Dave's Cybertron Rant: Armada Remolds Buzzsaw (Armada Cyclonus) Blurr (Armada Blurr) Runamuck (Armada Sideswipe) Longrack (Armada Hoist) Here's the original review files, I'll be focusing on the differences as usual. These all had sufficient remolding and interesting enough colors for me to snag. Buzzsaw: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Armada/Deluxe1 Blurr: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Armada/Deluxe3 Runamuck: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Armada/Deluxe4 Longrack: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Armada/Deluxe5 All of them have been remolded to replace Mini-Con gimmicks with Cyber Key gimmicks, to give them new heads, plus additional remolds as detailed below. They come with Keys, rather than Mini-Cons. Oh, and a disclaimer: I liked the original Sideswipe mold a lot more than most. [Later note: fixed some errors in tangential info.] [Another later note: You can stop emailing me to tell me that Crumplezone will still attach to Buzzsaw. I know. It's one of the things that didn't change, so I didn't feel the need to comment. FTR, Nightbeat can still store inside Runamuck, too. Longrack can still hold Mini-Cons, but his gimmick is no longer run by one, and Blurr is essentially Mini-Con-less.] [Update 11/22: Key code info up.] [Update 3/14/06: line art views of the new heads added as visual content for all four.] CAPSULES Buzzsaw: Original mold was Recommended. I'm not as impressed with it several years later, however. The colors are a bit bright and garish, but the replaced gimmicks work as well as on the original, and I'm generally pleased with it. Mildly recommended. $9.87 at Wal-Mart. Blurr: Original mold was Recommended. This version LOOKS much better, except for the new missiles. But it doesn't hold together as well in vehicle mode (this might be bad quality control, though). Mildly recommended. $9.87. Runamuck: Original mold was Recommended. The remolding has hurt it, and the potentially great paint job came out kinda so-so. Mildly recommended if you lack any version of this mold, Neutral otherwise. $9.87. Longrack: Original mold was (wait for it) Recommended. A very good homage to the original Longrack, and the remold strengthened this toy. Strongly recommended if you lack any version of this mold, Recommended otherwise. $9.87. Note: if you have no previous version of the Buzzsaw or Blurr molds, my recommendation inches up a bit, but not enough to tick over into Recommended. I guess I've lost enthusiasm for the molds. RANTS Packaging: These are in mostly standard Deluxe Cybertron blisters, with the Earth map (more on that below). However, they also add a DVD sealed in its own flat blister against the card, with a smaller blister acting as the center-holder. The DVD is a minimalist dollar store sort of thing that just starts to play when put in the player, no menu, no chapter breaks. All DVDs have the episode "Hidden" (1st ep to air here, 3rd ep in Cybertron by storyline, 4th ep in Galaxy Force). It ends with an ad for the collection, and then stops. Each one has the other three as co-sells on the back, and there's a sticker on the blister pointing out the DVD. The instructions are redrawn. Oddly, Buzzsaw and Longrack have their maps loose in the blister, while Blurr's and Runamuck's are bagged. The Earth Map is the lower left corner of the combined map (I'm going to wait for Evac for a less wrinkled version to laminate and put on my wall). On the map side, the left border has Jetfire, Thundercracker, Landmine and Mudflap in both modes, CG show versions. The western hemisphere is facing the viewer, and the little scene insets all point to the Great Lakes area, roughly. I'm gonna call that an art error, since the show is pretty clearly set in the Rockies if it's in North America at all. [Later note: it's stated in "Fallen" that it's Colorado.] Evac is the feature character, with drawn art of both modes and a photo of his gold Earth Key. Here's the various boxes: EARTH PLANET With their home world under threat by the super giant black hole left by the destruction of UNICRON, the TRANSFORMERS have secretly moved their bases of operation to Earth. With the help of VECTOR PRIME and a few humans that have discovered their presence, the AUTOBOTS must race against time and battle MEGATRON and his new army of DECEPTICONS to recover the Planet Keys, ancient artifacts missing for eons. What few realize is that this little planet called Earth has played a vital role in the history of CYBERTRON for millions of years. Inset 1 (picture of Thundercracker strafing Landmine) As LANDMINE clears away the debris from a mountain avalanche, the DECEPTICON THUNDERCRACKER spots him from high above and swoops down to attack. Inset 2 (picture of the kids and the Recon Team) Coby, Bud and Lori team up with MINI-CONS JOLT, REVERB and SIX-SPEED to help the AUTOBOTS learn more about Earth in their quest to recover the CYBER PLANET KEY. Inset 3 (picture of Autobots gathered around a glowing hologram of the Earth Key) OPTIMUS