Phil's Reveal The Shield Legends Reviews

[Philip Ayres]

Phil reviews the RTS Legends released this week in the UK!

[Philip Ayres]

Reveal The Shield Legends Optimus Prime

While not the first Legends Optimus Prime - Cybertron, Movie and Animated versions have been done so far in this size - The new Legends Optimus Prime is the first modelled after the 1984 Version. Proportionately this Legends version is wider with ball jointed hips, elbows and shoulders which also bend back at the body. However bending the arm eposes that under each one is a wheel which looks odd. It'd be nice if we had knees like on some other Legends but... He stands with his legs aprat meaning that the feet are slightly sloped from one side to the other.

Transformation: Fold the head down and rotate the upper chest 10 degrees. Peg the legs together and fold the waist forward 90 degrees. Bend each arm 90 degrees, fold the shoulders back and swing the arms in to form the sides of the cab. Push the shoulders together and make sure the arms have locked into place.

Well I've seen worse Prime cabs on larger toys - Robot Masters Convoy and Classics Deluxe Optimus Prime spring to mind. Not a bad go but you feel some knees could have been easily done.

Repaints: Ultra Magnus and Scourge spring to mind.

[Philip Ayres]

Reveal The Shield Legends Megatron

There's already been a decent Legends Megatron - the Universe 2 interpretation of the Generation 2 Tank - as well as Cybertron and Movie versions, but this is the first attempt at one modeled on the original 1984 Megatron.

Robot mode is Megatron and done pretty well. The mixture between the silver paint of the arms and the upper body, the moulded silver grey of the upper legs and the grey paint of the fusion cannon and legs fronts is a little jarring, as is the bright orange cap on the front of the fusion cannon. The articulation is great with ball jointed knees, hips and shoulders.

Transformation: fold his left arm up so it sticks straight out of his shoulder. Pull the waist first down and then to the side under his left arm before pushing it up into the arm. Fold his right arm under the upper body and then fold the fusion cannon up to become the gun barrel. Fold both lower legs up at the knees so that the shell of the lower legs covers the upper legs.

Megatron's gun mode looks like his g1/Microchange version, albeit minus the silencer, scope & stock and with the addition of an orange cap on the barrel. If I could paint that's be gone. The handle, formed from the legs is a bit big but there's some holes and tabs set in it which allow Masterpiece Starscream. to hold him.

Not a bad attempt givem the limits of the size.

[Philip Ayres]

Reveal The Shield Legends Gold Bumblebee

The only real repaint amongst the RTS Legends, Gold Bumblebee uses the Universe Legends Bumblebee mould repainting the yellow with a bronzey gold and painting a dark blue over most of the black and the yellow of the head. Inspired by Throttlebot Goldug this repaint doesn't quite work: the gold paint used on United Bumblebee is much better than the nearly brown plastic used here.

See also philstfreviews.site11.com/uclBumblebee.html

[Philip Ayres]

Been trying to do these all week. Unfortumately I've injured my right hand and typing is not comfortable at the moment so the rest, windcharger and the PCC may have to wait.

[Hero]

Prime looks pretty decent stood next to the G2 Legends Megatron.

Keep the reviews coming,

===KEN

[Bogatan]

I think my main issue with prime is not the knees so much as the fore arms. The knees would have been nice but the legs have a really nice dynamic pose and knees joints would only be of use if the hips had been designed to allow useful movement.

The forearms though have agreat range of movement but look a bit pants. Would have preferred them to look good as arms and been a bit not great as part of the side of the cab.

Megatron is perfect. Elbow joints are nice but on a legend generally only a bonus. Megs legs are great though and the overall look is the best representation of G1 Megatron if only Hasbro could legally make a voyager sized version.

Bumblebee is a bit pants proportions look all wrong and it has no articulation worth noting besides the arms moving up and down. Also as you say Phil the colour is quite terrible.

Prowl is pretty awesome too, if it had ball and socket knees like Megatron it would be almost as good.

Trailcutter being stuck with just hip and shoulder joints it doesn't do much but it looks very good while doing it.

Starscream is odd and reminds me a lot of the skyscorchers but with slightly better articulation.
That could make for some unexpected repaints.

Andy

[blueshift]

I've been hearing reports that some Starscreams have a painted helmet, others don't. Which ones are we getting?

[Philip Ayres]

Mines painted

[Philip Ayres]

Reveal The Shield Legends Starscream

Starscream's had legends toys of his Cybertron, Movie and Animated versions. There's even been a previous Legends 1984 Starscream using the Legends of Cybertron Thundercracker mould. This version adapts his 1984 Generation 1 form to the Legends size.

