Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Bionicle: Glatorian Skrall review

Hey everybody! Darth Shadow is back, and he's doing his first actual toy review.

Why I was speaking in the 3rd person back there, I have no idea. But enough of my insanity.

Behold, the mighty Skrall!

The Skrall is my first experience with the new Glatorian sets from the new BIONICLE storyline.


The Skrall are actually their own species, and originally did not live in their current home of Roxtus. They only moved there when their original home was attacked by the Baterra, who are mysterious, shape shifters that strike from the shadows. For some reason, that sounds really familiar.



The Skrall has some new features with the rest of the Glatorian. First off, actual hands! Now the Glatorian actually look like they are holding something and not giving you the bird. You can also do this:



They also now have real face, too. And I don't mean those heads that came with the Toa with just a hole for a mouth. They actually have real faces this time. But those faces look really familiar. Now where have I seen them before....?



(Sorry about the quality of this picture. It was the best I was going to get of the Glatorian face. )

And then there's the Life Counter for the Glatorian Battle game. I haven't played it, but it seems rather pathetic to me. Why not come out with another trading card game? The Skrall's Life Counter happens to be on his foot, which makes things awkward.

Now onto the Skrall's weapons. First off, there's his sword. Nothing to really talk about there.

Then there's his shield. The shield actually does spin like a buzz saw, which I imagine would be devastating in battle.

Then there is the new projectile weapon, the Spiked Thornax launcher. These guys actually get pretty far when you launch them. However, in the Skrall's case, the launcher is attached to his sword, which makes aiming rather awkward.

So there you have it. The new bad-ass villian from Bionicle. I recommend that you buy a Skrall set. NOW.


Darth_Shadow, out.

Disclaimer: I wish to say that the Baterra are not the Makuta. If you want to think that, go ahead and do so. I only did that reference as a joke, and I have no knowledge that the Makuta will even be involved in the Glatorian story line. Srsly.

Monday, May 11, 2009

New Transformers M&M's are out!

I just got these new M&Ms packs:



The plain packs have "Chocl-O-Bots" (Autobots) while the peanut packs have "Delect-O-Cons" (Decepticons). I have not found the Skids and Mudflap "Strawberried Peanut Butter" M&Ms, but a source says "Those will be released when the movie actually comes out", and "They are amazing."

Friday, May 8, 2009

Transformers 25th birthday special commemorative review: WRECK-GAR!!!

(Click the badge for more TF25th birthday blogs!)
Okay, this is a bit later than I said. Cut me some slack. I was busy, okay? (That's such a lie. I was asleep on the couch.) Shut up. (No.) Jerk.

Anyways, FREAKING WRECK-GAR YEAH! I've got pics, I'm listening Dare to be Stupid (The album, with the most awesome song of awesome, Dare to be Stupid), and, of course, it's a special day in TF history. SO LET'S DO THIS!


As you can see, Wreck-Gar's alt mode is a motorcycle. It has a rather random color scheme and isn't the most sporty looking bike, but remember, they're called Junkions for a reason. Still it looks nice, with no incredibly obvious robot bits, a bit of a rarity for motorcycle TFs. Well, maybe his feet and hands are kind of obvious, but too much.
His legs end up on the side of his motorcycle, looking like some sort of running boards. This also makes him pretty wide.


All in all though, he's got a nice satisfying alt mode. What about robot mode? Well, his conversion is pretty easy. He is a G1 toy, after all.

Wreck-Gar's robot mode has a very G1 body. Rather blocky, and all that. The sculpt is simple, but with some nice details thrown in. Because the unsculpted details were done with stickers back then (My Wreck-Gar, which I got used, is missing a lot of them, but I do plan on ordering the Reprolabels set for him), pretty much everything is molded in color. The only paint is on his metal shoulder pad thing (Metal parts are one of the things they no longer use anymore, like rubber tires) and face. All the toys based on new movie characters were designed before the character models were finalized. This is why Wreck-Gar looks different from the cartoon. This is also why he lacks his awesome mustache and goatee. =( He also has red eyes. Toy Wreck-Gar (Who was billed as a Decepticon in the commercials) must be from before Kup and Hot Rod showed up and managed to save the day instead of messing everything up like Hot Rod usually did. You see, the Junkions thought the Autobots were invaders, so they attacked to protect their home, nearly kicking the Autobot's asses. While Dare to be Stupid played in the background and Wreck-Gar, voiced by Eric Idle, said silly things. Then, after the universal greeting had been delivered, a Junkion kissed Grimlock ( =D ) and everyone danced to Dare to be Stupid. It was awesome.


Wreck-Gar is slightly above average in terms of articulation for a G1 toy. Yes, his legs are bricks below the hips, which only move forward (It looks like he has knees, but they bend backwards so he can convert), but his arms. His arms are great. They have some of the first ever balljoints on a Transformer, along with hinge elbows and swivel wrists. His arms are basically as articulated as a modern TF.

Wreck-Gar's accessories are his awesome ax, a "Decelerator Laser" gun, and his shield, which is really his front tire. While there's no real place to store his weapons in motorcycle mode, you can place them in his hands for a sort of attack mode.
The ax and shield were what he mainly used in the cartoon, so they're obviously the most classic weapons, but the gun is also nice. Wreck-Gar was deadly with that ax. He nearly beat the crap out of Springer (Who's known as a great swordsman) with it. Then Daniel had to screw things up.

There's really not much more to say. Other than some limitations due to his age, Wreck-Gar is basically perfect. Easily my favorite toy in my collection. In the picture above, you can see how Transformers have evolved in their 25 years. Then, and now. Here's to another 25 years!

~Raw/Monty


Wreck-Gar (G1): "Whatta beaut!"
Wreck-Gar (Animated): "I am Wreck-Gar! This is the best part!"
Shhh. I'm trying to watch.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

25 years of awesome robots, great stories (Well, other than RiD), and a lot of fun.

Today, May 8, 2009, marks a great day in history. Why? Well, exactly 25 years ago today, Transformers #1 was published and shipped out by Marvel comics.

That was the first anyone was really introduced to Transformers, so it's Transformers 25th birthday!

I think a song is in order here.


I'll post a commemorative review this afternoon.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

The Vision is passed out drunk on my monitor.

I just realized it's been too long since I posted something here.

This is the result of nothing more than boredom and messing around with one of my new Minimates (Minimates are fucking FUN).

Tee hee!