PRIME, JETFIRE, VECTOR PRIME and SCATTORSHOT ponder their next step in the race to find hte Earth's Planet Key. EVAC EVAC loves flying on Earth almost as much as he loved soaring over the epic skylines of CYBERTRON. He's been hiding on Earth since guardianship of the Planet Key was passed on to him millions of years ago. He feels a keen affection for for the people of Earth, whose history he has observed from its very beginnings. It frustrates him that the TRANSFORMERS must keep their presence on Earth a secret, because he recognizes the potential value of the humans as allies. Courages, determined and gentle, EVAC acoids fighting when he can, but if forced into combat, he can be a very tough opponent. he is dedicated to the protection of other life in all its forms. The catalog side of the map has 17 toys: Starscream, Dark Scorponok, Jetfire, Scourge, Megatron, Optimus Prime, Buzzsaw, Blurr, Sideways, Street Speed Team, Brushguard, Brakedown, Longrack, Runamuck, Armorhide, Evac and Mudflap. DECEPTICON: BUZZSAW Planet: Cybertron Decepticon Altmode: Helicopter Original Mold: Armada Cyclonus Homage: Beast Wars Buzzsaw Planet Key Code: df58 Despite the evacuation of CYBERTRON, and the incredible danger presented by the black hole, many of the bravest, craziest or most foolish stayed behind. BUZZSAW is one of the crazies, a dangeorus rogue from the DECEPTICON old guard who intends to hoard as much of the planet's Energon as he can for himself, hoping to gain enough power to destroy the AUTOBOTS upon their return! For now, he's content to lurk in the abandoned cities of CYBERTRON, practicing his marksmanship by blowing the tops off the old Energon Towers. STR 7 INT 6 SPD 8 END 8 RNK 6 COUR 7 FRB 8 SKL 7 Avg 7.125 (Nice to see them at least make an attempt to stitch together the tattered continuity mess that was made of the Energon-to-Cybertron transition.) Key Info: Buzzsaw is actually an older Transformer name that dates back to Beast Wars! In 1995, Hasbro created an all-new line of Transformers toys called Transformers: Beast Wars where old characters were reimagined into animals. Megatron became a Dinosaur and Optimus Primal was a gorilla. One of the characters that was never in the TV show, but appeared in product was Buzzsaw - a yellowjacket wasp. This toy, which originally was used in Transformers: Armada as Cyclonus, was given a new head mold that resembles the Buzzsaw toy from 1995, and a paint job the hearkens back to the colors used on the Beast Wars toy too! (No visual component as of November 22, 2005. Nice to see all the homage notes here, not just for Buzzsaw, but for the rest of the batch.) 4 twist-ties hold a slightly mis-transformed vehicle mode (the robot legs are extended) into the blister. 1 rubber band holds the tail end together. The Key and missiles are just held in by the blister. Planet Key: Standard Decepticon version of the Cybertron key, like Supreme Starscream's. Mold Changes: The head has been replaced by a piece of light gray plastic in a shape that's based on BW Buzzsaw's non-mutant head, but with a few tweaks here and there, including a vent on the back. The live hardpoints have been replaced by large (3cm long, 2.5cm tall, 1cm thick) key slots. The rest of the forearms are unchanged, the hardpoints were separate pieces on Cyclonus. Inserting a key into either slot fires the missile. It's possible to insert the key far enough to stay in place without firing a missile. The chest cover (cockpit) has been replaced by a larger piece that covers more, has rocket launchers molded into the sides, and incorporates a pair of guns that are triggered in the same way as Crumplezone's (the Mini-Con) gun is when he merges with Cyclonus. Down to the fact that you can barely see it move most of the time. If you rotate the rotors by hand, though, you can see the guns click to one side. The new cockpit looks vaguely bug-eyed, further evoking BW Buzzsaw. The leg guns have been replaced so that the hardpoints are no longer live (although pushing the end of a twist-tie into the hole pops the guns out). Instead, pushing the top of a gun towards the centerline makes it pop up, if not energetically. The other gimmicks have not been remolded, and you can still attach one of the Destruction Team to the underside of his cockpit. The tail is still removable. You know, I just now noticed that the missiles are not the same shape as each other. [Later note: the part where the connector for the gun gimmick comes out of the main body has been slightly remolded as well.] Color Swaps: The light blue on Cyclonus has been replaced with a garish neon yellow that feels a bit brittle and cheesy, which is my main complaint with this remold. The light gray is replaced by an even lighter gray, and most of the gold plastic is replaced by a vibrant purple plastic. The dark blue in the gears and on the pelvis, trigger and heels is replaced by a medium gray, and this mold also includes the new nose cannons. All of the other new pieces except the white head are made from a light gray plastic that's darker than