The resemblance between the legend and the original one is pretty good and the new on beats the original's articulation with a head that turns slightly, hips that swing to the sides and ball jointed knees & shoulders. Unfortunately one of the knee joints on mine is a little faulty so I can't bend the knee into the precise position needed for the toy to stand properly. I will keep my eyes peeled for a replacement that does.

Transformation: inventive. Fold the nosecone up from behind the head, then fold the head back and down so it's between the robot's legs. Fold each arm up so it points straight up and turn so the inner side of the arm faces forward. Fold the guns on the arms forward to become the back of the jet. Fold the wings on the back of the legs down. Fold the legs up alongside the body so the wings on the legs become the tailfins. Plug the tab on each leg into the slot on each wing.

Starscream's vehicle mode is a surprisingly accurate representation of the F-16 jet, albeit one with a thick undercarriage. Landing gear is provided by the knees & feet raising the bulk of the plane up.

Apart from the knees on mine this is a great little Legend. Nice reworking of the Transformation sequence. I expect we'll be seeing it again as Thundercracker, Skywarp, Sun Storm & Acid Storm, remoulded as Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet & G2 Ramjet. Plus there's two Japanese Starscream colour schemes that could be done: Black & Clear.

[Philip Ayres]

Reveal The Shield Legends Prowl

Prowl's only previous Legend was of his Animated Version. Looking at the Reveal The Shield legend, it's obvious that it's meant to be the 1984 Generation 1 Prowl. What's less obvious is if it's a retool of Universe Legends Jazz. At first glance they look *VERY* similar, with the straight back door wings and the Transformation even down to the shape of the chest and the positioning of the screws. But looking closely almost every part is different. The only pieces that MIGHT be unaltered are the wheels and the inner shoulder joints linking the body and the arms which end in the shoulder's ball joint. In the end I have to conclude that, like Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, while having many differences Universe 2 Jazz & RTS Prowl are essentially the same toy. The rear wheels move location on this design ending up on the arms and we get more articulated heels but that's it as regards functional changes.

Repaints: Bluestreak and Smokescreen are the obvious choices.

See also philstfreviews.site11.com/uclJazz.html

[Andy Turnbull]

Out of the new crop of Legends I own. Starscream is the winner. Though I do like them all. Megatron has an Action Master Megatron head which makes me happy.

Andy

[Philip Ayres]

Have you found them all now Andu?

[Philip Ayres]

Reveal The Shield Legends Trailcutter

Poor Trailbreaker. He's not had much love over the years. His one reappearance thus far was as a Universe Spychanger recolour with the legs and head of the robot in totally the wrong colour and the wrong name attached. However he's back now with a modified copyright conflict avoiding name as a Reveal The Shield legend.

Trailcuttter is very like the 1984 version but with proportionately larger legs and modified arms made from the roof of the vehicle. He has ball jointed hips and shoulders.

Transformation: fold the head down and the upper body up. Fold the arms up and fold them back behind the body. Peg the feet together and fold them back then fold the legs back into the arms.

What we get is a slightly elongated version of the original Trailbreaker vehicle, unfortunately missing the trademarked stripes.

Yeah, not bad at all. It strikes me that a Legends toy with a similar design would make a good Ratchet/Ironhide. Better than the Universe versions in fact! I'm not sure if you could rework the design for Trailbreaker's remould Hoist that well - you'd need new arms for a start....

[legios]

Jan 23, 2011 10:20:31 GMT Philip Ayres said:

Reveal The Shield Legends Starscream

Transformation: inventive. Fold the nosecone up from behind the head, then fold the head back and down so it's between the robot's legs. Fold each arm up so it points straight up and turn so the inner side of the arm faces forward. Fold the guns on the arms forward to become the back of the jet. Fold the wings on the back of the legs down. Fold the legs up alongside the body so the wings on the legs become the tailfins. Plug the tab on each leg into the slot on each wing.

I really like the transformation on Starscream. It maintains the sense of the original Diaclone transformation but has some clever little wrinkles. The folding panels that hide the arms in fighter mode and become weapons in humanoid mode are particularly clever. The only thing that I'm not really keen on are the knee-pads - I don't like the way they look in humanoid mode, as if he is wearing cricket gear or something and they look horrendously unaerodynamic in fighter mode. Apart from that he isn't a bad stab at an F-15 at all, they've done a reasonable job of getting the lines of the upper surface right within the limits of what you can do and still get a decent humanoid mode out of a Legends class figure.

