Unite Warriors Bruticus vs Fansproject Bruticus Part 2 of 6: Blast-Off vs Explorer (FP Blast-Off)

Without haste, part II is up.  Up to bat is Unite Warriors Blast-Off and FP Explorer whom is "not" Blast-Off. Earlier I said in part I that Explorer and Munitioner came with additional accessories. What gun or arm piece came with whom, I forgot because it's been long since I put away the box. However, you can search for the details online. Without delay, let's get started.

FP Explorer vehicle mode and comparisons with Unite Warriors Blast-Off

 

I am glad to say that for once I am digging the Unite Warriors Blast-Off. I did say that I wasn't wowed by him in my UW Bruticus review, but after comparing him to Explorer, I totally had a new found respect for him. Explorer just felt really cheap to me and looked a little generic in comparison to the UW version. Explorer also lacked pegs to mount weapons whereas the UW version shines on this aspect. There are positives in the FP version though. He has the right color scheme with the mocha brown color rather then the caramel color UW used. Explorer didn't fall apart as much as the UW version (i.e. head pops off easily and sometimes the cockpit). The blade Explorer uses in robot mode is used for his tail fyi.
Both transform fairly easy so no qualms on both figures on difficulty.

Robot mode

 

UW Blast-Off is nearly twice the size of Explorer. They can both exchange weapons as Explorer can hold Vortex's blaster whom I do give to Blast-Off occasionally. Blast-Off can somewhat hold the knife Explorer wields. Despite UW Blast-Offs bulky chest, I liked that version better overall. Explorer, who was a good classics fodder prior to the UW release, is too small and he is lacking the G1 features the UW version has. Once again, it's the mocha brown on the FP version that gives him points, but it's not enough to topple the UW version. Thanks for reading. Next combaticon coming in part III.

Unite Warriors Bruticus vs Fansproject Bruticus Part 1 of 6: Onslaught vs Barricade (FP Onslaught)

Welcome to another edition of Unite Warriors Bruticus featuring Fansproject Bruticus. Originally known as Bruticus Maximus of Transformers Energon fame, FP made 3rd party parts to upgrade Bruticus Maximus to look more G1 esque. FP released two box sets: One being Munitioner (Swindle) and Explorer (Blast Off). It replaced one of the tanks and helicopters of the BM mold and featured additional arnaments for the remaining team members. Reason I said one of the tanks or helis was that eventually the BM mold was re-released in other colors as a revenge of the fallen gimmick. So it was up to the TF user fanbase to upgrade which version, whether it was the Energon or ROTF mold, to their liking. The result: The upgrades was widely accepted and it brought a shine and neat feel to the Bruticus mold. The FP version served as classics Bruticus until the combiner wars version came to play.

For this part: I have Energon Barricade. When I started to collect this figure, the third party accessories were nearly sold out. I managed to snatch Munitioner and Explorer but I was lacking the BM molds. As a forum member of TFW2005.com, I was able to obtain the Energon version of Barricade through another forum member. Btw, here are the pics.

Original Vehicle mode without FP upgrades.

 

With upgrades

 

Baseport 1

Baseport II

 

Takara Tomy Transformers Unite Warriors/Combiner Wars UW-07 Bruticus 2 of 2 review! UW Bruticus

Combaticons, merge to become Bruticus! Amid some of the issues discussed in part I, does combined form Bruticus fare any better? Well, that's why you are here, right? Nah, you are here to see the pics. Anyhow, let's get started!

Official look and combined form

 

 

Ah, yes. Flex them muscle.

 Two words: Simply awesome! Bruticus stands pretty well this time around. Defensor had some wobbly hips and Menasor, well, was just bad when it came to standing. The toon colors are painted nicely and I definitely love his 4 bladed look on his left arm (Vortex). Superion, imo, still poses the best though Bruticus is a huge improvement over Defensor and Menasor. In case if you didn't notice by now, Swindle's and Brawls leg is color-coded the same. You can actually mess with Brawl's turret here. You can raise it knee length or lower it. Your move.

