Transformers Studio Series 86-15 Leader Class The The Movie 1986 Dinobot Sludge Action Figure review

 

I'll be back.

Hello folks, I'm finally back with a new TF review. Having a little too much fun with TMNT Shredders Revenge. Anyhow, does Sludge make a great addition to your Dinobot 86 collection? Let's find out and let's get started!

Boxing

No longer comes in any clear plastic. Comes with the similar backdrop to that of Grimlock and Slag. The theme is the same where the Dinobots crash the Quintesson interrogation of Kup and Hot Rod. 

Sludge

Looks good, right? I concur. As soon as I got this guy out of the box, man what a beauty. However, I also anticipated the disappointment which was his limbs... mainly his legs. This was a complaint all over the internet. So my disappointment was halved but still it was a bummer to see the third of the original dinobots to receive such treatment. He had trouble standing straight and sometimes I had to tilt him a bit forward just to make him stand decent. His legs were super wobbly and his arms was done well but the elbows were slightly loose. Robot mode colors and appearance= excellent. Replay factor = total bummer dude. I know there is some online fixes and I'll probably try it someday in the future, but for this review, it was just a beautifully wasted mode.

Dino time! (With Grimlock and Slag)

This is pretty much what Sludge and the Dinobots were made for: their alt modes. Although it took me some time, I was able to transform Sludge without the help of the manual. I did use the box for reference though. This mode is done pretty decently though his underbelly has this huge gap and it becomes somewhat obscured if you place his weapon in that area. Sludge has a port in his mouth were you can stick a flame effect. Here he is placed with Grimlock and Slag for height and build references. Not only that but they all can swap each other's weapons fairly easy though Sludge's weapon can be a tight fit when gripping it himself. The head has this nice ratchet movement to it though it can look bizarre when you bend his head down to the ground. 

Some novelty fun

I have to admit that this looks cool. 

Conclusion

I heard there will be a 2nd batch that fixes this wobbly issue as I am writing this. It is most likely slated to be released around November which was the original release date for this guy. Um... if you don't mind the wobbly limbs, he is a nice figure to look at. If you want him in Dinobot mode all times, feel free to pick him up. That mode works wonders for him there and it's not wobbly at all since the limbs are folded away. Your move. See you later folks.

Me Sludge will get you Hastak.

Ending the week of Aug 6, 2022

 I should go back into some of the old figures I haven't opened up. But here is something that I enjoy listening to which relates to the last topic I wrote. Hopefully, I will have a new review soon.

Credit goes to the music artist and uploader. 

Here is gameplay footage from a youtuber

Game of 2022!

 I'm not much of a gamer as I once was 20 years ago. I got a steam account just to dabble every now and then. Though I picked the game up nearly a week after it's release date, I now found myself playing hours with others online. That game is none other than 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. While I completed the game a few times, the replay value is something I live by for the moment with other people online. This game is fun and I'll leave it there. Pick it up now and hopefully they will release DLC in the future. 

Here is the link to the official website. You can watch the trailers and such. 

https://www.shredders-revenge.com/

Transformers Toys Generations Legacy Series Leader Blitzwing Triple Changer Action Figure review

 

Welcome folks. I finally got Transformers: Legacy Blitzwing review up and running. Today we will take a look at the triple changer and compare him with Legends Blitzwing. How does he fare? Well, let's get started!

Box

No plastic. That is long done away with this point. So the box comes fairly light but I'm glad the figure and it's contents was in there. Two rifles, a sword and two energon fists his bio claims it to be. And let's not forget the figure himself.

Anyway his bio

https://transformers.hasbro.com/en-us/bios/aoetmdbr#uuffiq

Tank mode 

As you can see the figure comes already transformed into his tank mode. This is also the mode that apparently gave some TF fans nightmares because his cockpit is literally sticking out like a sore thumb. If you look carefully, you can see his head. As for me, I felt if HasTak could had modified this part it would had been "literal perfection." And no I don't mean when it fits a woman. This mode plays decent despite the cockpit protruding outwards. You can move his turret 360 degrees or move the muzzle upwards and redo the 1986 movie scene that some fans have been recreating with Kup. Stick the big hands, guns and swords wherever possible.

Robot mode

Transformation to robot mode was fairly easy. I do admit that I had some trouble on the knees locking in place at first but I got it down eventually. As you can see, he looks like his G1 anime counterpart sans the light purple. His joints are tight, got a waist swivel and he can do some decent posing. The plastic on this guy is fairly heavy as well and not the light type we've been fidgeting with all this time. He does has have some issues raising his arms all the way up. He does have these shoulder flaps that can open though you won't be able to lift his arms up much even with the flaps open. I'm not sure why those energon fists were given for this figure. It is a novelty at best. Why Grandma, what big hands you have? Anyhow, use your imagination here. The translucent hands can be removed as evidence shown above. Still, I guess it was nice that Hastak gave us extra accessories.

Jet fighter mode

This mode was fairly easy to get to as well. I think it does great for the most part had it not been for the extra kibble under the underbelly. I wish you be able to remove some of these parts to make this mode look more outstanding. The energon fists do make a neat looking afterburner though. The landing gear just barely keeps this guy up since the turret is already keeping him up for the most part. 

