Botcon 2012- Invasion: Jetty's Review

[Toph]

I thought I'd give a shortish review of this year's botcon set. I won't really talk about the molds, as Most everyone is probably familier with those.
Also, I'll grade them on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the tops.

First out of the gate, I would like to acknowledge the effort FP went into choosing SG toys that could have alternate uses for us non-SG collectors. Three of these have tiny, but significant details that are easily overlooked, but really stand out. And I thank my friend Cujo for being the one to point this out to me. (I honestly don't know if I'd have fully realized this at first.) I'll mention these when I get to the figures.

Box Set:

Box-
Pretty. Great art. Nice layout inside. Typical FP, not much to say, really.

Gigatron, The Overlord
Overlord was a highly anticipated figure for many fans. He was a much beloved, if obscure character before that demi-god of a writer slash artist known to us meer mortals simply as "Nick Roche" got ahold of him.
A lot of people felt let down once the figure was revealed.
-Tank Mode: The tank takes the colors fairly well, honestly. All the shades chosen are fairly flat, and really feel like colors you'd see on a TF from the late eighties (FP hasn't always gotten things like that right in the past). There's not much in the way of added details worth mentioning.
-Robot mode: This is where everything falls apart. "Samurai" does not suit Overlord, and I don't care how FP rationalizes it. There is no perfect mold choice to be repainted as Overlord, but I do feel there are better choices out there.
Also, I feel that the colors do nor work as well in robot mode. They break down *extremely nicely, and they do bring out a lot of the sculpted details, better than the previous uses, don't get me wrong. It's just... at least in my eyes, they don't look as good on this mold as they may another. Or as another set of colors may. Maybe it's the 80s type colorscheme, on this ultra detailed ultra modern movie-ish mold. it just doesn't sit well asthetically to me. There also aren't many added details or small florishes, either.
Gigatron is one of the figures to get a brand new head-. I mentioned previously that I feel it falls flat of doing Nick's designs justice. The sculpt is ultra simple, and underdetailed, as well as oversized. This triple combination looks extremely out of place on a movie-ish mold.
-3/10

Ultra Magnus
-Truck Mode: He's a bery muted shade of blue. The plastic has a very subtle metallic flake sheen to it. But with the colors chosen, and the way the mold breaks down, it's very monotone, with only a little bit to help break it up. He has some... interesting details though. On his hood are two tribal style designs, mirroring each other. He has a silver stripe on each side to help break up the blue as well. The window pieces are either molded, or painted solid with a large SG Autobot symbol on each one.
Very pretty colors... just... boring.
-Robot Mode: This mode introduces a little more red, and introduces some black. It still feels very monotone, though. I don't think this mold takes the Diaclone Magnus colors very well at all, honestly. However, there is one important feature that really makes this stand out...The molded Matrix has a very light silver drybrush across it, really popping the molded details out.
This is one of the figures to use the alternate hasbro head. It's has a skull face, and the helmet looks like a very warped, and almost melted Optimus Prime. A lot of people have speculated or been convenced that it was intended to be Motormaster or Nemesis Prime/Scourge... but to me it looks like it's been dipped in acid. I'm pretty certain it was ment to be Toxitron.
Overall, it's a very pretty deco, the colors work nicely... but it just feels boring. It's not a very creative use of the mold.
-5/10

Turbo Tracks- This is where the set starts to get interesting. Our first duel use, as the deco homages the eHobby character Roadrage. This also has one of those subtle and easily overlooked details mentioned up top. The symbols are neither red, nor purple. They actually seem to be maroon. When you look really closely, they're purple. But when you set it down and look from a foot or so away, they wash out on the red background, and look red themselves.
-Car Mode: Car mode is a very bright red, with a black stripe that follows the contures of the body. On the hood is the traditional Tracks flame detail, with the triangle and autobot symbol. On his roof is another symbol.
-Robot Mode: In this mode, Tracks really comes to life. There are a lot of added details. And lots of new colors spring out. White, Black, Metallic Grey, and a shade of purple that really pops against the red and white. He has a lot of painted details that every other version seems to lack. Even the sides of his forearms are painted red, with yellow and blue (Neither yellow or blue are used anywhere else on the toy).
The only critisism I have, is absolutely not FP's fault. The only problem is the mold does not do female well (Which is something I predicted as soon as I first saw Tracks/Wheeljack). All in all, I'm still deciding if this or "Over-run" is my favorite version of the mold.
-9/10

