Wave 4 gave us some stone cold classic PCC toys, we'll ignore Skyhammer for now, it also gave us two classic teams for the 5 packs. This week we speak about the first one. (short intro this week)
Were do I begin with this 5 pack?
Steamhammer of course...
Steamhammer of course...
Steamhammer transforms from a robot to a “bulldozer of indeterminate model” and a torso.
He is molded in a oh so familiar bright green but he lacks the purple he needs to make him 100% Constructicon.
As a robot Steamhammer has one major flaw. He has a GIANT ass plow on his back, it over balances him and you have to fiddle with him to get a decent standing pose. There isn't many other problems in this mode, as is the standard with the commander figure he has some nicely sculpted detail. He lacks light piping (Boooo!) but he has a nicely sculpted face with some beady red eyes. He has some facial detail picked out in silver paint which looks good as well.
At some point my Steamhammer got scratched on his head and some dirt got in there but I like it. He's a Constructicon! He should be dirty!
Steamhammer is “variable” on his visable PCC peg syndrome. The legs pegs can't hide, wont hide but they make excellent heels which he desperatly needs. The other pegs are attacthed to the plow and you can tuck them away or you can leave them on display. I'll post pictures of both if I remember to take both of the photos....
He's got some cruel looking blades attached to his wrists though, I like having some inbuilt melee weapons on a commander figure, it makes a nice change.
He is molded in a oh so familiar bright green but he lacks the purple he needs to make him 100% Constructicon.
As a robot Steamhammer has one major flaw. He has a GIANT ass plow on his back, it over balances him and you have to fiddle with him to get a decent standing pose. There isn't many other problems in this mode, as is the standard with the commander figure he has some nicely sculpted detail. He lacks light piping (Boooo!) but he has a nicely sculpted face with some beady red eyes. He has some facial detail picked out in silver paint which looks good as well.
At some point my Steamhammer got scratched on his head and some dirt got in there but I like it. He's a Constructicon! He should be dirty!
Steamhammer is “variable” on his visable PCC peg syndrome. The legs pegs can't hide, wont hide but they make excellent heels which he desperatly needs. The other pegs are attacthed to the plow and you can tuck them away or you can leave them on display. I'll post pictures of both if I remember to take both of the photos....
He's got some cruel looking blades attached to his wrists though, I like having some inbuilt melee weapons on a commander figure, it makes a nice change.
In his Bulldozer mode Steamhammer is really solid, the leg PCC peg are visable but that's about the only problem I have with it and even then I'm not that upset about it. The plow has some nice paint apps on it to represent scratched and scrapes on the blade, little pain apps like these put a smile on my face!
There's not a lot more to say about the vehicle mode, let's go on to the torso.
There's not a lot more to say about the vehicle mode, let's go on to the torso.
As a torso Steamhammer does one really good thing, the giant plow becomes the head and shoulders for the torso, it's a great idea and adds a lot of bulk. There's some extra sculpted detail just for torso mode and that head.... It's such a weird look but I love it, I wish it was light piped but I'l live without it. The red shape that forms his face/eyes is weird but it works and he has attenaes! Something I have to mention here is that Steamhammer is the only non remolded 5 pack commander with a chest Power-Linx peg. If it weren't for the drone/limbs I'd think he was a aborted 2 pack commander. Steamhammer is great as a torso, he's ALL shoulders but it works, makes him look like a brute.
Steamhammer is another figure I've never matched to either of my third party sets, so as before these are my first thoughts on the pairings, raw and undiluted straight to you!
Mobine makes the already chunky shoulders even bulkier, the way the shoulder pegs are mounted paired with how mobine is sculpted means the shoulders don't sit as flush as they do with some torsos but it's not a massive problem. The connecting pegs for Mobines missile carrier mode bash into the back treads but you can easily move those out of the way, yeah this pairing looks good!
Mobine makes the already chunky shoulders even bulkier, the way the shoulder pegs are mounted paired with how mobine is sculpted means the shoulders don't sit as flush as they do with some torsos but it's not a massive problem. The connecting pegs for Mobines missile carrier mode bash into the back treads but you can easily move those out of the way, yeah this pairing looks good!
The Iron Army does what you would expect it to do, he gets REALLY tall, the set doesn't do anything spectacular but I like it.
Shall we talk about the Constructicon drones?
Shall we talk about the Constructicon drones?
The Constructicons are made up of a Plow Drone (right leg), a Steamroller Drone (left leg), a Drill Drone (right arm) and a Front end loader Drone (left arm and possibly taking the title of biggest name Drone!).
The Plow Drone is mostly white with a great grey plow at the front it has more of the paint app scratches on the front to make it look used. I like this Drone it's a chunky vehicle and it makes a great leg. Wave 4 did something different with some of it's leg drones, they made it so you had to transform a part of the drone before you automorphed the rest, it's just a simple job of swinging down the plow and when it's pegged on to the torso it swings put a heel which lock everything in place. Great limb!
The Steamroller Drone is a lovely shade of JCB yellow with (unsurpisingly) a giant roller wheel. I like how this limb is stable enough to be a leg without you having to do anything with it. Once it's plugged in the roof of the “cab” (I use the term loosely, it's two chairs with a roof) swings down to form a foot. It's got some nice paint apps, a couple of red stripes and some nice silver scratch paint on the wheel. Great limb!
The Drill Drone comes in a very Space Wolves shade of grey, it's very plain, not many paint apps here. It's got nice sculpting and umm.... There's not a lot say here. As an arm it's pretty cool, I like how they put in articulation for the drill arm, there's not a lot there but it works. Ok Here we go. IT'S A HAND! IT'S A PROPER HAND, IT HAS DIGITS AND A THUMB!!! A SWAPPABLE THUMB! OH SWEET PRIMUS THANK YOU FOR THIS HAND!
I love how the thumb is swappable so you can use the arm for right or left. The only way this would be better is if the other arm had a hand to!
I love how the thumb is swappable so you can use the arm for right or left. The only way this would be better is if the other arm had a hand to!
The Front end loader Drone comes in a nice shade of orange with some nice sculpting. There isn't much else to say about it as a vehicle. Oh! It has a articluated shovel arm.
As an arm it does several good thing, including the unique ability to lock itself into arm mode while unpegged. While that's not useful in the most part it's great when you're trying to review it! It's a little longer than the other arm which is it's only real problem. Hey guess what! SECOND HAND! WITH THUMB! Just like the other one it's swappable. What's weird is that this hand has 4 fingers and the other hand has only 3.
Well lets wrap this review up, This set is great and is a fine example of what the PCC line could've been, the United EX version is also a fine example of how colour matching your Drones and Commander REALY works.
So that's this weeks review all done. Next week.... Oh next week..... We talk about Dinobots.
YEAH DINOBOTS!
As an arm it does several good thing, including the unique ability to lock itself into arm mode while unpegged. While that's not useful in the most part it's great when you're trying to review it! It's a little longer than the other arm which is it's only real problem. Hey guess what! SECOND HAND! WITH THUMB! Just like the other one it's swappable. What's weird is that this hand has 4 fingers and the other hand has only 3.
Well lets wrap this review up, This set is great and is a fine example of what the PCC line could've been, the United EX version is also a fine example of how colour matching your Drones and Commander REALY works.
So that's this weeks review all done. Next week.... Oh next week..... We talk about Dinobots.
YEAH DINOBOTS!
Stu "Darkageis" Murray is a founding member of The Old Oilhouse, a lifelong transformers nut and collector of Sentai and Kamen rider in most of it's forms.
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.
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.
