Titan Autobot Ark

 Titan Autobot Ark

Transformers - Hasbro

The Autobot's signature set piece, the mammoth Ark spaceship that brought them to Earth, is finally here!  Instead of just being a playset/backdrop/vehicle, the AllSpark has given life to it, resulting in another Titan Class Transformer.

It may not be Generation 1 accurate, but it's something unique and imaginative.  Transformation was relatively simple, and the bot mode is solid.  Some of the previous Titans suffer from weak joints and weight distribution problems...not Ark.  I found I could get him in some decent poses without fear of him toppling over or dropping body parts/accessories.

The paint is good, as you would expect from a large object that is primarily bright orange.  There is appropriate detailing here and there, with splashes of reds, yellows, grays, and blues.  The fading blue on the thrusters especially stands out.

If I have any complaints bout the robot, it's that his head isn't quite as "classic" as I would like (just a bit too "Cyberverse" toony) and he has zero weapons to clutch.  His hull does have tiny gun turrets still visible on the outside, but no large gun or sword or anything.  Cost saving measure?  Or did they figure he was badass enough without one?  You do get a couple of transparent blue thruster effects (that barely port into the thrusters) that would look just as good coming from the end of the weapon that he didn't come with.  I expect a third party company to come up with something suitable for him soon.

Even though I may have preferred a fold out play set over the Titan mode, you do get a key accessory built into the Ark's robo-buddy, Mainframe.  Mainframe is dispatched from the center of the ark, underneath the main bridge viewing area.  Here, you can place a super tiny Optimus Prime in command.  Neat detail, but Im not sure I needed the reminder of how one needs to overlook wonky scale issues throughout their collection.

Pulling out the bridge area leaves a decent sized cavity that can act as a cockpit for smaller Transformers.

Mainframe transformed is a bit larger than current deluxe figures, but still smaller than leader class.  He's more "classic" feeling with his blocky body.  What's more is that he transforms into the Autobot computer, Teletraan 1!  While not guns, he does have a few accessories built in.  The Sky Spy satellite camera can be dispatched from his torso, and he has a few important data discs for the Autobots to record it's findings on.

Overall, I'm quite please with this.  I'm not sure how often I will have Ark transformed into Titan mode. It's a neat feature, but I quite like having the ship mode on display with other space-related Autobots.  It looks great docked and ready for takeoff with Titan Omega Supreme's "city" mode and Commander class Sky Lynx's shuttle mode.  I know...kind of an expensive background piece, but it really brings my collection to life for me.  My Titans are complete, and I've got just a few more updated characters I would like to see in the Kingdom line before I can feel satisfied closing the book on Transformers.

Take a look back at other Transformers Titans:

Omega Supreme - https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2019/10/omega-supreme.html

Trypticon - https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2018/01/trypticon.html

Omega Supreme

Omega Supreme

Transformers - Hasbro

Omega Supreme should have been the first massive bot to tackle for Hasbro in the classics era, as he was the first of his size in the cartoon and War for Cybertron video game.  I guess the time just didn’t match up for what the toys were producing...might also have something to do with the price of oil and bad economy around the time of the Fall of Cybertron game and combiner series.  Instead we got Metroplex, Fortress Maximus, and Trypticon...each getting bigger, better, and more detailed/featured as time went on.  With that in mind, I’m glad Omega is getting the treatment he deserves in a time that can do him justice.

I had the Energon repaint from the Year of the Snake series as my classics stand-in for so long.  While the bot mode was fine, the alt mode was just plain weird and not fitting.  Off to EBay he went when news of this one broke.  A proper base mode!  A track system!  A rocket ship!  Perfection?

Well, almost.  The bot mode is fantastic.  I couldnt ask for a better Generation 1 representation.  He comes assembled like this right out of the box, ready for battle with his rotating claw hand and laser canon.  He’s pretty solid and tight, definitely doesn’t have the balance issues that Metroplex and Maximus have.  Oh, and did I mention he’s huge?  Maybe not as tall as some of his Autobot brothers, but taller than Devastator.

