Dave's Dark of the Moon Rant: Target Cyberverse Two-Packs Wave 1 Bumblebee vs. Megatron Leadfoot and Ironhide (not reviewed) Permalink: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/DotM/Cyberversus1 And the exclusives roll on, even in Cyberverse. I only got one of the sets, but I took pictures of the other and will have some comments based on in-package observations. http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/DotM/Legion1 - Bumblebee and Leadfoot http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/DotM/Commander1 - Megatron and Ironhide CAPSULES Bumblebee vs. Megatron: Bumblebee was very mildly recommended, Megatron was strongly recommended. It's a fairly tame BB redeco, but Megatron is in an obvious Motormaster homage. If you have no Megatrons yet, strongly recommended. Even if you have one already, it's worth considering this set. The Bumblebee isn't much of a consideration, although his gun is a nice add-on. $10.99 at Target (rang up as $9.99) Leadfoot and Ironhide: Leadfoot was mildly recommended, Ironhide was mildly recommended (and my least favorite Commander). About the only real reason to get this set is the fact that Leadfoot has the Target logo, and that wasn't enough for me to drop ten bucks. RANTS Packaging: Arc-shaped box, with a circular front (about 140 degrees of arc), flat back, bottom and top. No sides, the front curves all the way to connect to the back. The basic design of the front is the same as the blister carded Cyberverse, with a big oval window and roughly the same placement of elements. There's chrome foil on the name bar and the circles around the faction symbols. Only the Commander figure gets its vehicle mode picture on the front, in the lower right. There are no co-sells, and an "Only At (o)" sticker is on the window. The back has photos of both modes of both figures, individual techspecs and a unified bio note, plus relevant licensing and call-outs. There are no cosell pics. Inside, the Legion figure is in robot mode on the left side, the Commander is in robot mode on the right, and between them is a weapon for the Legion figure. Leadfoot gets a weapon based on the one first used for Machine Wars Thundercracker/Skywarp, while Bumblebee gets one based on the gun used for Machine Wars Mirage/Prowl. I'm told these are slight retools done for the Robot Masters toys. The instructions are loose behind the backdrop cardboard piece, and are printed specifically for this set (i.e. you can see Megatron's glyphs, and Bumblebee's gun is included). The plastic tray is not attached to the backdrop, which has the "Moon rising behind Earth" art used on the card fronts for carded toys. SET: BUMBLEBEE VS. MEGATRON Transformation Difficulty: Easy (1) It was MEGATRON that rendered BUMBLEBEE mute back on CYBERTRON, and ever since, the DECEPTICON leader has looked forward to finishing the job. The AUTOBOT scout has been a thorn in the side of the DECEPTICON army for ages. I tis time to do away with BUMBLEBEE, once and for all. AUTOBOT: BUMBLEBEE Altmode: Camaro Licensor: GM Previous Name Use: Yes Previous Mold Use: DotM Function: Scout Motto: "Trailers for sale or rent...." STR 6 INT 8 SPD 6 END 5 RNK 5 COUR 10 FRB 3 SKL 9 Avg 6.5 This is the same retool of the Revenge of the Fallen Concept Camaro mold used as Series 1 Number 011 in Cyberverse Legions, and will be compared to that. Packaging: Robot mode held in by one string, gun held in by the blister alone. The legs are compressed slightly, probably to make Megatron look bigger by comparison. Color Swaps: The same plastic colors as the Legion figure. Paint Apps: The windows are the same color as on the Legion figure. Simple black dual stripes along the hood, roof and trunk, black flames painted on the sides. The eyes and grilles are the same color as the windows, the face is silver, the forehead Autobot symbol is red. No Autobot symbol on the vehicle mode, and no paint on the shins in robot mode. Mold Changes: None. Other Notes: The rifle is made of black plastic, and can still be broken down into two pieces, although they won't store in Bumblebee's legs. In vehicle mode, the side panel (left