JediTricks
07-02-2006, 03:19 PM
Star Wars Transformers ARC-170/Clone Pilot - solid vehicle mode with only 1 of the 3 cockpits actually a cockpit, it's the middle one strangely. The vehicle sculpt is good and accurate, the only kibble is the robot hands sticking out the bottom of the engines. The S-foils really open, and the main guns launch the tips as missiles; the rear gun rotates and elevates, and they added another one on the underside of that. The look is pretty spot-on with decent paint and sculpting, even the non-removable droid who has a painted dome and shoulders, there's no new oddball stuff, but the wings and engines are designed to aim a tiny bit upwards from horizontal. Transformation is clever and solid and fresh, probably the most involved of the SWTF series, but does end up with a lot of vehicle kibble. Bot mode is decent but a little slight and sporting a lot of kibble, the wings are forgivable but the long "skirt" and shoulder-horns and junky backpack are less so, at least they sculpted little details inside the parts though. The bot is heavily armed with the rear guns now plugged onto the shoulders and the main guns held as rifles. The bot has a white clone pilot helmet and silver face (robotic but simple) with a separate clear orange visor, I would have preferred this a clone trooper helmet really. His proportions are very human, minus the kibble everywhere, and the sculpting is good. The bot is heavily articulated which is great. The pilot's seat tilts back like Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter, but here there's no window for him to look out; this and the Emperor are the only SWTFs where you don't have to remove the pilot for transformation. The minifig is a nice little clone pilot, they even painted the soles of his feet. It's a good set solid in both modes, I can certainly look past the kibble, but I'm not sure everybody will be as forgiving.
Star Wars Transformers Imperial Shuttle/Emperor - Vehicle mode has a good, accurate look to it, but is a little gappy in the midsection. The wings all feel like they're gonna come off all the time, but the rest stays mostly in place (the fit is a bit off due probably to joint tolerances being sloppier than the prototype and not many parts interlocking, but it mostly works). Some folks might be surprised to learn that the shuttle actually has plenty of weapons, they're all represented here. The landing gear is too short for the original design, but still attempts to be faithful. Only the cockpit actually can hold the figure. The wings actually do fold down just like in the movie, their twin guns even rotate, but in flight mode the landing gear gets in the way and pushes them out of position a little. The paint here is good, off-white with various grays, nothing fancy though. Palps' lightsaber can be loaded into the bottom of the middle wing and fired out that launcher, doesn't look good in vehicle mode though. Transformation calls for all the wings to be removed leaving essentially a brick with a cockpit, the core of this changes simply into limbs revealing a void in the center with sculpted detailing, this is then filled in by folding the cockpit into it which also reveals the head; the side wings now peg into the hips (note that there are 2 little divots that accomodate the hips rather than the clips for vehicle mode) and the top wing becomes an arm-mounted shield and a pistol. Bot mode is unusual, the colors aren't even pretending to be Palpatine's colors, the vehicle colors are everywhere, the head is dark gray but with a yellow face and red eyes, it's a good look for a Transformer, I don't mind that it's not accurate to the character. The bot's look is thick but not bulky, the cockpit ends up as the entire chest (which makes sense as it's a mech), while the legs are a bit spindly and flanked by folded up wings; a side note, the codpiece has an unfortunate smilie face right in the middle. The head is unusual, it's a broad, squat face with angular wrinkles and an open mouth surrounded by a helmet I suppose meant to invoke his hood, it doesn't remind me much of Palpatine's visage but it is a cool evil old Transformer head which works well on that level.The bot has lots of articulation, even an articulated waist above armor. The figure has trouble holding the gun, it doesn't hold in his right hand and when he's pointing it he gets front-heavy and tips over since the legs are a bit spindly and set a little far back. The lightsaber hilt is big, but fairly accurate and well-painted, the blade is short but that's accurate to the movie version, it's notched in the middle so it can be fired from the gun but the notch isn't too offensive. Overall, I like how the vehicle mode looks but it's not entirely stable, and I like how the robot looks from a Transformers standpoint more than a Star Wars one, even if it is kibbly and somewhat flawed.
I'd definitely want to see more SWTFs like the ARC-170, it's not perfect but it's pretty neat and pays a lot of attention to what the vehicle mode is about.
Star Wars Transformers Imperial Shuttle/Emperor - Vehicle mode has a good, accurate look to it, but is a little gappy in the midsection. The wings all feel like they're gonna come off all the time, but the rest stays mostly in place (the fit is a bit off due probably to joint tolerances being sloppier than the prototype and not many parts interlocking, but it mostly works). Some folks might be surprised to learn that the shuttle actually has plenty of weapons, they're all represented here. The landing gear is too short for the original design, but still attempts to be faithful. Only the cockpit actually can hold the figure. The wings actually do fold down just like in the movie, their twin guns even rotate, but in flight mode the landing gear gets in the way and pushes them out of position a little. The paint here is good, off-white with various grays, nothing fancy though. Palps' lightsaber can be loaded into the bottom of the middle wing and fired out that launcher, doesn't look good in vehicle mode though. Transformation calls for all the wings to be removed leaving essentially a brick with a cockpit, the core of this changes simply into limbs revealing a void in the center with sculpted detailing, this is then filled in by folding the cockpit into it which also reveals the head; the side wings now peg into the hips (note that there are 2 little divots that accomodate the hips rather than the clips for vehicle mode) and the top wing becomes an arm-mounted shield and a pistol. Bot mode is unusual, the colors aren't even pretending to be Palpatine's colors, the vehicle colors are everywhere, the head is dark gray but with a yellow face and red eyes, it's a good look for a Transformer, I don't mind that it's not accurate to the character. The bot's look is thick but not bulky, the cockpit ends up as the entire chest (which makes sense as it's a mech), while the legs are a bit spindly and flanked by folded up wings; a side note, the codpiece has an unfortunate smilie face right in the middle. The head is unusual, it's a broad, squat face with angular wrinkles and an open mouth surrounded by a helmet I suppose meant to invoke his hood, it doesn't remind me much of Palpatine's visage but it is a cool evil old Transformer head which works well on that level.The bot has lots of articulation, even an articulated waist above armor. The figure has trouble holding the gun, it doesn't hold in his right hand and when he's pointing it he gets front-heavy and tips over since the legs are a bit spindly and set a little far back. The lightsaber hilt is big, but fairly accurate and well-painted, the blade is short but that's accurate to the movie version, it's notched in the middle so it can be fired from the gun but the notch isn't too offensive. Overall, I like how the vehicle mode looks but it's not entirely stable, and I like how the robot looks from a Transformers standpoint more than a Star Wars one, even if it is kibbly and somewhat flawed.
I'd definitely want to see more SWTFs like the ARC-170, it's not perfect but it's pretty neat and pays a lot of attention to what the vehicle mode is about.