Transformers review: Universe Prowl
Someday, I'm going to get a camera and a place to take pictures. Until that day, stock photos will have to do.
I found the first wave of the new Transformers Universe Classics tonight (4th of July!). I ask you, fair readers: what's more American than sports cars and guns? I couldn't really think of anything, but then I realized that I was putting them on my VISA, and that, dear readers, makes it overly American, even if these were probably designed in Japan based on imported sports cars and made in China.
Prowl is based on the new Nissan Z, as far as I can tell. Unlike the movie toys, these are just far enough away from real cars to avoid TakaraTomy or Hasbro getting sued, not being licensed like GM and Lockheed Martin did for the movie toys. The car mode, as usual, looks great, even with the breaks in the body.
It kind of falls apart in 'bot mode. I bought Prowl and Sunstreaker this time, and I opened Prowl first, expecting him to be the better of the two. The pictures I've been seeing for the last few months led me to hope that, but after opening him and transforming him, I'm not so sure. He looks like a great modern articulated updated version of his G1 toy, but I have a couple of nits that are a little annoying. Firstly, the arms. They look a little too long, almost making Prowl look like a monkey to me. Then, the feet are a little too small and poorly placed, so it's hard to find that 'sweet spot' for him to stand properly. I think I've found it, but if someone in my apartment building slams a door, I have a feeling Prowl's going to take a shelf dive.
When I was in the store, I was surprised that with Star Wars, GI Joe, and Indiana Jones toys all starting to cost $8 a figure, that these brand-new Transformers were still only $10. When I got Prowl into 'bot mode, I figured out how Hasbro is keeping the costs down. Prowl here barely has any paint applications. The 'shoulder mounted acid blasters' (very creative term for what are really missiles) are completely white, no paint on them whatsoever. The arms and legs are just the color their respective parts are molded in, making the toy look cheap. I would gladly pay a couple extra bucks for some decent paint apps, but not enough to buy the TakaraTomy version, which are almost two to three times the price of these after they're imported. Alas, Hasbro seems to know that charging more than $10 for these moves them out of the impulse purchase range into a special purchase. I suppose it's a smart business move, and with the price of everything going up, it's like this on everything you buy.
So, in closing, if you demand the absolute best money can buy in your TFs, you should and probably have preordered the TakaraTomy versions from your favorite importer. For us budget-minded collectors, it's still great, it's something from the once-dead Classics series, and they're a nice nostalgic kick in the days where TFs are either ugly movie shardformers or Animated sillyformers. These really aren't for children. I doubt they'd have as much fun with these as they would an Animated toy. These new Classics are totally for the collectors and older kids.
I found the first wave of the new Transformers Universe Classics tonight (4th of July!). I ask you, fair readers: what's more American than sports cars and guns? I couldn't really think of anything, but then I realized that I was putting them on my VISA, and that, dear readers, makes it overly American, even if these were probably designed in Japan based on imported sports cars and made in China.
Prowl is based on the new Nissan Z, as far as I can tell. Unlike the movie toys, these are just far enough away from real cars to avoid TakaraTomy or Hasbro getting sued, not being licensed like GM and Lockheed Martin did for the movie toys. The car mode, as usual, looks great, even with the breaks in the body.
It kind of falls apart in 'bot mode. I bought Prowl and Sunstreaker this time, and I opened Prowl first, expecting him to be the better of the two. The pictures I've been seeing for the last few months led me to hope that, but after opening him and transforming him, I'm not so sure. He looks like a great modern articulated updated version of his G1 toy, but I have a couple of nits that are a little annoying. Firstly, the arms. They look a little too long, almost making Prowl look like a monkey to me. Then, the feet are a little too small and poorly placed, so it's hard to find that 'sweet spot' for him to stand properly. I think I've found it, but if someone in my apartment building slams a door, I have a feeling Prowl's going to take a shelf dive.
When I was in the store, I was surprised that with Star Wars, GI Joe, and Indiana Jones toys all starting to cost $8 a figure, that these brand-new Transformers were still only $10. When I got Prowl into 'bot mode, I figured out how Hasbro is keeping the costs down. Prowl here barely has any paint applications. The 'shoulder mounted acid blasters' (very creative term for what are really missiles) are completely white, no paint on them whatsoever. The arms and legs are just the color their respective parts are molded in, making the toy look cheap. I would gladly pay a couple extra bucks for some decent paint apps, but not enough to buy the TakaraTomy version, which are almost two to three times the price of these after they're imported. Alas, Hasbro seems to know that charging more than $10 for these moves them out of the impulse purchase range into a special purchase. I suppose it's a smart business move, and with the price of everything going up, it's like this on everything you buy.
So, in closing, if you demand the absolute best money can buy in your TFs, you should and probably have preordered the TakaraTomy versions from your favorite importer. For us budget-minded collectors, it's still great, it's something from the once-dead Classics series, and they're a nice nostalgic kick in the days where TFs are either ugly movie shardformers or Animated sillyformers. These really aren't for children. I doubt they'd have as much fun with these as they would an Animated toy. These new Classics are totally for the collectors and older kids.
Comments