Post by Pinwig on Mar 13, 2016 18:40:31 GMT
I'm going to have to build this up over a few days because time is so tight at the moment, but I've finally had a chance to open up the Perfect Effect kit. I thought I'd write it up because Shockers asked about it and no one else has gone in depth on these kits yet. The Nonnef feet will follow in due course!
Perfect Effect - Perfect Combiner PC04
This small addon kit, which costs around the £25 mark on these shores, adds three extra pieces to enhance the Hasbro Combiner Wars Menasor. It comprises of a new Menasor head, an extension piece to make his sword larger, and a torso 'harness' that makes the combined form beefier, more secure and adds Menasor's trademark vents either side of his head.
Head:
You can see from the picture that the Perfect Effect version is slightly bigger and has better definition in the face. In my opinion the expression is more menacing, very Andy Wildman, and the eyes particularly work better. Despite being larger it fits in the chest cavity it's supposed to very easily. Swapping the heads over requires a simple action with a screwdriver to loosen the original head, pop it off the ball joint, and then pop the new one onto the ball joint. No screw needed. The head fits snuggly on the joint and affords the same degree of mobility the original has. No floppiness or looseness that you sometimes get with 3P heads. It's really an aesthetic choice, mechanically there is no difference between the heads.
Sword Extension:
This does exactly what it's intended to do. The finish matches the Hasbro piece exactly - paint is identical, plastic feel is identical and the design fits. It makes the overall sword bigger, but with an additional 5mm peg it means in MotorMaster mode what he usually holds as a gun and sword can be turned into a rifle and sword. There is also another peg at 90 degrees to the blade (underneath in this picture), the purpose for which is to peg into a socket on the back of the harness piece, effectively allowing Menasor to strap the super-size sword to his back.
Body Harness
This is the most significant piece in the set. It is designed to permanently attach to MotorMaster in all his modes. It does mean his transformation isn't so simple because it does flop about a bit, but it does work. To fit it you have to detach the existing Menasor waist piece/flap, which is simply a case of pulling it off the arm it is attached to. The harness then clips onto the same joint, circled here:
I've found chances are it will pop off again during transformation, but it clicks on so easily it's almost easier to remove it to transform the figure then put it back on. In theory though it is possible to put him through all his modes without taking it off.
So what does such a big piece do to MotorMaster's robot then?
It adds a healthy chunk of kibble to his back, which does destroy the rather nice shape Motormaster has without it. Most I think will see this as a negative, but given his role as the bruiser of the team the fact he has bulkier shoulders doesn't worry me too much, in fact it almost resembles Grimlock's 'wings'. The harness is also light enough that it doesn't present any problems with stability. Motormaster still stands quite easily and sturdily with this on his back. It's also secure as it pegs into two nubs that exist already on Motormaster's back firmly enough that it won't flop down. It's a clever trick.
Okay, so in Motormaster robot mode this is really a necessary evil. It's not designed to enhance him, it just has to go somewhere unless you pull the piece off. The true purpose of this kit is to fix the slightly odd look the Hasbro Menasor has. To do this, firstly Motormaster in torso mode needs his legs rotated round. I'll come back to this to explore the effects when we get as far as putting his legs on. This means the flaps that usually peg in and secure the shape of Menasor's legs aren't used. Instead the harness creates a kind of nappy and holds his legs in a more angled position. This does mean with this kit Menasor won't be doing any star jumps as his legs are locked in place, presumably to improve his overall stability. The look though is great:
I've sized these two photos so that they're exactly the same scale. With the addon kit Menasor is going to be slightly taller. To me, the head and the vents alone make this a worthwhile operation. He looks much more like the Menasor I imagine. Looking round the back helps explain what the harness is doing:
From the front it just gives him a new waist, but round the back the Hasbro version is just open, whereas the Perfect Effect kit creates a whole new back. It folds in and tabs together to encase Motormaster completely. It's hard to show in pictures, but mid transformation it looks like this:
The end result is a very solid torso, but one that presents a problem in that because it angles the legs out slightly rather than being flat on the ground, the Hasbro feet just don't work with it:
What we need then is some articulated feet. Perfect Effect do a separate set with two feet and two hands, but having looked at videos and photos the feet to me look just too big. They must add serious stability to the combined mode, but they look stupid.
