Machine Wars Thundercracker/ Skywarp

Here is a look at two of the four basic Machine Wars Decepticon jets. The first two are the classic Seekers Thundercracker and Skywarp. Let me just come out and say that they are these classic characters in name and biography only. The jet and robot modes are excellent with great paint applications and design. However, these colors are so vastly different that there is no way these could be the characters. Skywarp is black and purple while his Machine Wars figure is white, black, and red. Thundercracker is traditionally blue and black, not military camo. I know this is very Generation One fan like, but with traditional characters, you can't just go in a wildly different direction like this. Even Cybertron Thundercracker and Skywarp had color schemes resembling their old selves.

Outside of the color schemes, the jet designs are pretty good. The transformation is again simple. Pull up on the tail of the jet, the cockpit flips down, and out come the legs. Here is the robot mode super quick. The robot mode for the molds are pretty good. Not the best, but they are a good design, and these were the first Transformer jets in two years.

Machine Wars Hubcap/ Hoist

The next two Autobots of the Machine Wars toy line features the former Generation One mechanic Hoist and an upgraded mini-bot in Hubcap. This mold sees the figures transform from tow trucks to robots. The tow truck modes are decent looking. The truck has the cab and a little trailer section with the tow hook connected. Both figures look pretty bland in these modes due to the fact there are only two colors for both trucks. Their transformations are simple. You simply push the tow hook up, and they transform instantly to robot mode. The design is actually well thought out for this transformation. The truck cab forms the chest, the legs slide down, and the trailer unfolds to form the arms and back of the robots. Un-peg their legs, and you detach their truck grills to create their guns (that is actually a pretty neat feature). The robot modes look good, but they are plagued by the same bland feel with the modes only featuring two colors.

Overall, the figures' mold is excellent, but their paint applications weren't fully realized. Hoist looks better than Hubcap due to his black color hiding the arms more in vehicle mode. Hubcap's bright yellow color makes the arms more visible, but can also be painful on the eyes. I feel like these figures are definitely worth a look, but keep in mind that this was from a less than thought out line before passing judgment. They are actually solid toys even if they are bland looking.

All Hail Megatron #1

I recently picked up the first issue of All Hail Megatron from IDW Publishing. I have heard nothing but negativity surrounding this series since it was released, but I thought I would finally buckle down and give it a try. After reading issue #1, I can say two things. It doesn't feel as good as Simon Furman's work during the -Tion series, but it doesn't feel as bad as people made it out to be either.

Apparently, it has been one year since the Transformers made themselves known on Earth after existing for years in secret, hiding in plain sight. In New York City, the Constructicons (debut) arrive transforming to robot mode and tell the populous that they come in peace. After a breif snicker between Hook and Scrapper, the Constructicons attack the city. Starscream and the Seekers join the battle, and Megatron arrives to cause more destruction. Eventually, the humans attempt to counterattack, but they are grounded by Soundwave and the onslaught of the Decepticons. Meanwhile, Prowl and Jazz are on Cybertron with several other Autobots. Jazz is angry for some reason. The final panel shows a severely injured Optimus Prime.

Compared to the earlier IDW comics, this issue definitely doesn't stand up in terms of depth and story. It does feel like it is setting up something bigger, but the new writers don't match Simon Furman. The art style however (although character designs were unfortunately influenced by Hasbro) looks excellent. It blends a Generation One anime feel with the previous designs of the -Tion series. Although there are no explanations for the Seekers downgrading to their current forms (Hasbro wanted to sell more toys so they went from F-22's to F-15's), this issue felt like a great set up to a bigger story but with a lot of fan service. Although this issue pales in comparison to Simon Furman's work, it feels like an interesting start to a new series (well, then new). I will probably be checking out more issues in the coming weeks to see how things play out.

Machine Wars Mirage

The Machine Wars continue! Mirage is a repaint of the mold used for Prowl (or most likely, its the other way around). Mirage is painted in bluish, green, and white colors with his vehicle mode more resembling his older G1 self. There really isn't much to say about Mirage. If you have read my review on Machine Wars Prowl, you'll know exactly how to transform this figure. He is literally 100% the same mold as Prowl. The only differences are the colors for the plastics and the decals. This mold would be reused for Skid-Z in the Robots in Disguise line in 2001, and it would be also used for the character of Mirage in the Robot Masters line released exclusively in Japan.

