Toy Review: Transformers War for Cybertron WFC E-34 Trailbreaker.

6 feet apart... I think not. 

The dude could make a forcefield! I mean his name is Trailbreaker and today we take a look at the mold re-use of Hoist. Let's get started!

Box art and contents

I love his artwork on the side of the box. I included his map piece but it doesn't seem to have a location name.

Standing tall

2nd pic: Holding it as a gun. 

 

Trailbreaker in the flesh. At first I was annoyed because I thought he was a partsformer-  term coined by many TF fans where a transformation part does not align with their robot mode and is used as a shield, gun, or even a surfboard etc... The canopy piece which is his shield in this case actually fits in his back. His arm cannon/gun is used in a similar fashion to ER Hoist. You can plug it in any 5 mm port. In this case you can use it as a gun (just don't push it all the way down), an arm cannon (which is his trademark look) or forearm cannon. Use your imagination here. His cartoon look depicts the weapon as his left hand cannon, so that look is what I will be going by for most of this review/pics. 

He does come with his radar scanner and shoulder cannon. You can adjust both of these to your liking. His cannon was actually white in the cartoons but here they made it black. I'm mixed on this simply because it just blends in with his already black color scheme. I wouldn't have mind that his cannon be a little longer either but I'm pretty sure it will exceed Hasbro's budget at this point. When it comes to the arm cannon mode, I don't like to see the gun handle sticking out when posing; some of my pics show this apparently. It makes it seems as if he is still holding a gun. To rectify this you can swivel his wrist to prevent the handle from showing. Hoist shares this feature as well. His box art also shows that his red bar that is right below the shoulder cannon was actually black, but here it is red. I dunno why Hasbro does this. They did the same to Smokescreen's shoulder guns when I covered it earlier.

Like Hoist, his arm flaps sometimes get in the way of posing. It just looks weird that there is a flap behind both arms. Last but not least, I feel he looks great but some sites point out that he is fat looking. I do see that but I think he looks good still plus love the extra features he has.

Alt mode

Very easy to transform for the most part. My only complaint really is, like Hoist, I just don't like the "hands below deck" in this mode. I just find it weird that there is fists sticking out in the bottom. 

With Earthrise Hoist

Pick your favorite. I actually think the mold looks more impressive on Trailbreaker. No battle damage as well. Makes me wonder if Hoist was meant to be part of the Siege line. Both share the "hands below deck" feature in alt mode. Yay. 

Trailbreaker with the canopy backpack

I think he looks much better with the canopy for his back. You can actually flip the canopy out in which I forgot to take a pic. Anyhow, he looks more complete this way.

Conclusion: The mold looks better on Trailbreaker than Hoist. He has extra features such as his shoulder cannon and canopy that can be used as a shield or maybe even a surfboard, but I didn't really go that far. My only real complaint was how the *gasp* once again, "hands below deck" look in alt mode. Anyhow, TB is here to complete your season 1 TF ark members. Ciao. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving Transformer review: War for Cybertron Earthrise E37 Runamuck

 Did a quick photoshoot before spending much needed time with the fam. Without delay, here is Runamuck.

Boxing

Here is the boxing and contents. I used the decoder to see where Runamuck is from. If I decoded the map right, he seems to represent Earth. 

The figure:

Looking good so far. No qualms too much though he has an extra set of wheels for his heels. Depending on the angle, it sometimes looks like he is on a segway or something. Peg his weapons like other figures where ever you see the 5mm port.

Alt mode

This is the mode some folks complained about. Without a doubt, it is the weakest link of this figure.  He has an extra set of wheels again thanks to the segway wheels. Because of these extra wheels, his other wheels don't roll on the ground unless you push down on the car, but in doing so you also run the risk of rubbing/wearing out the bottom. Also, lots of his jigsaw configurations don't lock in place so smoothly. On the right side of the car, there is obviously a gap on mines by the rear wheel.   Another weird aspect is his chest piece which looks as if it was meant to be his car hood is his under belly for alt mode. His actual hood is hidden behind his back in robot mode. So I too share some disappointment in this mode like some others. 

Recap

Positives

• Nice representation of his G1 incarnation
• Tight joints, flexible posing, waist swivel
• Nice paint scheme. Love the white
• Simple figure actually
• Easy to transform to alt mode and back (the head part can be a little tricky in getting back out, but I'll let it slide). 

Negatives:

• The Segway wheels (that area) getting in the way of the car rolling in alt mode.
• Jigsaw configurations that don't lock in place (alt mode once again)
• Alt mode in general. Looked neat in the renders and all but presentation turned out fairly disappointing. 

Conclusion:

Runamuck is get for completionists such as myself and it is a very good g1 anime representation we got. As long as you are not going for alt mode, he will stand out fine in robot mode. Hope Runabout turns out better. Take care folks and see you next time.