Nonnef Productions Combiner Wars Feet
Step forward Nonnef Productions, a small 3P company that so far has provided small tweaks and upgrades to Hasbro figures. Having listened to interviews with the guy behind it, he is a one man operation who has access to an injection moulding machine. He seems to take preorders on his site until he has enough to make a production run worthwhile and then produces a batch, but I've never been to his site at a time when the feet have been available to order. I'd almost given up hope of getting some sets, but then UK retailer Masterforce bulk bought a job lot for their shop and at present have a lot of them in stock. The downside of that is that the original $15 price on Nonnef's site (minus taxes and shipping) becomes £13 over here, so they aren't cheap, but the question is of what they bring to the table.
The feet come as a pair in kit form:
But it isn't hard to put them together. The ball joint goes in the cup, the shoe sits over the top and the two screws hold the two pieces together. It's a clever system because you can make the ball joint as tight as you need it by tightening the screws. Because of the rough nature of the plastic, it doesn't take a lot to totally lock them in place. The rubber strip you cut into three and put into slots in the sole to aid grip on slippery surfaces. In practise this doesn't seem to make a huge amount of difference, but the benefit is that you aren't rubbing hard plastic on a table top. It cushions the figure slightly.
Assembled the foot looks like this:
And you're probably already noticing that the finish on these feet isn't perfect. They're pretty roughly formed, there is a gap between the upper and lower halves because if you tighten the screws enough to join the pieces completely, the ball joint will never move. The pieces are also very roughly cut from the sprues they came off of, meaning there are white marks and mould flashing abundant on them. Here's a better picture to explain that:
As such it's hard to say the quality and finish of the feet is worth the $15/£13. They're not much different really to a Shapeways product. However they are hard and strong, and having done a bit of work with an emery board they do polish up well enough that when in combined mode you don't really notice the poor finish. You'd never really look at them as closely as these photos show the problems. I also had to use the emery board on one of the pegs as it was a little too large to fit into Brake Neck's socket, but it wasn't a lot of work to get it to work. Once they're in the sockets they're just as firm as the Hasbro ones until you start to rotate them - if the ball joint is tight they will probably come off the legs if you try to rotate them. Putting them roughly in place, pushing them in and then standing the figure so it moves the feet to be flat on the floor works fine.
I would say though that the poor finish is outweighed by the benefit articulated feet bring to the combined figure. This picture I think demonstrates that the Nonnef feet are a better size, and look more natural because they have ankles:
What do these kits give us as an overall result then. Here's some comparison shots. Note that in all these pictures I've left the PE head on because once I'd changed it there wasn't really any need to go back, it's simply better. Firstly, the original Hasbro configuration compared to the Nonnef feet version:
With the Hasbro feet there's very little posability because for stabilty they have to stay flat on the floor. The hips are also pretty much locked in place and only move out as opposed to backward and forward. Once the Nonnef feet are on because there is that outward mobility you can pull the legs apart slightly and still keep the feet flat on the floor.
If you add the Perfect Effect body kit, things start to look noticeably better:
Note here the thighs are rotated the way the Hasbro version would be, meaning forward motion in the legs is still restricted. However if you rotate the thighs to the position the PE kit recommends, you gain the ability to bend the legs up, which means Menasor can have a 'stance' instead of just swinging his legs in and out:
Despite that ability to bend the legs up, the overall figure is just as stable as its original Hasbro configuration, and less likely to fall over because the feet are bigger and add stability - which means on the whole the combination of upgrades benefits the figure hugely. I don't think there is a need to find better hands even, they work well enough as they are, meaning that whereas the Perfect Effect hands/feet kit is £25 in itself, Nonnef offers better sized feet alone for half that price.
It does push up the price though. These two upgrades cost me £38 together plus postage, so they're something that I would recommend only if like me you like to push figures to be the best they can be. I'm very happy with this Menasor now, whereas I wasn't with the original look.
In summary:
Perfect Effect PC04:
Pros
Much better head
Extra sword piece adds weapon options
Harness stabilises figure
Perfect fit in combined mode
Adds trademark shoulder vents
Allows for posability the original doesn't
Cons
No use without articulated feet
Adds serious kibble to Motormaster
Tends to come off during transformation due to tiny hinge that holds it on
Very expensive (£25) for what it is
Nonnef Feet
Pros
Adds articulation to feet increasing posability
A much better size than the Hasbro OR Perfect effect ones
More stability
Cons
Very rough finish to plastic
Sprue marks and cut marks make it feel cheap
Some sanding needed to clean them up/ensure proper fit
Expensive (£13)
Potentially hard to obtain
Perfect Effect - Perfect Combiner PC04
This small addon kit, which costs around the £25 mark on these shores, adds three extra pieces to enhance the Hasbro Combiner Wars Menasor. It comprises of a new Menasor head, an extension piece to make his sword larger, and a torso 'harness' that makes the combined form beefier, more secure and adds Menasor's trademark vents either side of his head.
