Generations Gears

What kind of world do we live in where Gears is released after Swerve?  That just goes to show how things can often change in the world.  What's next, a release of Ultra Magnus before Optimus Prime?

Gears is a pickup truck, like his G1 incarnation.  Seeing the red on the back of the truck is comforting, for some reason.

Here is Gears' attack mode.  We'll get into his mini-con in a bit.

Gears features a new head sculpt that is a bit more in line with his G1 animated model.  His mini-con is known as Total Eclipse of the Heart or something.Good luck getting that song out of your head now.  It's been playing nonstop in my head since I got Gears. 

Digression:  I don't know why I don't really like mini-cons.  I like the Nebulons that come with Targetmasters, Headmasters, and Powermasters.  Mini-cons have three modes, making them triple changers, which should be a good thing.  I like triple changers.  Perhaps it's a generational thing.  I was turned off with Armada and the seeming Pokemon nature of it all.  It's still a huge stigma with me.  As such, Total Eclipse of the Heart has been tossed to the side.  Good riddance.

Here, we have Gears holding Total Eclipse of the Heart while in gun mode.  It's a gun.  That's a fact.

Guess what?  This is the last new figure of the year!  It's nothing but Masterpiece and vintage for the rest of the year!  Well, unless Brainstorm shows up on my doorstep between now and December 31st.

Generations Crosscut

Ah, Crosscut.  He was a Senator, apparently.  He's also an aspiring playwright.  He's also a redeco of Skids.  That's...that's the extent of what I know about Crosscut. 

I don't really have a lot to say about Crosscut.  If you have Skids, then congratulations, Crosscut is just like him.  Well, I had posing problems with my Crosscut.  His legs are bit looser than I'd like.

I waited a couple of months before I opened his, for reasons that I can't explain.  I suppose that he just got lost in the shuffle of all of the great figures that I had coming arriving to me at the time.  Who knows.  At any rate, Crosscut is a figure now, and he won't cost an arm and a leg to get like his G1 eHobby figure.  Way to go, Hasbro.

On a separate note, check back this Friday for another post.  If everything goes to plan, I'll have two posts a week until the end of the year. 

Generations Jetfire

It took me a while to get Generations Jetfire in my possession.  While everyone else was posting pictures on Facebook and reviews on their blogs, I had to sit patiently, waiting.  I pre-ordered Jetfire from BigBadToyStore as soon as it went up, but apparently, I was placed into a second group of pre-orders and had to wait until October for him to ship.  Whatever the wait, he was worth it.

This latest iteration of Jetfire blends the elements of the original G1 figure, which was the Bandai Macross figure, with modern touches.  Jet mode, without all of the armor, is a sight to behold.  Not only does Jetfire look fantastic, he looks like he'd fit in well with and Macross or Robotech collection.

However, armor is something that Jetfire is known for, and he does come with a bit, albeit not as much as the G1 incarnation.  The main add-on is the booster pack up top and a couple of guns on the bottom.  Hasbro seems to have infuriated a lot of collectors with the addition of red chrome on the armor pieces, which is odd, since Takara deco's always get tons of love due to the fact that chrome is a main draw.  Just goes to show that Hasbro can never win.  There is a process for removing the chrome that can be found on any TF message board, but I've decided to just keep my chrome.  It isn't nearly as bad as many seem to make it out to be.

Jetfire's booster pack swivels for some reason.  Maybe it's supposed to double as an artillery delivery system?  It's just an oddity that I'm not really fond of.

Jetfire's gun can attach to the bottom of the nosecone for added firepower.  This is the only instance of me attaching the gun to the jet mode. 

A neat feature of the jet mode is that the canopy opens.  If only I had a little figure to stick in there. 

Robot mode is where Jetfire really shines.  He's proportioned well and just looks imposing.  Jetfire's new and improved robot mode has been featured in the pages of the IDW Transformers book. 

Jetfire's chest is highly reminiscent of Skyfire's chest in the G1 cartoon.  Look at how bulky his is.