Hiking with God in Oahu 6/29/16 Lulumahu Falls

The day was raining before but that didn't deter us from going to Lulumahu Falls. Thank God there was some parking left when we got there. It was roughly 10AM that day. When you get to the gates, there is a slashed fence section to the left. Just go in. If you come across a bamboo forest while walking, don't go in there. When you hit this green hill-like area, you may have to get dirty a little. After you climb this portion (1st pic). Just go all the way to your right until you encounter some stairs. Go up those to make life a little easier.

Once you get to the top, you will encounter the Nu'uanu resevoir. Just follow the path to your right until you hit a grafitti wall. Take some pics, admire it, whatever you like.

 

My bro running

Courtesy Christina Hu

You will see some steps across the wall, go up and begin your hike. It's very muddy especially after it rained the previous day. You will encounter stream water. From this point on, you are going to criss cross between rocks and muddy land a few times before you hit the actuall fall. It's probably going to be at least a 30mins hike to the fall. Have fun!

Takara Tomy Transformers Unite Warriors/Combiner Wars UW-07 Bruticus 1 of 2 review! Starscream's Brigade Exclusive Shuttle Blast-Off! UW Bruticus

"Combaticons Transform! Brawl, Swindle, Blast-Off, Vortex, and Onslaught!" At long last, the Combaticons has arrived... Unite Warriors style that is. To continue on the G1 tradition, TakTomy has listened to fan demand and included shuttle Blast-Off rather than the Hasbro jet version of a darker Slingshot. If you are new to all this, Takara's combiners closely resemble their G1 cartoon counter parts. However, not everyone is welcoming to this change. Is this set worth a pickup? Without delay, let's get started in this 2 part series.

Packaging

 

 

 

With Weapons attached.

Box looks good. The manual artwork consists of lots of G1 familiar faces such as Bot (though he is referred to as Bot II in this one since he was destroyed in the original G1 B.O.T episode). Lord Chumley and his butler, Dinsmoore is looking to buy some weapons from Swindle whom apparently is hocking Brawl's weapons including his turret. 

Hiking with God in Oahu: Koko crater (aka kohelepelepe) natural arch 6/12/16

There are two sides to the story, or mountain for that matter. Arguably the most popular hike or workout is the Koko head stairs of doom. The The next one which is on another side of Koko head is the Koko crater natural arch. I got the day off so me and my friend, KG decided to hike the Arch. It's located near and adjacent to the Halona Blowhole. Since we went at 5AM, side parking was very easy to find. Just be careful in crossing the street. Play it safe folks. When we got to the area, we ended up hiking down the bushes area, but we backtracked when we found out we were getting nowhere. Near the entrance, after you cross the fence, just climb up the black lava like rocks and you will be on your way.

It was a little easy to find because there were already hikers by the arch. Its gets a little steep as you get to the arch so be careful. Just always play it safe as I said. Bring good shoes with good traction (hiking shoes preferred), water, gloves (optional but comes in handy if you no like get dirty), and camera (for pics). Praying to God never ceases to help.

KG doing photography

The Arch itself

Hiking with God in Oahu: Judd Trail Hike 6/8/16

Aloha folks.  On this day, I decided to tackle what most call "a kid and dog friendly hike": The Judd Trail loop. I cheated and used google maps to find this destination. What can I say? Might as well utilize it since I have it on my phone. I parked right across the entrance as I made a quick prayer to God that nobody would break into my car and steal anything. I heard this area is high-theft so be careful when hiking here. There are lots of bugs and mosquitoes here too so bring insect repellent. My hiking team consisted of my mom, sister-in-law, and my dog, Aiko!



I parked by the entrance which is on the Old Pali Road. Upon entering, the first waterfall is already within view to the left as you go down your first and small hill. I also tried practicing some photography messing with the aperture and shutter speed. I think I could do better but got the smooth and blurry like waterfall after all.