the other light gray in this toy. Paint Apps: They did keep some of the paint masks. The purple paint on the wings and intake vents is maroon here. The Decepticon symbol is more neatly painted. The blue masks on the forearms are mostly replaced by neon yellow, but a few bits are left unpainted on Buzzsaw (the wrist guns, mainly). The silver paint on the sides of the tail boom is replaced by dark gray. There is no paint on the legs at all. The helmet is painted purple, the face neon yellow, and the visor is John Deere green. The chest is extensively painted as well, with almost none of its plastic visible. The cockpit windows are JD green, the framework neon yellow, and the fronts of the rocket launchers are dark gray. Overall: I think a paintwash like on Powerlinx Cyclonus (the green recolor) would have helped a lot. Other than the garish color, though, I'd say this is about as good as the original (Crumplezone was one of the few merging Mini-Cons that really enhanced the "bulk" it attached to). AUTOBOT: BLURR Planet: Speed Altmode: Fantasy Racecar Original Mold: Armada Blurr Homage: G1 Blurr Planet Key Code: d0y2 A former race champion, BLURR retired years ago and has since made a career coaching younger speedsters in the subtleties of racing. He is a tough teacher, with a gruff personality that often comes across as bad-tempered to those who don't know him. Long-time students of his know, however, that his demanding temperament hides a gentle Spark. He is tough on those who come to him for training because he takes their successes and failures personally, and he requires no less of his students - and himself - than their best. STR 7 INT 8 SPD 9 END 7 RNK 7 COUR 9 FRB 7 SKL 9 Avg 7.875 Key Code Info: This toy is actually an homage to the Generation One super-speedy Transformer Blurr. Blurr was introduced in 1986 in the original theatrical release of Transformers: the Movie and served under the command of Ultra Magnus and later Rodimus Prime. Blurr is the fastest Autobot known and was known for talking too fast for anyone to even understand what he was saying. Blurr also was in almost every episode of the Generation One TV series season three, and this is his first reincarnation into a modern Transformers toy line! (No visual component.) 2 twist-ties hold the car into the blister, 1 each on the guns. The Key and missiles are held in by the blister alone. No rubber bands. Planet Key: Standard Speed Key, with paint. Mold Changes: The head is replaced by a clear homage to G1 Blurr's head, that in fact looks more like the cartoon version's head than the G1 toy does. The head is made of bright blue plastic. The missiles are remolded and look like radiators on a stick or something. They're made of medium gray plastic. The centers of the launchers are also remolded to be fired with a simple trigger. Their mounting holes are further back, so the launchers sit farther forward. While the big pegholes are still on Blurr's forearms, they've replaced the pegs on the launchers with tabs that fit into the hands instead (and not very well, only one of mine stays in solidly, and they point towards each other a bit). The entire middle rear roof has been replaced, so that a Key triggers the wings rather than a Mini-Con. The molding is very nice, with a pair of jet intakes in the middle and a trio of exhaust pipes on the piece above each launcher. The key can be left in place without triggering the wings, and helps as a third leg to support the backpack. The tolerances aren't as good on mine, not sure if this is endemic or just bad QC. It results in the robot legs not staying put in vehicle mode, so the rear wheels don't touch the ground. Color Swaps: The bright blue plastic becomes a slightly darker bright blue. The gray becomes a light blue. Orange becomes light gray, fixing the worst color problem of the original. The clear yellow is still clear yellow, though. The dark slate blue is replaced by a smoky clear plastic, giving him odd tachymer tires, and some weird transparencies (like in the legs). The inside key mechanism is the same gray as the missiles, but as far as I can tell the other new mold bits use existing color trays. Paint Apps: The paint is one of the better things about this remold. There's a red stripe down the center (which also ends up on the forearms), and along the sides are two more red stripes. The jet intackes are painted white with yellow cones, and there's yellow vents on the front of the exhaust pipe bits. The pipes themselves are white. The dark blue fender parallelograms are painted white here. The bits that are red on A-Blurr's abdomen and shines are light blue here, but the red rocket tips on the shoulderpads are still red. The sunken chest is white with a neatly painted Autobot symbol. The face is white with blue eyes, light gray forehead and light blue accents with yellow tablet. The hands are completely black, and the hubcaps are silver. Overall: It looks really nice (aside from the goofy missiles), too bad it won't roll. And as with the original, it's one for the vehicle