The transformation was simple enough, and everything seems to click together where it should.  It also doesn’t suffer from much unused bulk, or “kibble” as Transformers nerds call it.  Omega breaks into three different modes.

The base mode is made of the legs and torso shell.  It has a central command center that should fit smaller bots (anything below deluxe models.). The legs have opening compartments for added play or storage, and there are some small ramps that allow for ground access.  Around the base goes his “wings” to form a track.

The arms form the rocket mode.  The claw fashions a steady base for a tower that comes close in height to the bot mode.  There’s a little compartment near the top that has can fit Omega’s mini bot companion, Countdown.  Countdown has a simple transformation into a moon rover complete with satellite dish.  A minor disappointment here:  my Countdown is missing a tire!  I intend to see if Hasbro will offer a replacement part, rather than having to mail the whole shebang back to Amazon, but after similar dealings with my Mezco Popeye figure, I wont get my hopes up.










The final mode, tank-rover thing, is the least exciting.  It’s formed out of the central part of his torso and just barely hides the figures head behind a turret.  A bit sloppy in the connection here. But worse than that is the fact that the tank just barely fits on the city track.  It has some wheels on the underside that fit the width of the track, but the treads still spill over the side.  It does not roll along with ease:  the slightest push from a guiding hand will send it off the rails.  At least there are a couple of moving guns, and the front folds down to roll out a smaller figure for added play value.

Also included is a series of soft plastic blast effects.  Five parts chain together for Omega’s hand canon or tank blast, and a couple of smaller blasts port onto his chest.  They can also be separated and plugged onto parts of the base, track, and rocket to simulate battle damage!  Neat!

Like his big bot predecessors, I expected to spend hours of time putting on decals before being able to fiddle around with him.  Shocking bonus:  there are no decals!   He’s ready to go right out of the box!

Aside from the minor gripes about the tank, and the missing tire on the little guy, I love this Omega Supreme.  He’s costly ($150), but I do feel I got my money’s worth in plastic, presentation, and play.  Only one left to go...see you in a couple of years, Scorponok?



Valvotron review featuring Devastator

Trypticon review

Predaking fights Kong, Godzilla    

Ectotron and Starscream's Ghost

Ectotron and Starscream's Ghost

Ghostbusters/Transformers

Hasbro

Gozer is trying her hand at taking over Cybertron and the Transformers dimension.  Sure, why not?  That's the Traveler's MO and team-ups seem to be IDW's thing these days.  I liked the Batman/Ninja Turtles book, and all of their Ghostbusters books so far.  I haven't read this one yet, so I'm not sure how or why the Ecto-1 becomes a sentient Transformer...but it sure looks cool!  So cool that backstory isn't even necessary.  This is the kind of mash-up toy I had hoped for with the Transformers Star Wars letdown.  (The robots were basically mech suits that looked like their drivers instead of being separate characters.)

Is it worth $50?  Depends.  The concept works:  I think both car and bot mode look great.  The transformation is simple enough.  I like all the Ghostbusters nods like the name tag and the ecto-goggles on the head. Having the proton pack rigged inside the roof rack worked better than I thought it would.  The packaging was a nice throwback to old-school, Generation One Transformers. (This is one box I might keep.) 

There are a few gripes to mention.  The knees on mine are a bit floppy, making this photoshoot a bit frustrating.  The proton pack kept falling off the back, and the blue hose kept falling out of it's port on the wand.  The wand is not hidden in the transformation (a peeve of mine with all Transformers:  weapons not being properly integrated into the "disguise.") and is just pegged onto the side of the rack.  The articulation on the bot makes it difficult to hold the wand proper two-handed, Ghostbusters-style.  There is no logo on the back door.  And I hate that the Slimer figure has a Ghostbusters 2016 sculpt!  (Might be the biggest offense of all.)

Size comparison: just a bit smaller than the Jada die-cast, but should still look good with the GB minimates.