I've only just now been able to open the Trailcutter that I got in Irvine last week and he certainly is worth the wait. Not having owned an original Trailbreaker I have to say that it is rather nice to finally have the character in some kind of toy form. He's rather clever in his transformation - the roof-tuck is especially nice - and he does capture the sense of the character rather well.

Karl

[Andy Turnbull]

Jan 24, 2011 14:56:14 GMT Philip Ayres said:

Have you found them all now Andu?

Yes. Asda had a restock during the week so i picked up Prime, completing the set.

Andy

[Hero]

Enjoy. Prime is awesome!

===KEN

[Shockprowl]

I'm loving Prowl (THANKS PHIL!!!), and I've splashed out on a Jazz to be his friend. Trailbreaker is also nice. Great line this!

[Philip Ayres]

RTS Starscream is back for some repaint fun & games!

Cyberverse Evolutions Starscream

The RTS Legend Starscream doesn't appear in the Cyberverse Evolutions set but I feel it should have done. The set includes retooled transparent versions of Movie Legends Starscream and Revenge of the Fallen Legends Bumblebee along with another Legends version of the same characters. Bumblebee is represented by the G1 inspired Universe Legends Bumblebee but Starscream uses Legends of Cybertron Starscream. I just feel that the G1 RTS version would have been a better choice and thematically matched the Bumblebee a bit better.

EZ Collection Thundercracker

Takara's EZ Collection has long been a home for Legends figures in Japan. However since the Dark of the Moon Legends are now rebranded as Cyberverse basics and sold in conjunction with the Cyberverse Commanders & Action Sets, Takara needed to do something different.

The first EZ Collection wave released alongside Dark of the Moon uses the western Reveal The Shield Legends as it's base and adds in new repaints of the Revenge of the Fallen Legends Optimus Prime & Megatron. Of the RTS toys Optimus Prime & Trailbreaker (Trailcutter) are essentially the same as their RTS versions albeit swapping the rub signs for faction symbols. Megatron too is broadly similar to his RTS version but there's one major difference: the EZ Collections lacks the orange safety tip on the cannon/gun barrel that RTS Megatron has, making the Japanese version more desirable. Prowl is missing, replaced by the similar looking Universe Legends Jazz, which hadn't been previously released in Japan. The Bumblebee in the set is different from the Goldbugesque RTS version and is very similar to the original Universe Legends Bumblebee, which also hadn't been released in Japan before, although the mold was repainted as Henkei Cliffjumper which in a three pack with minor repaints of Universe Legends Beachcomber and Brawn.

But what of RTS Starscream?

Starscream finds himself repaint as Thundercracker, swapping grey plastic for blue with a painted silver chest & faction symbol tampographs. It's an obvious repaint of course but it seems a little odd to be getting a hench jet before the main bot is done.

It is of course the first repaint of the Starscream toy and has appeared in Japan without any hint of a Western release. When the first ones appeared on eBay they were £9.50 compared with the £7 the seller was asking for the rest. I bought one then, and Megatron was the same price. They were then relisted at £10.50. Then £12.57. Then £18.55..... The last two that sold went for £21.44 & £24.50 with them now being listed for a massive £27.56 as at August 5th 2011! Madness, utter utter Madness. I wish I'd bought a few more when they were sub tenner. I'm looking at Wave 1 Case that BBTS have for $160 (These toys are sold blindboxed in cases of 24 with each toy appearing three times) and wondering if it's worth buying one....

Thundercracker? Looks fab and stands better than Starscream. But this is a £3-£4 toy, it's not a tenner toy even at import prices and it's certainly not worth paying the best part of £30 for! I predict a western version in early 2012 and the howl of fanboys who overspent on the Japanese toy.

EZ Collection "Starscream"

A second EZ Collection wave has been announced and is available to pre-order at BBTS for $75, half the price of the Wave 1 case. All we have to go on at the moment is a grey scale photo showing the eight toys involved. The missing RTS Prowl shows up twice in the set of eight so I'm guessing one is Prowl while the other is a repaint, almost certainly either Bluestreak or Smokescreen. The Legends versions of Generation 2 Megatron, Hound and Rodimus weren't released in Japan when Henkei was running and including them here completes the release of the Universe Legends toy molds in Japan. Another version of RTS Optimus Prime is present in this case and I'm guessing this is probably a repaint as Ultra Magnus or possibly Scourge/Nemesis Prime.

The case photo also shows TWO of the Starscream mold. I'm guessing that one of them would be a Japanese version Starscream and the other probably Skywarp or Sunstorm. I can't really see Thundercracker being carried over to a second case as some people are hoping but his initial appearance instead of Starscream was a big surprise anyway so I won't be so shocked if Takara bowls us a googly and does something odd here too!