mode more than the robot mode (which is a bit bricky below the waist). Oh, and it's worth noting that it's not any of the Blurr-ish cars seen in the DVD included with it. :) DECEPTICON: RUNAMUCK Planet: Earth Altmode: Street Racer (late 80s Thunderbird meets Nissan Skyline) Original Mold: Armada Sideswipe Homage: G1 Runabout (and a little G1 Big Daddy) Planet Key Code: dw3e For most of his life, RUNAMUCK served as a spy and courier for MEGATRON, carrying messages to DECEPTICON warriors behind enemy lines. Since his leader's disappearance, though, RUNAMUCK has been pretty bored. Too many AUTOBOTS around meant he couldn't get away with much. But now, with the AUTOBOTS forced into hiding on Earth, he's having the time of his life tormenting them by striking at vulnerable targets in front of a lot of human witnesses, where the AUTOBOTS can't counterattack. STR 6 INT 7 SPD 8 END 8 RNK 6 COUR 6 FRB 8 SKL 8 Avg 7.125 (Megatron missing? Wonder where this fits in the storyline. It's prior to ep 25, that's for sure.) Key Code Info: Similar to the Transformers: Cybertron toy Blurr, Runamuck is a throw- back design to a Transformer character from Generation One. Runamuck, back when he was introduced in 1986, was known as a Battle Charger. His original toy had a pull-back motor feature that when activated, would send his vehicle mode scooting across a flat surface. When he was transformed into robot mode, he could also roll across a floor by pulling back on his wheels. He had a near-identical Battle Charger partner named Runabout too and in the old Transformer comics, these two were hooligans and trouble makers - going so far as to spray paint graffiti on the Statue of Liberty! (No visual component.) 2 twist-ties hold the car in place, and one more holds in the gun that replaces Nightbeat. A single rubber band around the center keeps things together. The Key is held in by the blister. Planet Key: Standard Earth Key. Homage note: This was intended to be an homage to Runabout, based on the head, but due to trademark issues they went with the close-enough Runamuck. I also think there's at least a little Big Daddy homage, due to the big engine block and the color scheme. Mold Changes: The head was changed to a clear homage to Runabout, made from a dark slate gray. The chest plate has been replaced by a light gray key slot piece, so that the original "push down" action is replaced by Key insertion. Inserting the key in vehicle mode triggers the stretch mode. The key cannot stay in without triggering, at least on mine. Not that it looks good there anyway. It can be held in there in robot mode as a sort of tummy guard. Just enough was gutted in the torso to deactivate the arm-swing gimmick (but enough is left in to make one think it's still there...tease!). The hardpoint will still hold a Mini-Con, it just won't do anything. The kneecap dead hardpoints are still present. Nightbeat is gone entirely, replaced by the Key and by a light gray chunk that combines twin machinegun barrels, a supercharger scoop and some stylized exhaust pipes. It has a medium gray fold-down handle. The mechanism for popping it up is unchanged, and the barrels do not rise above the roof, so he has to shoot through his own front window. The pistol and dagger are not included at all, although their storage points are still there. And I have a spare set, so he's getting 'em. Overall, I think this one actually suffered for the mold changes, unlike the rest (which either got better or at least stayedas good). Color Swaps: Blue becomes a very dark slate gray, yellow becomes a dark grayish blue, clear yellow becomes clear red, black becomes that same dark slate gray as blue does. The silver hinge on the chest becomes medium gray, the silver head becomes dark slate gray, and the rest of the silver becomes black. [Correction: the head is actually light gray plastic, with a good paint match.] Paint Apps: In robot mode, not a lot. Red eyes and some red spots on the head. Orange on the shins, light grey on the knees, yellow by the feet. There's some red stripes on the exhaust pipes of the gun. As with Blurr, it's the car mode that gets the paint lovin', although it doesn't look as good as it could. The clear red plastic is painted a slightly lighter gray than the gray plastic of the body, which is a pity...they should have gone with pure black, easier to match. The lower edge of the car is light gray all the way around, with orange flames licking up on the sides. The headlights are silver, the turn lights are yellow, and the taillights are red. There are some orange and light blue accents on the engine block. The spoiler and the gas cap cover are light gray. The hubcaps are gold. There is a silver Decepticon symbol outline on the center of the rear window. No front window "Transformers" label. Overall: A bit of a disappointment. The remolding hurts it a bit, and while the colors had the potential to be really cool, the actual execution is kinda iffy. AUTOBOT: LONGRACK Planet: Cybertron Autobot Altmode: Power Shovel Original Mold: Armada