Metalhawk
-Jet Mode: Another muted and darkish blue for it's primary color. Though he's got some bright red, and white painted details that help break it up. Not much else to say.
-Robot Mode: Again, there's honestly not much to say. I always thought that the Thunderwing mold was a fairly boring one. It takes the colors well, but not in a very exciting way. Though in thois mode, the blue isn't as overwhelming as it might be in vehicle. his upper arms and thighs are pure white, and the red on his chest and wings really spreads the colors arounr really well. The colorscheme may not thrill me personally, bit I admit it works really well.
One of the figures to get a brand new head, and as we all know, FP went in an... interesting... direction. It's purely up to personal taste if one thinks it's successful or not. I'm not a big pretender fan, so it doesn't do much for me. But I will admit this is definately a creative direction. FP took a gamble, and I do think it paid off in the long run, because he certainly is different. The sculpting leaves a lot to be desired though.
I'll admit, I would enjoy this take a lot more if they had made Metalhawk's inner robot mode as an add on or the attendee figure, from Energon Skyblast. While it wouldn't fit inside, it would still acknowledge the pretender gimmick, and have a nice size ratio to the deluxe "Shell." As well as they would look nice displayed together.
-6/10

Treadshot: This is the second of the three mentioned earlier. His decepticon symbol, depending on the light and angle, almost seems to outright change colors. You look at it from one angle, it's red. You shift it even just slightly, and it's purple. it's a really odd shade, abd much kudos to FP!
-Car Mode: First, in all the photography, and even when you see him in the foam for the first time, he looks to be blue. But when you get him out and on his own, you realize he's actually purple! More correctly, he's a shade of lavender or lilac. it's nice. (But it completely ruins my original intent to repurpose him as G2 Skram! )
In this mode, he has very dark and extremely metallis silver paint applied to him, around his front bumbper, spoiler, and a double stripe running along the right sode of the top. His windows are molded in translucent yellow plastic, but have a light tinting at the dark that fades to nothing. Nice.
-Robot Mode: Black and bright mustard yellow is introduced in this mode. The yellow provides a really nice contrast for all the various darker shades on him, as well as matching the translucent plastics.
He's also one of the figures to use the alternate hasbro head, and I have to say whoever it was originally intended for, it has a lot more personality to it than the Jazz head. It's very nicely sculpted, and painted with that same metallic paint in a way that makes all the details pop.
-10/10

Soundwave
-SUV Mode: Not much to say. Not a fan of the mold. it has some... interesting... paint tampos on it. Including two bumper stickers, and for some reason some GI Joe character.
-Robot Mode: Again, not a fan of this mold. All the blue applied to it is paint detail, and it doesn't seem to match to me.
The head sculpt is extremely odd, and he almost looks bug-eyed (Quite an feat for a character who isn't supposed to have two eyes). The sculpting on it is likewise sub-par, and underdetailed. And just looks odd. On the flipside, it does seem to resemble Derrick Yanneger's G2 artwork.
With that in mind, he fits several of the G2 themes... alt mode and colorscheme that has absolutely nothing to do with Soundwave as he appeared in G1, plus a head that looks like G2 art as a bonus. And silly tampos that fee; like some of the stuff you see in G2, such as "BIG GRIM" on Grimlock's shoulder in the comic.
So what would be an instant fail for me, and rank as the only complete zero in all of FP's exclusives, actually might have a home in my collection.
-3/10 (It only gains those three points for the G2 feel)

Aaaaand... with that, I'm completely exhausted. I'll finish with the rest, later.
[

[kayevcee]

Soundwave is awful but looks G2 inspired? Sounds like a winner!

-Nick

[The Doctor]

Interesting review, and I am enjoying reading it. By saying that Soundwave looks like Yaniger art, I now must have it. And so must the Turnbull.

-Ralph

[Bogatan]

Not had a look at the full set yet, but I have to generally disagree with overlord.my original opinion survived getting him out of the box. The head is well sculpted but iS a little odd. Other than that I think the whole thing works well. Treadshot really I nice and Magnus is a bit meh, but not bad.

Currently I'm just trying to pack them all.