Head:
You can see from the picture that the Perfect Effect version is slightly bigger and has better definition in the face. In my opinion the expression is more menacing, very Andy Wildman, and the eyes particularly work better. Despite being larger it fits in the chest cavity it's supposed to very easily. Swapping the heads over requires a simple action with a screwdriver to loosen the original head, pop it off the ball joint, and then pop the new one onto the ball joint. No screw needed. The head fits snuggly on the joint and affords the same degree of mobility the original has. No floppiness or looseness that you sometimes get with 3P heads. It's really an aesthetic choice, mechanically there is no difference between the heads.
Sword Extension:
This does exactly what it's intended to do. The finish matches the Hasbro piece exactly - paint is identical, plastic feel is identical and the design fits. It makes the overall sword bigger, but with an additional 5mm peg it means in MotorMaster mode what he usually holds as a gun and sword can be turned into a rifle and sword. There is also another peg at 90 degrees to the blade (underneath in this picture), the purpose for which is to peg into a socket on the back of the harness piece, effectively allowing Menasor to strap the super-size sword to his back.
Body Harness
This is the most significant piece in the set. It is designed to permanently attach to MotorMaster in all his modes. It does mean his transformation isn't so simple because it does flop about a bit, but it does work. To fit it you have to detach the existing Menasor waist piece/flap, which is simply a case of pulling it off the arm it is attached to. The harness then clips onto the same joint, circled here:
I've found chances are it will pop off again during transformation, but it clicks on so easily it's almost easier to remove it to transform the figure then put it back on. In theory though it is possible to put him through all his modes without taking it off.
So what does such a big piece do to MotorMaster's robot then?
It adds a healthy chunk of kibble to his back, which does destroy the rather nice shape Motormaster has without it. Most I think will see this as a negative, but given his role as the bruiser of the team the fact he has bulkier shoulders doesn't worry me too much, in fact it almost resembles Grimlock's 'wings'. The harness is also light enough that it doesn't present any problems with stability. Motormaster still stands quite easily and sturdily with this on his back. It's also secure as it pegs into two nubs that exist already on Motormaster's back firmly enough that it won't flop down. It's a clever trick.
Okay, so in Motormaster robot mode this is really a necessary evil. It's not designed to enhance him, it just has to go somewhere unless you pull the piece off. The true purpose of this kit is to fix the slightly odd look the Hasbro Menasor has. To do this, firstly Motormaster in torso mode needs his legs rotated round. I'll come back to this to explore the effects when we get as far as putting his legs on. This means the flaps that usually peg in and secure the shape of Menasor's legs aren't used. Instead the harness creates a kind of nappy and holds his legs in a more angled position. This does mean with this kit Menasor won't be doing any star jumps as his legs are locked in place, presumably to improve his overall stability. The look though is great:
I've sized these two photos so that they're exactly the same scale. With the addon kit Menasor is going to be slightly taller. To me, the head and the vents alone make this a worthwhile operation. He looks much more like the Menasor I imagine. Looking round the back helps explain what the harness is doing:
From the front it just gives him a new waist, but round the back the Hasbro version is just open, whereas the Perfect Effect kit creates a whole new back. It folds in and tabs together to encase Motormaster completely. It's hard to show in pictures, but mid transformation it looks like this:
The end result is a very solid torso, but one that presents a problem in that because it angles the legs out slightly rather than being flat on the ground, the Hasbro feet just don't work with it:
What we need then is some articulated feet. Perfect Effect do a separate set with two feet and two hands, but having looked at videos and photos the feet to me look just too big. They must add serious stability to the combined mode, but they look stupid.
