Dave's RotF Rant: Fast Action Battlers Wave 1 Cannon Blast Megatron (fusion tank) Optimus Prime (not reviewed) Bumblebee (redeco, not reviewed) Jolt (not reviewed) Permalink: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/RotF/FAB1 As with last time around, I don't plan to get many of these kiddified molds, but I will get a few. Optimus Prime is a new mold, but Bumblebee is a redeco of the mold from last time around...it's a decent mold, but I've already got one. I may pick up Jolt later, it's not too impressive but if Jolt doesn't get a proper Deluxe it'd be the only option. [Later note: Jolt's getting a proper Deluxe.] http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Movie/FAB2 - Bumblebee original deco CAPSULES Cannon Blast Megatron: The robot mode is less poseable than it appears to be in the package, but acceptable for this class. Okay transformation, cute little tank altmode. Mildly recommended. $12.88 at Walmart. Optimus Prime: Not reviewed. $12.88 at Walmart. Bumblebee: Not reviewed, but original mold was recommended. $12.88 at Walmart. Jolt: Not reviewed. $12.88 at Walmart. RANTS Packaging: Like last time out, the "kiddie" toys have distinctive trade dress to set them apart from the toys intended for older kids, with more bright red and yellow. Some variation on this scheme is also used on the Gravity Bots and presumably will be used on the Cyber Slammers' successors. Like the regular Scouts and Deluxes, the upper right of the card is cut out to follow the outline of the figure's faction symbol, and the general pattern is "the Fallen's face in red shades on the top, ancient Cybertronian glyphs in yellow shades behind the figure". But the faction symbol is yellow at the bottom fading up to orange, rather than corroded metal. The reds are brighter, and rather than the glyphs being lined up in columns they spread out in rays from the bright center. The blisters are slightly rounded on the front and have the upper left corner truncated. There's triangular chunks taken out of the sides, but they're much smaller notches than on regular toys. The left side does not have a class glyph, instead the insert card has the FAB logo, a faction symbol in an octagon, and the name and epithet of the toy. The conversion difficulty (level 2) is in the space cleared by the missing corner of the blister. The front of the insert has drawn art of the character in robot mode, plus logo, name, epithet and faction symbol in octagon. On the bottom are the other three figures in the wave as cosells, but the epithets aren't given. (I'll try to remember to check them in the store later to add to the bit up top.) There's no card insert on the right side. The back has the bio note in upper right with techspecs in the triangular space opposite the conversion difficulty. There's touched up photos of both modes, the quick conversion logo, and a call-out about the figure's gimmick. Licensing is along the bottom. All the blister edges are glued down, but with the bottom flap folded inside first. No tape. The instructions are double-sided (black and white with pink or purple accents) and folded up inside on their own. No baggie, no catalog. All of the cardbacks have the following paragraph between the character name and the character's own bio: Around the world, the AUTOBOTS battle in secret to destroy the evil forces of the DECEPTICONS. Little do they know that an even deeper threat is about to arise. . . [sic] DECEPTICON: CANNON BLAST MEGATRON Altmode: Fusion Tank Licensor: None (well, Hasbro/Dreamworks/Paramount) Package call-out: "Launching cannon blast!" In his new form, MEGATRON is more powerful than ever before. Thicker armor means even the most advanced human weapons can't hurt him, while his upgraded fusion cannon melts heavily armored vehicles into scrap. Enraged by his defeat in the battle over the AllSpark, he is determined to let nothing stand in the way of his revenge. STR 10 INT 10 SPD 10 END 10 RNK 10 COUR 9 FRB 10 SKL 9 Avg 9.75 Again, despite being a tank he gets to have SPD 10. Ah well. Packaging: 7 twist-ties on the robot, one on the missile. Robot Mode: He has an unfinished look to him, with loads of paint on the torso but relatively little elsewhere. The cannon arm seems a bit too small, but the left arm is appropriately withered. He has a sort of bayonet on the cannon arm that can be folded back and pegged against the inside of the arm. 5.75" (14.5cm) tall and stocky, he's a mix of grays, silver and black, with a few touches of red. The torso is almost entirely painted over, but I think it's made of the same medium cool gray plastic as the upper arms, most of the right forearm, and both legs. A slightly darker warm gray is found on the missile, launcher trigger, pelvis, hip struts and some internal joints. The head and the little wheels on the treads are silvery light gray plastic. The left forearm, a "thumb" on the cannon arm and bayonet blade are rubbery light gray plastic. Most of the torso is covered in silver paint, and there's a few other bits of silver on the upper arms and pelvis, plus extensive silver on the sides of the boots. The treads are all painted black, as is the lower face. The eyes and the root of the bayonet are painted red. A blue Decepticon symbol is printed on the cannon arm shoulder. The head turns a little, but the shoulder details get in the way. The waist turns smoothly, no spring action like most of the first movie FABs had. The left shoulder is a smooth swivel, but the right shoulder is a spring-loaded swivel that lets the blade slash down. The left elbow only bends backwards for transformation, although if you're charitable you could say it bends about 10 degrees forward of straight. The hips are restricted ball joints. The knees are hinged, but bend at most 20 degrees, just enough to ensure wobbly wheels in vehicle mode. The missile fires up about two feet (60-70cm). Transformation: The pelvis actually unhinges to swing forward, which will let the feet peg onto holes in the upper chest. You need to get things lined up just right, though, or the wheels won't all rest on the table. The arms have an automorph-like feature, swinging backward at the shoulders together on gears, which also makes the head retract. You need to bend the left arm backwards all the way to fit inside. Also, it's a good idea to stow the blade on the main barrel first, unless you like your tanks to have bayonets. The upper arms clip together to form the turret, in much the same way as the Legends version (although behind the back, not in front of the chest). Vehicle Mode: Dude, this is the Bonaparte (Dominion: Tank Police) of Megatrons. Sure, a lot of the FAB vehicle modes are somewhat cutesified, but it's particularly noticeable in this case. The main body is 3.5" (9cm) long and 3" (8cm) wide, with the turret and loaded cannon being 5" (13cm) long. It's 3" (8cm) tall and generally chunky. The feet are pretty obvious, but otherwise there's not a lot of robot kibble. It helps that there's a deliberate asymmetry to the turret that conceals its arm-elements. The turret does not move at all, not even the little bit that the Legends version's turret can elevate. If you can get the legs properly aligned (pressing down on the table while messing with joints helps), it rolls nicely on its little wheels. Overall: Well, it's a cute little Megatron tank. Not as articulated as I'd hoped, as many of the joints visible in the package are extremely limited or even useless for posing the robot. Still, "cute Megatron tank" is a reasonable selling point, as far as I'm concerned. Dave Van Domelen, and now for wave 2!