[Toph]

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings!
One thing I have to clarify, I don't feel Soundwave is G2 inspired. I think it's just a coincidence, but IMO, it works and fits into the themes I use for my G2 Classics.
If there is no direct classics update (Ala G2 Redux), then there are several guidelines I follow:
Big Guns
Mold that does not match the original character
Colorscheme that does not match the original character
Dark colors with extreme contrasts
Odd colorschemes.

As an example, even though there was no G2 Wheeljack, I ended up repurposing my Cybertron Downshift as G2 Wheeljack, because I feel he hits several of these marks. Also, I repurposed the Battle in Space RtS Rodimus as G2 Hotrod, and Machine Wars Mirage as G2 Mirage.
Also, fitting into some of the themes introduced in G2 Redux, I've moved Lugnut, Drift, and Lockdown into G2 (Because quite frankly, Lockdown just SCREAMS G2). And the recent walmart exclusive blue Side Arm Sideswipe as a brand new character named Sideshot.
If Roadrage didn't exist, I'd probably repurpose SG Tracks as G2 Tracks. Maybe Magnus too, were it not for that skull face.

So, that's how my mind works when it comes to building a G2 Classics display. I would put up a full list somewhere, but I figure that would be boring.

Anyway, thanks for reading my reviews!

Round two..... FIGHT!

Attendee Exclusive:

"The Bard of Darkmount" This one was a complete left fielder for me. It was Victorysabre from the TCC board who explained his coloscheme to me. There also a gobot he vaguely could work as. Straxus is the third of the three I mentioned on the top. Like Treadshot, his symbol changes color depending on angle and light. Looking purple most of the time. I don't know what FP did, but I really love this type of paint they used for these two!
-Half-track Mode: Straxus is a very... odd... set of colors. In this mode, he's not very detailed, deco wise. But one thing impossible to see unless you're up close, is the tannish gold uses a very subtle metallic flake. it looks bland and boring in photos, but it's actually really pretty in person.
-Robot Mode: A lot more painted and plastic details are now revealed in robot mode. No new colors are introduces, as it remains that "Gold" (for lack of a better word), Charteuse, and black. And counter intuitively, it's actually a very nice colorscheme. The charteuse livens it up, and the black adds a really nice contrast to the other two.
There's really not a lot to say about him, because it is a very simple colorscheme. But it works really well.
-8/10

Souvenirs

Junkions This will be very short. There's not a whole lot to say about them. They pretty much are exactly what we thought when we first heard about them, and there really are no new surprises that don't carry over from photos.
-Motorcycle Mode: Purple, black, silverish gray, with a red seat. It doesn't look bad. It has an interesting circuit board pattern on it's gas tank.
-Robot Mode: This mode introduces a slightly darkish yellow to the scheme, as well as more light gray, and a circuit pattern on it's chest, as well as more black, in the form of it's arms. It also introduces white, along the collar. It's a nice deco, and the mold takes it really well.
However, I personally have absolutely no use for three junkions in insecticon colors. This is where I alwats felt SG was it's absolute weakest, and uninspired, swapping colorschemes instead of trying something new. Any time FP goes this route, it automatically lowers my opinion of the toy, and this is no exception. If you don't follow or care about SG, insecticon colored junkions are about as useless to you as it gets.
I will admit I appreciate FP using all three of the mold's heads. That's an increadibly nice touch.
Personally, given the way they're played in the fiction, I wish they had gone with a zombie, or borg inspired deco. Because thay's exactly how they work, like the Borg.
-5/10: It ranks a five given the use of all three heads, and how nice the deco is. To me personally, it fails everything else and would likely be a 1. If it was useful, it would get higher.

