FansProject Intimidator: Down Force

Apparently, Down Force is the second member of the Intimidator group to be released, not Last Chance, to correct a previous mistake. No matter; regardless of release order, Down Force is the FansProject stand-in for Dragstrip, the loveable psychotic six-wheeled race car member of the Stunticons.

FansProject Intimidator: Last Chance

Last Chance is the second installment in the very first set of Third Party Stunticons, now that apparently they and their Aerialbot nemesis are the hot 3P focus, and is the Dead End stand in. We covered the basics of this figure, in terms of size and build and all of that, a few months back with Car Crash, before shelving the set until the new year in order to try and finish off a bunch of other Coffin articles.

Last Chance, right away, is a gorgeous figure, with that Dead End maroon color just bursting out at you. The robot mode is very interesting, unconventional in places, and it and vehicle mode are nicely stylized in a way that makes the Intimidator team similar to the Warbotron team in that three of the figures are realistic and accurate, while the other two take some risks and wind up being cooler for it. The transformation is real simple, not unusual for a figure of this size, or from this particular set of figures.

FansProject Intimidator: Car Crash

 It’s time to start looking at a new Third Party combiner team, one of two new ones before 2018 comes to a close, in the midst of Warbotron and Quantron and at the end of the Poseidon articles. But, you know, it’s Coffin style to dive in to a new thing when there are still old things in progress. So, let’s look at Car Crash, first of the FansProject Stunticons.

Transformers: Combiner Wars G2 box sets

 

Theoretically, we are deep into the first wave or two of the new Titans Return toyline at this date in late August. Theoretically. I have yet to see anything more than the $5 head robots in stores, and I’m certainly not buying those; although, the single time I did see them in store, I legitimately gave a relieved exhale that they were priced at the low price they are, and not attempting to masquerade as $10 toys, in this day where Deluxes are trying as hard as they can to stay under $17: and by ‘trying to stay under,’ I mean the $16.99 I saw them listed for at Target. Anyway, we are supposed to be well on our way into the new line, but I’ve not seen them at all in stores. So, I’m choosing to stick with happier, more plentiful times and lines, and am going to retreat once more (at least) into Combiner Wars.

Transformers: Combiner Wars: The Stunticons: Menasor

 So it’s been forever, but here (finally) is my write up for Combiner Wars Menasor, as a whole.

     I’ve written before about the individual Stunticons, having all seven of them now, and my general impressions of them are very good. My standard Menasor configuration is one that most closely mimics the G1 configuration, which leaves Offroad out for Wildrider and actually practically requires the Blackjack chest piece, despite that being one of my gripes with the combined mode. Again, by now there is no shortage of opinions out there about this set of figures, but here’s mine.

                Menasor was the combiner that I was most happy for following the Botcon reveal of the Combiner Wars line and the later (I think…)SDCC reveals in 2014. He was also the one that looked the worst in pictures. He was squat and too wide, and it was clear that the chest piece Blackjack was carrying too much of the weight of the combined mode and it was just not capable of doing so. Where Superion got a Legends figure weapon, Blackjack was supposed to showcase the Legends class armor part or similar concept, and it just doesn’t do it very well at all. Legends class Groove looks like it will do a much better job on Defensor, but Groove does something that Blackjack does not in order to combine: he transforms. Blackjack is just stuck to the chest of Menasor as a car, and the effect just does not work. The problem is is that there isn’t any way to form Menasor that looks better without Blackjack, so. It’s like a necessary evil. Blackjack also has this tendency to fall off of Menasor’s chest just by thinking of the toy, which is really aggravating.

                Another Menasor issue is the legs. The Motormaster hips don’t really align in a way that is both good looking and stable, with the most stable configuration being the standard, intended one, which makes Menasor look squat and blocky. He stands practically a full head shorter than Superion, and looks comical. Again, by now this is old, old news, and so there are a ton of fan leg configurations out there to choose from, and almost all of them make Menasor look better, and most do allow him to be fairly stable, at least for a shelf. Still, Menasor’s waist is non-existent, and his shoulders are so wide that it really throws off the proportions of the combined figure.

      As I’d said for my write up of Motormaster, the combined Menasor weapon is pretty cool. Using Legends class Viper as a gun for the big guy is a nice touch, and the slender Viper looks a bit nicer than the chunky bug gun mode of Bombshell.
        The head is real nice, looking like the G1 cartoon Menasor head, but it does show an obvious separation from the rest of the body due to its being mounted on this part that slides up from over Motormaster’s back.

               

                Overall, I really like the Stunticons, and I really like Menasor. Aside from some of the combined form issues like the shoulders and the hips, the combined form is rather nice. The ‘good’ thing about the frustrating hips is that there are not many ways you can attempt to solve the issue that the figure can’t do. Basically, if you can think of some way to transform the legs differently, the figure generally allows you to do it. So while there isn’t one way to totally solve the issue, you can essentially do it up however you like the best.

