 |
| No thanks Dr. Fauci and CDC. Jesus will heal us. |
I originally received the medic duo prior to the Autobot alliance two pack. But when I heard my AA-2 pack order was going to be shipped, I felt like I had to review the alliance first since their release was scheduled prior to the Medics. Without delay here are another set of exclusives that Hasbro has short-changed lots of fans once again. And most likely benefitted scalpers. Let's get started.
Boxing and content
Here are your boxing and the map which displays all 5 Galactic Odyssey locations. I'm going to inform the viewers now that I will only be collecting this 2 pack featured here. The others do not interest me especially I already own the Takara Autobot clones. This will most likely be the only Galactic Odyssey review on this page. You get a card which explains the type of colony Paradron is. Just like the G1 cartoon really. I guess Ratchet is from there? Maybe. Though he did exist as an error showing the back of his head in the episode "Fight or flee." Perhaps, he did survive the movie?
Ratchet and Lifeline
Ratchet: If you are familiar with the Autobot Alliance ER Ironhide being a retool of his Siege mold, then you should had figured out that it was inevitable that Hasbro would make a ER Ratchet based on his Siege mold as well. Ratchet shares the same gimmick (Shield) and weapon as ER IH albeit different colors. Not to mention, the glass shield (chest) is present though Ratchet's aqua blue shield looks really nice here. Ratchet also sports a lightbar that can be removed. ER Ratchet also ditches the battle damage scheme making him look more cleaner and presentable. I will share more on this later as well as explaining some of the differences between him and his Siege counterpart. Ratchet has nice joints and articulates fairly well.
A nice update of his G1 look actually. He is missing his cross insignia on both of his shoulders, red crotch and hands however.
Lifeline: is a repaint of ER Arcee, a figure that I don't have but feels quite similar to that of the Legends/Generations mold. If you complained that Ironhide and Ratchet are partformers, then Lifeline's 2nd backpack really fits this category to the T. This part forms the back/rear of the car and it's literally a backpack on top of already another backpack. It can be removed but if you decide to keep it on, it adds lots of weight to a fairly light figure. This external part is pretty much used as a surfboard just as how Ratchet and Iron-hide can use their shield as one too. LL comes also with a small translucent gun. She was meant to be a pacifist but Rodimus Prime/Sandstorm convinced the inhabitants to take up arms and fight Galvatron since the tyrant was using Paradron's energon to destroy. I guess LL picked up the smallest and lightest gun as possible for starters. Her figure though can do some pretty neat poses. Just like how I remembered LG Arcee could. Maybe I should compare the two someday. Getting back to the backpack one more time, I putted it aside for the most part during this shoot. It really feels like a wasted accessory.
Alt mode for both characters
So I dunno if it was just my figure, but every time I fidgeted with Ratchets legs, his flaps always popped off. Sometimes his shin flaps would come off too. I wonder if the mold is already degrading?
So for the longest time I never used instructions when transforming to alt modes. Sadly, I broke that streak for this review. Ratchet's transformation was easy since I was familiar with his Siege mold as well as ER Ironhide's. I had difficulty with LL's legs for the most part. I finally busted out the manual after trying for nearly dozens of minutes. So what did I do wrong? You flip her legs backwards and literally shove her legs and arms to much empty spaces as possible. Seriously? Not only is she a partformer but her transformation was so un-inspiring. One of her wheels also kept popping off. I was so fed up at this point that I transformed her enough just to play with a her for bit and just shoot a couple of lousy pics of it. I personally felt LG Arcee's transformation was a whole lot better, but it's been a while so I will have to revisit it sometime down the line. LL's alt mode transformation was very irksome to transform and overall presentation is super medicore at best.
Honestly, I don't care if I transformed her wrong. I'm so past her transformation at this point.
Comparisons with Siege Ratchet
So here are your comparisons. The differences are pretty much similar when I explained ER Ironhide and his Siege version differences in my autobot alliance review. I won't go through them all. You can see them for yourself. What stood out for me was Siege Ratchet's Biceps were cleverly crafted to form the lightbar for his alt mode. ER Ratchet accomplishes this feat with the add on for his shield. ER Ratchet loses his shoulder canon ability like ER IH as well. But what makes him stand out against his Siege brother is his newer visor and silver painted face. I really like the latter. However, the Siege version feels more fun to play simply because he has more weaponry.
Toggle between the roofs between IH and Ratchet for some novelty fun.
Rounding it off
As I wanted to pair the Amazon exclusives together. A part of Prowls plastic chipped. you can see it on to the left side of the wheel. So first, his blaster comes defective nearly breaking and now his plastic is coming apart for me. Wow.
For those who are wondering. I retired Prowl's rifle until I can get a replacement for him. Until then, he wields IH and Ratchet's shields.
Conclusion:
Most people are only going to get this pretty much for Ratchet. My only gripe with ER Ratchet was my shins and side flaps kept popping off while you handled or tranformed him. His Siege counterpart outshines him when it comes to weapons. LL is your real hit and miss in this 2 pack. That 2nd backpack of hers is really a filler and it almost should had been done away with. Her alt mode is fairly lackluster. LL, I admit can do some nice poses. But as I recall, I think Hastak did a better job with the LG/Generations version of Arcee. For G1 accuracy, this 2 pack is a must have plus its hard to obtain as of now making it a antique or relic of some sort. Hopefully, Hastak will re-release at least Ratchet down the line. For those who didn't get it, Siege Ratchet is still a good replacement for your classics line.