Optimus Prime Wow, is this an odd figure. When it was leaked, it was one of the most disappointing Botcon figures of all time. We already had an SG Prime. One that was a better mold, and an absolutely beautiful weathered deco, to boot! Now we're getting a more boring version, for no real reason? If FP is suddely worried about getting popular characters back out, then give us a new prebeast Megatron from CD Scattorshot, or prebeast Waspinator from HftD Tomahawk! This was the least anticipated botcon toy for me. And it sounds like a lot of people felt simularly.
-Truck Mode: Once I got the toy in hand... holy figgin' cow is this toy GORGEOUS.
It's molded in a purple with a light metallic flake, black, and a gunmetal grey. All the translucent plastic is yellow, with a metallic flake inside it. Charteuse green lights add a nice contrast. But the deco has just started. Really hard to see, if not impossible in photography, is virtually all over him is a silver drybrush, which takes the weathered effect to an entirely new level. The weathered effects on this blow the original out of the water His windshield has the "traditional" crack tampoed on it. Across the hood is a giant autobot symbol, which is made to appear as though the paint is flaking and wearing off. On the right side of the nose, is printed "I shall stand..." and on the left we find "...The rest shall fall." Behind the doors on the cab are white lightening bolts, both of which also look like they're wearing off. The metallic flake in the translucent yellow is a beautiful detail.
-Robot Mode: Introduced in this mode are some more weathered detailing on his thighs, silver on his shins, and gold paint on his knees and forarms. But what's really new here, is a small amount of absolutely brilliant purple paint that has a really nice metallic sheen, on his shoulders and his torso.
In my opinion, this new version really trumps the original. And as much as I hate SG, I really loved the original toy.
-10/10

Kick-Out Of all the leaked figures, this was the most anticipated for me (Followed by the now non-existant G2 Swindle)
-Car Mode: Since Kickoff never had a vehicle mode originally, a lot of liberties were taken with this toy. Partially out of neccessity to distinguish him from Jazz. The original toy looked like he'd have a white car mode, with orange and black robot parts.
For this toy, he's entirely black. Starting with the hood, and going all the way back over the wpoiler is a large white sheet of paint, with a pure dayglo orange stripe running down the center. And on each side along the bottom of the car is a red stripe that wraps almost entirely around the car. It's... different than one would have expected out of Kickoff. That's not a critisism, though.
-Robot Mode: He does not follow the original Kickoff very closely. Some of this is due to impossibilities, some by choice. The white on the chest is a lot more understanted than one would exect. And where white felt like it was his primary color, here it feels like its just a minor detail.
This mode introduces an orange plastic, which doesn't match the original's orange very well. The original had a deeper shade, and this is borderline neon (Not a term I use often as it rarely ever applies). Also introduced is red on his feet, and his stomach. The red on his head, doors, and red windows really distibutes this minor color and really looks nice.
Last but not least, he has a newly sculpted head, modeled after Kick-Off.
Over all, It's not a perfect representation of the actionmaster. But I like this toy, a lot.
-10/10

Spinister Now let me start off with I never owned Tomahawk, nor the original Spinister. So this is a first, for both. I also do not know if he uses the original or the secondary Hasbro head.
-Helicopter Mode: His primary colors are muted dark blue, purple, pink, and light blue. He has some nice tampographed details: arroes on his wings, and a design on his nose.
In this mode, he's primarily that muted blue, with a pink stripe painted on top.
-Robot Mode: The colors break down nicely. Not much to say. It *doesn't* look like a seacon, dispite what people are saying.
Looking at pictuires of Spinister online, I honestly don't understand the direction FP was going with this. The color shades don't seem to match very well to the original, and only the nosecone in chopper mode matches the layoud of colors to the original. Beyond that, in neither mode does any color go "Where it's supossed to be."
That is not to say this is a bad deco, it certainly isn't. It has a nice layout in both modes, but it does nopt match Spinister in any way. As a nice toy, it's pretty good. As an homage, it falls fairly short. Because of that, it loses some points.
-7/10

Octopunch Note, like with Spinister, this is my first time owning this mold. Never liked it as Seaspray. Never found the other version.
-Hovorcraft Mode: Primary colors are bluegreen, seagreen, dark grey, and maroon.
BTW, contrary to what people say, he certainly does *NOT* have ducks tampoes on him. They're turkeys. Will also say the vehicle mode really suits his original's primary function of Salvage, with a greta platform to carry stuff on.
-Robot Mode: Same colors. He pretty much is exactly as he looks. I dunno. I really can't find much to say about him. The color layout works well in both modes, and carries into robot very well. He has all the right colors in all the right places for his pretender shell. It's not a bad update.
But, it's not terribly exciting to me, either. Don't really know why. Maybe because this mold never really thrilled me as Seaspray.
-6/10

[The Doctor]

Turkeys, you say? I must see one in hand at some point. All I can see in pics are penguins!

-Ralph