               
It should be noted that Menasor is not really something that you ‘play’ with. One evening, as I sat around futzing with Menasor, constantly readjusting the legs and picking Blackjack up off the floor and muttering about how he wouldn’t stay in place, my wife looked over and said “There’s no way a kid could play with that.” And largely, that’s true. The combined modes for all three of the current sets (Defensor being the third as of right now) suffer from some kind of stability issue, or tab issue where parts that tab together don’t stay together under much stress, or balance issue or something else. That’s not to say that these are bad toys, but articulation and details really took their toll on playability as a singular figure. These guys sure look nicer, but I think the days of waving your combined Menasor around and making laser noises at frightened Autobot figures ended with the G1 version.

Transformers: Combiner Wars: The Stunticons: Offroad and Dead End

Offroad:

                Each of the teams is getting a new member in the Combiner Wars line, and for the Stunticons, Offroad is the new guy, replacing Wildrider. It does look like the left out original members will be made available though, as Wildrider and Slingshot for the Arialbots have already been made available for online purchase. As of this writing, I’m waiting on confirmation for my order for both of them. More on that later though. For now, let’s look at Offroad.

                Offroad is a pickup truck, which is an odd addition to a team of sports cars. I’m not really keeping up with the comics at this time, so I’m not sure what his persona is or anything like that. I will read them in the near future, but work and my recent wedding have kept me busy.

                Offroad is grey and teal with some red accents. He also wears the hood of his vehicle mode as a backpack, and it is a very large backpack. It sits far enough behind his head that it’s not much of a hindrance to the figure, but it gets in the way of his shoulder panels/truck doors which does inhibit posability to a degree. I don’t mind too much, but I do see how it could be something that diminishes the figure for some people. His lime green face shows off a creepy robot grin, and his face does have a maniacal tone to it that quite honestly is befitting a member of a group of paranoids and lunatics such as the Stunticons. While his truck mode doesn’t really say ‘member of a reckless driving group of shock troopers,’ his grimace totally does say ‘guy you don’t want to be near in combat because you can’t be sure what he’s going to do.’ Again, like most of the Deluxes in the line, good posability, but hampered by the shoulder panels, which give Offroad a nice profile and a cool silhouette in robot mode.

                Truck mode is nice, and it is a sporty looking truck, but it still doesn’t really fit in with a group of race cars. At first glance, he doesn’t look like a Stunticon to me, and there’s been plenty of drivel on the Internet to this point about people being stuck in the past or the ever vapid GeeWun screeching and finger pointing, and I for one am ok with the new team members Combiner Wars is bringing us. Like I said, I’m waiting on confirmation of a Wildrider and Slingshot order, but I’m still ok with the new guys. And I like Offroad a lot; he was the one Stunticon that I was really enthusiastic about getting, mainly because he was a new figure and not ‘just another car.’ Anyway, Offroad is a good looking truck, the grey body and red windows making for a nice combo.

                As for his weapon, I finally have something good to say. Offroad comes with a purple handled ax, and it’s the first Stunticon weapon that looks cool in the robots’ hand. His combiner hand foot part looks like it is intended to be a four pipe exhaust set up but like Dragstrip it doesn’t peg on anywhere that makes it look good.
**Actually, I just figured this out. You can snap Offroads' hand foot piece into the bed of his truck mode, and it looks either like he's carrying a large load of cargo, or a large bed-mounted engine, depending on what you see it as. It works real well, like Breakdowns' does. **

                Offroad is a real winner for me. He’d be the best of the group if it wasn’t for the last guy….

Dead End: 

                Dead End is the best of the bunch. While it is fairly legit to say that the individual members of combiner teams are fairly forgettable and not long on personas, there usually is one that becomes more of a personality than the rest; the one that you remember because quite frankly they’re the only ones that were memorable, generally exposed through brief lines of very self-identifying dialogue in a cartoon or comic. For the Stunticons, and for me, that one memorable persona is Dead End, the fatalistic, leave-a-good-looking-corpse nihilist. The figure is a great figure, with some very strong colors true to the original, a nice, solid maroon with grey and gold accents. This is one very good looking toy.  He also sports the chest piece that covers a good amount of the combiner connection, which really is a good design element. I do kind of wish they would have included such a part on as many of the figures as they could: Offroad for instance could have fit one under the truck hood and it may have made him that much better of a figure.

                Vehicle mode for Dead End is nice as well. The car mode is very sleek, and very rounded along the edges. I don’t know anything about cars, so I’m not certain if this is an actual car design, but it reminds of the Bughatti Veyron that appears to be a required alt mode for someone in every Transformers line post 2008. The bib piece in robot mode folds underneath his car hood in vehicle mode, hiding his head and making it so that he’s not just staring at the ground beneath him when he’s driving.

                His weapon is a pipe. Oh, if only it plugged in on the underside of the car mode it would be perfect but once more, Combiner Wars Stunticon weapons aren’t exactly that functional. His hand foot weapon is some kind of quasi-three barreled weapon.