It would have been nice to have a few more, standard GB accessories, like a proton stream and a ghost trap.  I mean, how is Ectotron going to wrangle and incarcerate my bootleg/knock-off of Starscream's Ghost?  Yes, news of this figure had me searching again for the translucent seeker that Hasbro should have given us a decade ago.  I think it ended up costing me about $15 from China.  It has a few problems, like the shoulder ports for his guns being too loose to hold them, and I had to dremel down a metal pin that kept the cockpit area from transforming properly.  Still, I love that classics sculpt!

I preordered Ectotron on Gamestop's site some time ago, but it has since sold out.  He is a bit pricey considering Voyager Class Transformers go for about $30 these days, but I assume the extra went into making this happen with rights/licensing fees.   I hope to be able to track down the SDCC exclusive Optimus Prime in Ghostbusters deco soon to really make this mash-up pop.  Then the only problem I should have is which collection shelf they should sit on!  I would love for Hasbro to work out deals to turn other classic screen and television cars into Transfromers.  The Delorean time machine, 007's Aston Martin, KITT, the A-Team van...just as long as they are each given their own sentient identity or that of an existing Transformer character.  (Man, I'm really bitter about Star Wars...)

Optimus Prime

Optimus Prime

Hasbro Transformers

Power of the Primes Leader Class Figure

Transformers was one 80s property that I didn't collect as a kid, for whatever reason. I loved the cartoon and the idea behind giant robots turning into vehicles we see in our everyday lives. I'm glad I got a second chance on them much later on when Transformers Classics figures debuted as a filler line around the horrible Michael Bay monstrosities.  There have been several Optimus Prime figures since the beginning in 2006, but none as perfect as this one.  The height, the colors, the look...I'm pretty sure I will never want or need another Optimus for my collection.

As far as the gimmick for the Power of the Primes sub-line, this one is pretty darn cool.  You get two figures in one, with a smaller, pre-Matrix of Leadership Orion Pax, fitting into a larger Optimus Prime shell.  It looks kind of strange at first, when you pop the OP torso and head out of the rest of the body, but the overall transformation works.

The popped out piece is all Orion Pax after transforming.  He's a pretty sturdy, slightly-larger-than deluze size figure.  Like his later form, this Orion is picture perfect for the original Generation One design. The larger gun can be split in two to give Orion a more approprately sized weapon.  He is replacing a more modern take on the character in my collection.

While you've got Orion out in full bot mode, its strange to leave Optimus' shell just standing around.  So let's "transform and roll...away!"  If you watch any of the original toons, you'll see the trailer section of Optimus' vehicle form just shoot out of frame and disappear when he transforms.  The whole of this trailer is formed by the Optimus shell.  It fits together pretty snug, but there are a lot of lines where a truck panel should be smooth.  With the arms and legs folded inside, there isn't room to fit much of anything else.  You could probably fit a couple of really small figures in the back, but the tailgate section formed by the feet isnt really designed all that well for easy access.  Also, it would have be nice if they had incorporated Roller, his blue,six-wheeled drone/scout, somewhere in the design.  Poor Roller...always getting left behind.

When Orion is ready to burn rubber, he transforms into the truck cab.  It looks...well...it suggests the cab in overall form, but its not pretty.  This is the main detractor for this figure.  Grill forward, it's fine.  But from that point on, its' a mess of pieces that don't quite fit right.  Luckily, once you connect the trailer and see the overall picture, it's still pretty impressive.  I like how you can see the Matrix of Leadership inside the cab windows.

































Transforming back into the full Optimus Prime, Ive got one more gripe.  The figure's backside is a mess of gray from the trailer parts.  Also, Orions legs form a weird looking backpack. Like the cab, this kibble (a term that TF fans use to describe parts or pieces that did not blend with the transformation well) can be overlooked in the overall presentation.


















This Leader Class figure scales perfectly with what I consider to be my ultimate Megatron from the Combiner Wars line a few years back.  The blue, red, and yellow are true, bright primary shades as they should be.  The head, the gun, the cab, the smokestacks...Generation One perfection!  He's got a great range of motion to kick Decepticon butt in many great poses.  The Matrix is removable and can be accesessed by opening the front cab, just like in the cartoon.  If "The Touch" didn't start playing in your head the moment you gazed upon his majesty, please seek a doctor immediately.  You might have brain damage or lack of soul.