Team Blitzwing (With Legends Blitzwing)

Jet mode

Like I said earlier, I think had it not been for all that extra baggage Legacy had, Legacy would had easily took this spot. Otherwise, the LG version really isn't that bad. Both can swap weapons and have some extra fun. Anyhow, I forgot to mention that my Legacy copy came with a scratch (last pic). 

Tank mode

Well, despite the phallic looking object sticking out of the Legacy version, I feel the Legacy version resembles a tank more. The LG version just felt off ever since it was released. 

Robot mode

Pick your poison. When it came to robot mode, If I had to choose, it probably be the Legacy version but preferably with the toon colors the LG version has. However, I still like the LG version in comparison to him. His height I feel is intimidating and perfect for a triple changer. I still feel that the LG version holds out fairly well today. Unfortunately, the drawback is that the Legacy version is smaller and pricier too (not counting how much the LG aftermarket goes for today). 

Conclusion:

Honestly, the cockpit sticking out doesn't bother me much at all in tank mode. The Jet mode which is a thing of beauty is just hampered a bit due to all that extra kibble underneath him. He is a pretty easy TF to play with. If you are on the fence or you want to save money, I think your LG/TR version is good enough. But if your goal is a better representation of the triple changer, then by all means, get the Legacy one. He is a solid figure overall. Anyhow, laters. 

G.I. Joe: The Movie 35th Anniversary Fathom Events Screening thoughts

 https://www.fathomevents.com/events/GI-Joe-The-Movie

Click on the link above to see the promotional event.

Hello folks. I have come back from a screening of the 35th anniversary release. The auditorium was about a quarter full which was fairly impressive. It didn't have the ambience or audience that was of the Transformers the movie showing back in 2018. However, this showing was displayed in a big screen. So lets get the negatives out of the way first.

Negatives

- Was shown in a full-screen format. While this was the original aspect ratio, this screening was severely lacking on a wide-screen projector. What made it worse was that you can see the 2 matte lines each on both sides of the screen. 

- The video quality looked more like it was from the 2010 dvd release.

- The audio was probably the worst aspect of this release. It is very monotone and clearly you only hear it in the front portion of the theater. Had this been in surround sound, the intro would had been a spectacular broadcast. Overall, the movie would had sounded better in surround sound. Missed opportunity here.

- First half of the film felt very slow or un-interesting to me. Once again, it was to introduce the new characters but it just felt very flat to me. 

- Not entirely this movie's fault but thanks to the lackluster receipts of Transformers the movie, this movie was lacking an ost. Something the TF the movie ended up getting and it turned out phenomenal. 

- Maybe he wasn't popular yet, but I felt Snake-Eyes got the shaft in this film. I'm pretty sure for people who are seeing this film for the first time, and are familiar with the live-action films, will recognize him when they see him but he didn't appear or did much in this film. Don't expect him to talk still, heh.

- Storm Shadow I do believe shows up in the very beginning of the film I just noticed, never shows up again for the remainder of the film. I mean, what's up with that? 

Positives

- It's on the big screen finally.

- The last half still re-ignites child hood memories for me. Especially the beatdown Sgt. Slaughter gives Nemesis enforcer towards the end. It's still an enjoyable moment.

- It doesn't do the original joes or cobra members a disservice as TF the movie did by killing off the old line. However, the film does feel a bit oversaturated with characters. This can cause a lot of confusion for new timers. It really has this feel where you should know all the characters by now. They do their best to call everyone out by names but not everyone. You do not hear Lady Jaye's name or Scarlett's called out once. Not even Snake-Eyes etc. Might as well throw in Storm Shadow since I'm sounding smart at the moment. But maybe this is the reason why Snake Eyes is barely in this film because of too many characters being focused on. Well, also because he is being phased out at this point. 

- At least they tried to add a bunch of old-timers where TF the movie, you never saw Gears, Skyfire, and some others etc... ever again. 

Somewhere in the middle *some spoilers*

- The new Cobra La enemy is kinda scary for it's time, especially they use some giant creatures at their disposal. They are ugly looking as Roadblock called out it's air force. Though I do like the Nemesis Enforcer look. 

- Cobra Commanders Transformation is still freakish as of today. Not to mention, the vision sequence where every man, woman and child would revert to mindless animals had the Cobra-La mutating spores did its job. This was made for kids? There was a serious dark tone to this film and if they killed off the original line as they did in TF, would you still say this was made for kids? 

- Duke (supposedly) dies. No doubt but thanks to Optimus Prime's death and backlash to the TF movie, the creators of this show scrambled to keep the scene but also add to the dialogue to cheapened his death err.... injury. As a result, it feels clustered at times. I mean, look at him, he passes out and everybody gets very emotional. Then Falcon at the end simply thanks his big brother whom is Duke at the end in a moving manner but the scene clearly indicates that Duke is already gone. They do add lines in the film to indicate he went to a coma and his come around, but it doesn't have this feel as you watch the subsequent sequences I just explained. However, I heard that the Japanese release does keep the death scene intact. 

Final words:

The movie is not bad itself but the presentation was disappointing. The video could had used more polish and a wide-screen showing. The audio was the biggest perpetrator here. Could had definitely used surround sound and more bass. That oomph factor was lacking. But at least we can all agree that it was time G.I. Joe got its big screen release due. Let's not forget it has nostalgic value. Well, till next time.