                Overall Dead End is the best of the Stunticons. He looks good and striking in all modes, and all modes look good. Breakdown is a nice car but somewhat lacking as a robot; Dragstrip is decent in both but not really anything spectacular, and basically the same goes for Motormaster; Blackjack has a fun little robot mode but a bland car mode; Offroad is great in both modes, but lacks that chest piece that Dead End has which pushes him to the top. This is the figure that is getting redone as Streetwise and also for the *confirmed as of this writing to be in transit* exclusive Wildrider, which is terrific news. This is a good figure all around, and getting another one is going to be a good thing.

Next up, a thought on the team as a whole and Menasor. 

Transformers Combiner Wars: The Stunticons: Breakdown and Dragstrip

Breakdown:

                Breakdown is a strange robot. His hips are ball joints that are on this scissor type construction; I’m not sure what its official name is. It’s the kind of joint that lets the legs compress closer to the body in robot mode, but extend further away from the body to lengthen the car mode. The overall result of this is that I’m not entirely sure how his legs are supposed to look in robot mode. The way I’ve got him, he seems a little squat, but this places the legs basically in line with the shoulders, giving him a wide waist. Out of all the Stunticons, Breakdown is the ‘meh’ one, not being very exciting in most categories despite not being necessarily bad at anything. I think if he does have a real flaw, it is the hip construction. I do think though that once I find a way to situate them that I like, he’ll look better. As of this writing, I’ve owned him for less than a week and am fiddling with him for the third time while I write about him. His legs are big and boxy, and he is wearing his car mode hood on his back. The head sculpt is right on with the original, which is awesome. His blue and off white paint job is very nice despite, like Motormaster, being real minimal. Something that Breakdown, and later on Dead End, does that sets him apart from pretty much all the Combiner Wars Deluxes is that he has a chest piece, basically a bib, that folds down to partially cover the combiner connection that flips out of his robot chest. Most of the other Deluxes all simple have their combiner pegs visible – really visible – directly in their centers, and it is a nice touch to have one or two of them where the peg is covered up, if only to break up the general sameness of appearance that really does come with these teams: after all, the Deluxes, while all different, have to be essentially the same in design so as to facilitate the Scramble City-style modularity of the line.

                The vehicle mode is really nice. Breakdown is a very sleek sportscar, just like his G1 figure, with a punch of red paint on the hood to break up the all off white of the rest of the body. We have had numerous versions of this car over the years, that Lamborghini that was on so many Trapper Keepers in the 80s. Probably the best version of it in my opinion has been the Classics Sunstreaker/Sideswipe figure, but the Breakdown one is more angular and cuts sharper lines, as opposed to that Classics figures more rounded appearance. I hate to say “it’s that car again” and leave it at that, but there isn’t much else to say about it really.

                His weapon some kind of rifle/sword thing, and some people are all excited that it’s a gunblade from Final Fantasy VIII. It works better as a sword than a rifle, but it’s not a great weapon in either form. None of the Stunticon weapons are very good, to be honest. The combiner hand foot has two open exhaust port looking things, and you can mount it in vehicle mode like exhaust vents, and it actually doesn’t look like a folded up thing stuck to a car, the way most of these accessories end up looking.

               

Dragstrip:

                Dragstrip is the one I’ve had the longest. I picked up the Wave 1 Deluxes in early February I think, and then waited and waited and waited to find Wave 2, which I just got the last of about a week ago. Dragstrip is pretty lanky, with thin thighs and angular shoulders and calves. It’s a fairly slender overall look that works well for a robot that transforms into a Formula One racer, and the front end of the car does a neat thing in transformation where it flips around to peg in to the back of the figure, leaving the front wheels right behind the robot shoulders, and this look gives the figure a feeling of depth, making the upper body feel much meatier than the legs. Yellow and maroon are the main colors, or perhaps the only colors would be more fitting. Aside from the black of the tires and the silver struts and engine details, Dragstrip is essentially two tone. He does have a new head, nothing like his original appearance, but the face sculpt is a sinister looking one with the darker maroon paint of his visor having two tear-like tails, and some people have likened it to tears of blood. I won’t that melodramatic about it, but it is a mean look.

                In vehicle mode, Dragstrip is once again an open wheel race car, four wheels down from his G1 bizarre six. Unlike Breakdown, there aren’t any newly revealed colors on Dragstrip’s car mode, the yellow and maroon remaining fairly unbroken. He is a nice looking car, a very slender car, as is telegraphed by his robot mode.

                Overall, Dragstrip is a simple but deceptive toy. Slight in both modes, color consistent in both modes, and fairly basic in both modes, he nevertheless is an impressive figure for his new head and general posability. While he is no more jointed than any of the other Combiner Wars Deluxes, Dragstrip can get some neat poses going because of the overall slender nature of the figure.

                His weapon is some kind of sword thing. There are no good places to stick the weapons in vehicle mode.