Nonnef Productions Combiner Wars Feet
Step forward Nonnef Productions, a small 3P company that so far has provided small tweaks and upgrades to Hasbro figures. Having listened to interviews with the guy behind it, he is a one man operation who has access to an injection moulding machine. He seems to take preorders on his site until he has enough to make a production run worthwhile and then produces a batch, but I've never been to his site at a time when the feet have been available to order. I'd almost given up hope of getting some sets, but then UK retailer Masterforce bulk bought a job lot for their shop and at present have a lot of them in stock. The downside of that is that the original $15 price on Nonnef's site (minus taxes and shipping) becomes £13 over here, so they aren't cheap, but the question is of what they bring to the table.
The feet come as a pair in kit form:
But it isn't hard to put them together. The ball joint goes in the cup, the shoe sits over the top and the two screws hold the two pieces together. It's a clever system because you can make the ball joint as tight as you need it by tightening the screws. Because of the rough nature of the plastic, it doesn't take a lot to totally lock them in place. The rubber strip you cut into three and put into slots in the sole to aid grip on slippery surfaces. In practise this doesn't seem to make a huge amount of difference, but the benefit is that you aren't rubbing hard plastic on a table top. It cushions the figure slightly.
Assembled the foot looks like this:
And you're probably already noticing that the finish on these feet isn't perfect. They're pretty roughly formed, there is a gap between the upper and lower halves because if you tighten the screws enough to join the pieces completely, the ball joint will never move. The pieces are also very roughly cut from the sprues they came off of, meaning there are white marks and mould flashing abundant on them. Here's a better picture to explain that:
As such it's hard to say the quality and finish of the feet is worth the $15/£13. They're not much different really to a Shapeways product. However they are hard and strong, and having done a bit of work with an emery board they do polish up well enough that when in combined mode you don't really notice the poor finish. You'd never really look at them as closely as these photos show the problems. I also had to use the emery board on one of the pegs as it was a little too large to fit into Brake Neck's socket, but it wasn't a lot of work to get it to work. Once they're in the sockets they're just as firm as the Hasbro ones until you start to rotate them - if the ball joint is tight they will probably come off the legs if you try to rotate them. Putting them roughly in place, pushing them in and then standing the figure so it moves the feet to be flat on the floor works fine.
I would say though that the poor finish is outweighed by the benefit articulated feet bring to the combined figure. This picture I think demonstrates that the Nonnef feet are a better size, and look more natural because they have ankles:
What do these kits give us as an overall result then. Here's some comparison shots. Note that in all these pictures I've left the PE head on because once I'd changed it there wasn't really any need to go back, it's simply better. Firstly, the original Hasbro configuration compared to the Nonnef feet version:
With the Hasbro feet there's very little posability because for stabilty they have to stay flat on the floor. The hips are also pretty much locked in place and only move out as opposed to backward and forward. Once the Nonnef feet are on because there is that outward mobility you can pull the legs apart slightly and still keep the feet flat on the floor.
If you add the Perfect Effect body kit, things start to look noticeably better:
Note here the thighs are rotated the way the Hasbro version would be, meaning forward motion in the legs is still restricted. However if you rotate the thighs to the position the PE kit recommends, you gain the ability to bend the legs up, which means Menasor can have a 'stance' instead of just swinging his legs in and out:
Despite that ability to bend the legs up, the overall figure is just as stable as its original Hasbro configuration, and less likely to fall over because the feet are bigger and add stability - which means on the whole the combination of upgrades benefits the figure hugely. I don't think there is a need to find better hands even, they work well enough as they are, meaning that whereas the Perfect Effect hands/feet kit is £25 in itself, Nonnef offers better sized feet alone for half that price.
It does push up the price though. These two upgrades cost me £38 together plus postage, so they're something that I would recommend only if like me you like to push figures to be the best they can be. I'm very happy with this Menasor now, whereas I wasn't with the original look.
In summary:
Perfect Effect PC04:
Pros
Much better head
Extra sword piece adds weapon options
Harness stabilises figure
Perfect fit in combined mode
Adds trademark shoulder vents
Allows for posability the original doesn't
Cons
No use without articulated feet
Adds serious kibble to Motormaster
Tends to come off during transformation due to tiny hinge that holds it on
Very expensive (£25) for what it is
Nonnef Feet
Pros
Adds articulation to feet increasing posability
A much better size than the Hasbro OR Perfect effect ones
More stability
Cons
Very rough finish to plastic
Sprue marks and cut marks make it feel cheap
Some sanding needed to clean them up/ensure proper fit
Expensive (£13)
Potentially hard to obtain