For some reason, it has been decided that Jetfire has a removable battle mask.  Remove the mask, and you get a normal face, like the Skyfire version.  I'm not really a fan of the battle mask treatment.  I'd rather not have the normal face.  One thing that I did not photograph is the guns' ability to combine to form a super weapon.  It's o.k., but not something I'm really fascinated with.

Here's Generations Jetifre with Classics Jetfire, a figure I was never fond of.  The size difference is noticeable. 

Next, we have Generations Jetfire with G1 Jetfire.  They're about the same size.  Yes, my G1 Jetfire is a bit yellowed, but I'm a bit at a loss at how to whiten what needs to be whitened without ruining the rest of the paint.

Here's all three together again, for the first time.  Man, Classics Jetfire is such a runt.

Lastly, all three in jet mode.  The odd nosecone from Classics Jetfire sticks out like a sore thumb.

Generations Windblade

Yeah, so I got Windblade.  I was really hesitant to get her, but only because of the fan designed elements to her.  When I first head about it, it just seemed like a recipe for disaster.  While Windblade isn't perfect, she is pretty good.

I really like the red and black color scheme.  It isn't something that you see too much these days and it reminds me of G1 Inferno for some reason.  I'm still not a fan of the kabuki styled face, however.  It just doesn't seem right.  As you can see, she's equipped with a sword. 

Windblade's wings are a bit problematic.  I can never seem to get them in a position that I like. 

There's this nice sheath for the sword.  Mine doesn't really want to stay in, so I haven't bothered to put the sword in it while in robot mode.  This picture brings up another issue that I have with not ust Wingblade, but most female figures - the high heels.  Is it really necessary for a giant robot that's locked in a civil war to have freaking high heels?  Whatever. 

Windblade transforms into a VTOL jet, automatically making her a favorite.  I love VTOL jets, they're just things of beauty, and Windblade is no exception. I really enjoy the moving fan blades, or are they...wind blades?  See what I did there?

Windblade's sword and sheath can be "concealed" under the body of her jet mode.  I'm not a fan of this.  Maybe I'm just not attaching it correctly, but it doesn't really let the jet mode balance well.  As a result, I just leave the sheath off.  That's just me though, do as you like.

Generations Waspinator

As I've mentioned before, I was a fan of the Beast Wars series.  The figures, not so much.  As a refresher, here's what a Waspinator looked like from that line.

Well, the Japanese version, at least.  Pulled from TFWiki.net

Ugh..no thanks.  Waspinator, the character?  Absolutely delightful.  He was comedic relief, but I was still drawn to him.  Outside of Beast Wars, Waspinator has become a character in the IDW Transformers: Robots in Disguise series.  Then again, who hasn't been seen in that book?  Freaking Sky-Byte is in that book, so look for Kicker to show up soon.  Anyway, on to the figure.

Waspinator was available in the same wave as Skids, and just like I was unable to procure a Skids so many months ago, I was unable to get a Waspinator in my grubby mitts.  Thankfully, with Hasbro doing another production run, Waspinator is mine.  The wasp mode is head and shoulders above the original version.  His robot mode legs aren't jutting out of his abdomen.  Instead, they fold up under his head.

There's a button on his thorax that makes the wings flap.  I may have pressed it once or twice.  Maybe three times.  That bump on the abdomen is where Waspinator's gun is stored.

My only complaint with Waspinator's wasp mode is the placement of his robot arms.  They're very noticeable.  I understand that the insect legs need something to be placed on, but the hands sticking out just looks odd.  Perhaps if the hands folded into the arms or something.  Still, it's a small thing, and not anything to dwell on.

Waspinator's robot mode is where it's at for me.  Like all insect themed Transformers, the insect legs are clearly visible.  It still doesn't detract from how great looking Waspinator is.  He's so poseable.  While the Beast Wars version of Waspinator had a normal face and then a battle mask, this version features the face as it should be.  I'm still not sure why so many of the original Beast Wars figures had those masks.

Kenner did a fine job with Beast Wars.  IF Hasbro hadn't shoved the Transformers over to the Kenner division, we probably wouldn't be discussing new figures.  Kenner did so much to reinvigorate the brand.  I'm just glad that Hasbro gave us a nice update.