arm) doesn't stay in place very well. Given that a little warping won't make things any worse, I think I'll dye the yellow parts green and make this a movieverse Wasp. Overall: Eh, I think of this as having cost me two bucks, bumping the price of a nice Megatron redeco up. It looks less tacky than the Number 011 version of the mold, so if you haven't bought that one yet it's a nice bonus on the set. DECEPTICON: MEGATRON Altmode: Mack Truck Licensor: Mack Trucks Inc. Previous Name Use: Yes Previous Mold Use: DotM Function: Master of the Roads Motto: "Move aside or be crushed!" STR 10 INT 10 SPD 10 END 10 RNK 10 COUR 9 FRB 10 SKL 9 Avg 9.75 This is the Commander version, with small fuel tank accessory, and will be compared to that version (not the Action Set version). Packaging: One string around the legs of the robot mode, the tank is held behind the legs. The boots are the wrong way forward, which lets them lift up the left shin and expose the tank so that it can clip on. Color Swaps: The head, chest and arms are gunmetal gray plastic. Everything else on the main figure is black. The tank and guns in the tank are gray, the attachment clip is black. Paint Apps: In robot mode, the entire grille-chest is dipped in silver, and silver is also used on the face (lightly airbrushed) and toes. There's purple pl the shoulders and kneecaps, and the eyes are red. Purple Decepticon symbols are on the upper arms. In vehicle mode, there's more silver, rimming the windows (somewhat sloppily), on the smokestacks, side mirrors and a Cybertronian glyph on the hood. Thin purple and silver stripes run along the sides of the hood (think Skywarp wing stripes). The tank is painted silver, with light gray Cybertronian glyphs on each side. Mold Changes: Well, I noticed that the head can tilt back on a hinge, but that's not a change, just something I missed on the original review (which I've since amended). Other Notes: This is clearly a Motormaster homage. All it really needs is a new head and some purple on the windows. Overall: Okay, it's a really good mold, but not necessarily one you need three of unless you have the other two already and you like Motormaster. I'd suggest getting this and the Action Set, and don't get the regular Commander version, if you don't want all three. Set Overall: Hey, a great mold in an interesting homage color, plus a cheap Bumblebee. If you can get it for $9.99, definitely grab one. For $10.99, at least give it a look in person. SET: LEADFOOT and IRONHIDE Transformation Difficulty: Easy (1) IRONHIDE and LEADFOOT share a passion for big, loud weapons. Both robots aren't happy with a cannon unless the bang is as big as the explosion it generates. The two make a highly destructive pair, with IRONHIDE coming up with ever more dangerous concepts and LEADFOOT biulding them in record time. AUTOBOT: LEADFOOT Altmode: Track (Stealth Force) Licensor: GM, NASCAR Previous Name Use: G2, PCC, DotM Previous Mold Use: DotM Function: Wrecker Motto: "You want a big boom? You GOT it!" STR 6 INT 4 SPD 9 END 7 RNK 5 COUR 8 FRB 8 SKL 5 Avg 6.5 Notes: Looks to be about the same plastic colors and more or less the same paint colors, but the red covers more (including the center of the hood) and there's a white Target logo on the hood. AUTOBOT: IRONHIDE Altmode: GMC Topkick Licensor: GMC Previous Name Use: Yes Previous Mold Use: DotM Function: Weapons Specialist Motto: "Needs more gelignite." STR 8 INT 6 SPD 5 END 9 RNK 8 COUR 9 FRB 6 SKL 5 Avg 7 Notes: The gray plastic is maybe a little darker, the black is replaced by navy blue. There's paint details on the weapons, so they're clearly not "unpaintable plastic," and Cybertronian glyphs in various places on the vehicle mode. Set Overall: I didn't really care that much for either mold, to be honest. But if you want to get all the molds and haven't bought any yet, this is definitely better than getting the originals singly. Better paint in robot mode for Ironhide, and the Target logo makes Leadfoot look more NASCAR-y (and more Doomed Wrecker-y, what with the bullseye AND redshirt elements). Dave Van Domelen, reviewed this set while laundry was running.