Smolder and Chopster.
Where do I start with these two?
We at the Old Oilhouse have a special relationship with Smolder and Chopster. We took the blank palette that was Smolder and added character. OK most of that character was stereotypically German (I'm sorry to everybody from Germany, even if they've never listened to those shows) but it's still more than what he got. He did appear in a “cyber mission” and he received the generic
“I like flames and fire!”personality. It was nothing to serious, look it up on YouTube (Transformers Cyber missions #9).
The truck mode has some nice details sculpted on its exterior as well as some kind of out of place tech sculpting. I want to draw attention to his personalised Decepticon symbols. The flaming 'Con symbols makes me wish there was some more out there. Maybe if they re-do the Firecons it'd be cool to see them have these.
He has a nicely sculpted face picked out in brass paint, no light piping though. He's got a helmeted look which plays nicely into his evil fireman/truck gimmick.
There's not a lot more I feel I want to say on his robot mode. It's a good mode and I like it.
For his torso mode Smolder rotates his giant shoulders 90 degrees, his lower legs fold back up and his chest opens so his torso mode head can rotate out. Smolder becomes a lot bulkier, this is one of the better torso modes from the line for that very reason. The change the transformation takes a tall robot and turns him into a wide torso. The previously mentioned “out of place tech sculpting” makes a lot more sense now, it seems like a natural addition to the work on the chest.
The head is a great upgrade it goes from the look of an old style open face fire helmet to a more modern look complete with air hoses and some cracking LIGHT PIPING!
I often use the Combaticon limbs with Smolder, there's problems but I feel that's more down to the limbs themselves, more about them in a later review.
Using the standard set up causes issues between Smolders shoulders and the pegs that hold the rocket pods together. They will block movement and limit what you can do with them. Even if change stuff around you're going to using the rocket pods as shoulders most of the time.
Time to talk Chopster!
Let's “cut” to the point and talk about his axe mode. It's great. It works really REALLY well. So well that when I was offered a second one I snapped him up. Sometimes I have Smolder with two axes, sometimes the second Chopster hangs out with someone else entirely. One of the best things about his axe mode is that it works well with the Mobine and Iron Army sets as well, he looks REALLY good with the Iron Army, yet another reason for him have the Iron Army more often!
Smolder and Chopster are one of my favourite commander sets, the figures themselves, the rare example of a Decepticon fire engine and of course the connection to old school Oilhouse recording around Robs table combine to create a connection to a figure I don't think will ever leave me.
He's my Hollywood Hogan BRUTHA!
Well this review is all done.
Next time I'll be moving onto the first of the 5 packs, Bombshock W/ the Combaticon drones.
Time to wrap things up here and make things NEAT UND TIDY!!
He sometimes takes epic trips to Newcastle, and tells tales of these sagas often.
When not watching people in spandex fight each other he paints miniatures, go HERE to take a look.