 INT 6 SPD 8 END 6 RNK 2 COUR 8 FRB 7 SKL 5 Avg 5.75 Packaging: Two twist-ties hold the car into the blister, one holds the flame-missile. The launcher and Planet Key are just held in by the blister shape. No rubber bands. Color Swaps: Unsurprisingly, with all the black in Crosswise, it's not all one mold tray. Most of the black becomes a medium purple on Volt, but the following parts stay black: wheels, gun, pop-up missile pods, toes and heels, pelvis, abdomen core. The light gray bits become a medium gray, and the clear blue-green becomes a clear pale lavender. The color on the clear plastic is so faint that it really only shows up clearly on the missile, where the plastic is thick. Otherwise, it'a almost colorless. It's notable that the headlights aren't painted over as they are on Crosswise, so you can see that they're clear. Paint Apps: Silver on the front fenders, "intake", the doors, waist, face, kneecaps, hubcaps, gas caps and missile pod tips. Reddish purple with a poor color match to the cooler purple plastic is on the roof, spoiler and some bits on the doors and head. However, the placement of the painted purple parts looks almost like an intentional two-tone pattern...almost. Still, not too bad. The Decepticon symbol printed on the hood/chest is a very pale metallic lavender. There's red on the taillights and some bits on the head (painting over clear plastic) and boots. Other Notes: In robot mode, the left missile pod doesn't quite sit flat when deployed. Part of this is just how the chest positioning can be touchy, though. Amusingly, this mold's about to get the Convention Exclusive treatment, turning into both evil Jazz and evil Ricochet. Overall: A good mold and a decent color scheme that evokes G2 Jolt without being a slavish copy. And if I didn't already have two versions of this mold, I'd probably have bought one for myself. AUTOBOT: BIG DADDY Altmode: 70s Muscle Car (blend of several models) Licensor: None Previous Name Use: G1 Homage: Micromaster Big Daddy (G1) Previous Mold Use: Cybertron Package Callouts: "Snap out capture claw!" "Insert key to activate features!" "Twin blasters with firing projectiles!" Function: Independent Operator Motto: "Don't start none, won't be none." BIG DADDY is more concerned with his paint job than with any war that might be going on. You'll most often find him cruising the main drag of whatever town he ends up in, or hanging out at the local beach. When he does roll out, he does it slow, so that all the pedestrians can get a nice, long look at his sleek lines and killer chrome. He's got his own crew of robots to roll with. They stay out of the way of the AUTOBOTS, and the AUTOBOTS stay out of theirs. STR 8 INT 6 SPD 6 END 8 RNK 8 COUR 8 FRB 7 SKL 5 Avg 7 The "crew" is a reference to the Micromaster Hot Rod Patrol. So, fanfickers, start your engines, there's three more characters to update to the movie setting: Greaser, Hubs and Trip-Up. Packaging: Two ties hold the car (with launchers installed) into the blister, the Planet Key is held in by just the blister, missiles are taped into the tray. Color Swaps: Black stays black, green becomes black, gray becomes orange, clear yellow becomes clear smoky gray. Pretty simple. Paint Apps: Orange classic flames are printed on the side front fenders and doors, nicely blending in with a piece of orange plastic visible from a joint in vehicle mode. The head is painted orange with silver eyes and a purple faceplate, consistent with the G1 colors. Lots of silver paint: engine block, front bumper and grille, kneecaps, toes, taillight borders, shoulder fronts (which make the bottom edges of the doors), hubcaps. A silver Autobot symbol is printed on the hood/chest. The taillights seem to be painted red, but it could just be a thin layer of the orange paint over black. There's no paint on the bit of rear window that flips up to admit the Planet Key, so it blends in a bit more. Other Notes: The fin-like nature of the launcher triggers in vehicle mode is quite appropriate to Big Daddy's G1 altmode, and having a 70s-style car as a "20 years later" update of a 50s muscle car is likewise quite apropos. One thing that could have been done better, though. The "capture claw" gimmick never really seemed to work...it's too small to really capture anything. Redefining it on the packaging as a blaster or spark chamber might have been a better idea. Overall: Really cool recolor of a really cool mold. Cool. Dave Van Domelen, made a Spychanger "X-Big Daddy" a while back, but ironically has never owned the original Micromaster, just the other three in the Hot Rod Patrol.