Hoist Homage: Beast Wars Neo Longrack Planet Key Code: d48m Tough as nails and patient as a mountain LONGRACK just wants to fulfill his mission to repair as much of the damage already done to CYBERTRON as possible. He doesn't like to fight, but that doesn't mean he's not good at it. If RUNAMUCK and the other DECEPTICONS are spoiling for a confrontation, LONGRACK is more than happy to introduce them to his powerful Crushsteel Punch. STR 8 INT 9 SPD 6 END 8 RNK 7 COUR 7 FRB 5 SKL 8 Avg 7.25 (Definitely not the personality of BWNeo Longrack. Then again, both he and Blurr might well be 'more grown-up' versions of their homaged characters. For those unfamiliar with BWNeo, Longrack is a giraffe. See http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Japan/Longrack for my not-terribly-impressed review of the original Longrack.) Key Code Info: In 1999, Japan introduced a new Transformers series - it was called Beast Wars Neo. There were a ton of figures in this line like a rabbit Transformer, a horse Transformer and even a penguin Transformer! But one of the most interesting in the line was Longrack - Longrack was a giraffe Transformer! His function was a Deputy Commander under an Optimus Prime character that turned into a Wooly Mammoth! This is the first time Longrack will turn into a vehicular mode! (No visual component.) 4 twist-ties hold the slightly mashed vehicle mode into the blister. A rubber band holds a clear shield over the left "shoulder", and another rubber band holds the left hand closed. Yet a third band holds the head in place, you have to at least partially transform to get it out. Planet Key: Standard Autobot-symbol-bearing version of the Cybertron Key. Mold Changes: The head is changed to a more mechanical version of Neo Longrack's head, even incorporating the sideburns. The proportions of this head are a little better than the original's. Instead of just replacing the hardpoint peg and internals as they did with Buzzsaw, the remold replaces the entire outer half of the right shoulder, as well as replacing the plunger with a longer piece that has a big counterweight piece. Where Hoist's locking mechanism was a bare minimum excuse to call it a Mini-Con gimmick, the new shoulder has an integrated lock that is released by inserting the Planet Key. It also looks like the plunger moves a millimeter or two farther than Hoist's plunger, and it feels like the gearing is slightly different. If you turn the plunger (to rotate the scoop arm) while the Key is in, the Key is liable to pop out. If you remove the Key while the arm is extended, it will stay most of the way extended, a definite improvement for the mold. It can be retracted safely without the Key, but not extended without the Key. The new pieces are molded from at least three colors of plastic. The head and counterweight are light gray plastic. The plunger shaft and some of the visible interior of the Key slot are white. The collar around the plunger shaft that keeps you from overextending the arm is a medium gray. The new outer shell of the shoulder is painted, so could be any of the three colors, but I think it's light gray (not gonna carve into it to find out, though). At least one internal piece is also medium gray that I can see, and the gears are probably medium gray as well. Color Swaps: The taupe (grayish dark tan) plastic on the legs and head becomes a light gray, but the taupe on the shovel, hands, chest, heels, faction symbol plug and wheels becomes a darkish red very close to the dark red seen on Neo-Longrack. Hoist's white palstic becomes a construction style golden yellow on Longrack, and his brownish orange becomes a slightly ice blue sort of light gray. Hoist's dark blue becomes a sort of burnt umber brown. The combination really evokes Neo-Longrack without being a carbon copy. Paint Apps: The counterweight has bits of yellow and some brown strips. The Autobot symbol plug (which blocks a gimmick that was abandoned before Hoist came out) has white fill around the raised symbol. There is no paint on the shovel arm. The windows are painted burnt umber. There are black caution stripes on the left arm, they avoided the temptation to put giraffe reticulation patterns on the vehicle, a move I think was a generally good idea. There's a slightly golden brown on the thigh circles and near the bottom of the shins. The insides of the treads are painted the same yellow as the Key slot shoulder piece. The face is yellow, and there's thin vertical yellow stripes on the "eyebrow" part of the helmet. The border of the tall helmet "tablet" is red. The eyes and the center of the tablet are neon green. The sideburns are burnt umber. Overall: Best of the four. A definite improvement over the original in terms of both color and the working of the gimmick, and with the added attraction of being one of those very rare homages to a toy that was never released in the U.S. in any form (leaving aside importers and Hasbro's online store, that is). Dave Van Domelen, off to grab the new molds of Wave 3 and start messing about with them.