I know, I know.....it has been awhile since I have sat down and wrote a review and yet I have a great excuse. If you follow my Facebook page you have been given a
Pictorial Preview/Review of a little restoration project I have started. Once this little project is over I will be completing a full write up on the process. In the meantime another thing most reviewers do is look, listen and read other reviewers post anywhere and everywhere. One thing I have been seeing with the new releases of toys hitting the store shelves for the upcoming Transformers Age of Extinction movie that are screaming for reviews and opinions.
The one major item that seems to accompany the new toys is their simpler transformations. You can see it on the package advertising X amount of steps and some you can flip and change and there seems to be a running theme. Collector's are beginning to whine and moan about the simplified transformations and quite frankly I am tired of hearing it. These are toys meant to be enjoyed by children, they are not Masterpiece figures. If we as adults find enjoyment in a toy, why should we complain when they are made for children.
I could go on forever on but I am choosing to take the high road and only leave you with this one thought. The majority of collectors were once fans of the G1 and other toy lines as children and yes as we grow older we request, if not demand that our toys become as complicated as our lives have gotten. To that I ask why? Will I be purchasing any of the simplified Transformers? Chances are No and the reason why is because they do not interest me. If that is your opinion as well than you save yourself some money.
Now that I have that little rant out of the way I am personally glad to see a Transformer that brings back the feeling of a G1 toy with modern construction. This feeling is found in the Deluxe Class Generations Autobot Scoop. Scoop is perhaps the most simplistic Transformer I have come across in the Generations line and that is not a bad thing in the least. As a matter of fact while transforming him I am reminded of the original G1 toys I had as a child. The head gets hidden, the fists flip in and the legs flip up and over. Granted the arms and chest have additional steps that where never seen in releases 30 years ago but that is where the modern engineering comes into play.
We are going to start with the packaging. Scoop is displayed in his Robot Mode with his two buddies in their Robot Modes. I ordered this guy from (along with some others) from
Big Bad Toy Store so I was fortunate enough to get the American release with the IDW "Spotlight" comic. Now unlike other issues, a quick look into the comic I do not even see Scoop in this issue or even in the background. If you are missing Issue #23 of the Dark Cybertron series Chapter 2, why not pick up Scoop for the alternate cover? Looking to the back of the package it has the traditional product shots and bio that we have all come to expect from the IDW/Generations releases.
Looking at Scoop in Robot Mode, you notice the striking amount of orange, with yellow hands and thighs. The big wheels on the shoulders would make any football lineman jealous. Much like the majority of the recent releases the paint apps are sparse but they are applied in the right areas. The head sculpt is perfect for Scoop's alt mode yet the light piping is somewhat limited by arms that hold the bucket in place. Unlike 30 year old toys, Scoop is not a brick. He has a great range of poseibility with ball joints and swivels where you would expect them. The fists only swivel in and out and the large feet do not have any tilts but there is the addition of a waist swivel. The rear of the legs are hollow and the large tires just hanging off them but they have used this space wisely. There are moulded in details on the inside instead of just wasted plain panels.
Scoop does not come alone. He is partnered with a pair of Target Masters, Holepunch and Caliburst. Now short of the ball jointed shoulders Scoop's Target Master buddies have the same look, transformation and poseibility that we have become familiar with. Caliburst colours match his larger partner with the yellows and orange. Holepunch is the one that seems to clash with the overall look being mainly blue and when compared to his other two friends. With the Target Masters in their Gun Modes, Scoop can easily hold both via the 5mm pegs that tuck away between their legs (insert a penis joke or two here) but they do have one more little secret.
The two Target Masters can combine into a single larger baster.The official transformation has Holepunch pegged into the top of Caliburst but you can easily swap out their positions following the same instructions.
As I stated the transformation from Robot Mode to Alt Mode is fairly simple. I have already given you a simplified version of the steps but I have included scans of the instructions that came with Scoop for this review. In Alt Mode all the pieces peg together quite easily giving Scoop a solid feel in his bulldozer mode. The large wheels roll freely allowing to vehicle a nice range of movement that would put any Hot Wheels car to shame.
The bucket is fully articulated and can assume any real world poses. The only real issue is that it is attached to the drivers section canopy. When manoeuvring the bucket into position the canopy has a tendency to pop up exposing Scoop's head. There are very few paint apps in Alt Mode, which is an odd thing considering the majority of Generation figures I have seen most of their paint apps are for Alt Mode. Now the majority of the paint budget was spent painting the canopy from the clear plastic it was moulded in just to match the orange of the bulldozer.
There are multiple 5mm peg holes that are intended for weapons storage, but none of the 6 available ports fit Scoop's Target Master buddies all that well.
So for just about everyone's whining about simplified Transformers that are being released and the feeling that Hasbro and Takara are taking a couple of steps back, I give you Scoop as my argument against. I feel they have always made simple figures mixed in with the complicated ones. I see Scoop and his Target Master buddies as the natural evolution of a toy line that spans 30 plus years. A strong Robot Mode and a decent Alt Mode make Scoop a great addition to your shelf. Pairing him with Holepuch and Caliburst in their Gun Modes in either hands, combined or standing next to Scoop in their Robot Mode adds extra value to your buck. And besides how kick ass would it be to have a dozer with dual blasters keeping Decepticons at bay on your shelves?
TheRealRonin
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The blaster is a awesome representation of the version given to Swerve in the IDW comic book series. The main body has painted pieces as well as a tampographed "My First Blaster" on the side. Once all pieced together I could not wait to have Swerve hold it and oh no, it fits loose in his hand. On further research I find that Trash-Talk has 4mm hands, while Hasbro has their traditional 5mm. How did I fix that problem? I did what any great handy man would do and reached for a roll of Duct Tape! Cutting a piece of duct tape the same length of the 4mm handle. I started to wrap the handle and sadly I cannot recall how many times around but I was able to make up the 1mm difference.