For the other three molds of the Machines Wars basics figures, I will probably combine them each into one review per mold. Literally, each Machine Wars basics figure has a repaint and is the same as their counterpart just with a different color scheme. One item I would like to point out for this figure as well as most of the others is the poor choice of packaging. Hasbro/ Kenner really did slap this line together. The font for the line is exactly the same as Beast Wars, the packaging is unappealing, and with other characters like Optimus Prime, the character art is a poor reworking and rehash of earlier art. Now that I am reviewing this line, I still enjoy the memories, but it wasn't as a great as an attempt as I remember. I think I was stuck in the whole feeling of "Yes, the Autobots and Decepticons are back!" due to all of the animal Transformers, Maximals, and Predacons released at that time. Although I was longing for the original vehicle Transformers, this really wasn't the true return.

Outback

This is another classic mini-bot from the Generation One line. Don't worry, I will be covering more of the Machine Wars figures, but I will drop in other items while covering that toy line. Outback is a retooling of Brawn. Brawn was one of the classic and iconic characters released during the first year of Generation One in 1984. Outback was released as part of the figures of 1986. His figure transforms exactly the same as Brawn, but he now features actual robot fists and a new head sculpt. His toy was also the only mini-bot to have an accessory as he came with a gun with plugged into the roof of his vehicle mode.

Outback was an interesting character, but he didn't get a lot of air time in the original cartoon. He made his first appearance in Five Faces of Darkness: Part One, helping Blaster locate Ramjet and Dirge. His last appearance was in the episode The Quintesson Journal where he was again teamed with Blaster as they located a mysterious Quintesson artifact of great importance. He was a great figure, but he can be a little more pricey due to the inclusion of his gun.

What Were the Machine Wars?

After posting on the Prowl figure, I thought I would take a moment to discuss what the Machine Wars line was in a little more detail. As previously mentioned, Machine Wars was a short lived attempt to bring back the vehicle based Transformers.

The Transformers franchise had been in a steep decline since the beginning of the 1990's. The franchise was a massive success in North America throughout the 1980's, but it fizzled out by 1990 with the Micromasters and Action Masters. There were no new toys, cartoons, or comics, so the franchise basically disappeared for two years in North America. Although the Japanese line had shifted in a different direction with incredible new toys and three additional cartoons, it was also on life support by 1991. In Europe, Japanese figures were being imported and repackaged, but the line was also loosing steam by 1992, even with exclusive European figures.

In 1992, Hasbro attempted to revive the franchise with Transformers: Generation 2. The line began with repackaged and recolored figures from the first two years of Generation One, new airings of the original cartoon on Saturday mornings, and a new comic book. The line was a huge success, so Hasbro continued with European imports, more remolds, new molds, another season of the cartoon (now on weekdays), and more comics. By 1995, the franchise was out of gas. The cartoon ended, the comic concluded after twelve issues, and the last year's toys were mostly garbage. Hasbro ended Generation 2, and passed the responsibility of Transformers to its boys division, Kenner.

In a last, desperate attempt to revive Transformers, the Beast Wars series was created where the Transformers transformed into techno-organic beasts and animals. With new, more articulated figures, and a promising new animated series which tied it all back to Generation One, Beast Wars was a massive success and brought the Transformers back from death. With Beast Wars' success, Hasbro made an attempt to revive the old Autobot and Decepticon factions with Machine Wars. The line was released in 1997 as a Kay-Bee-Toys exclusive series. There were three class sizes. There were the eight basic figures with automatic transformations. They consisted of four unused molds from Generation 2, and each mold was repainted once for an additional figure. Then the remaining four figures consisted of former European exclusives. There were two voyager class figures and two ultra class figures.

The line proved to be a great idea, but ultimately a failure and only lasted for one wave. There were several reasons for this. The first reason was the slapped together feel of the toys. The characters didn't feel like the belonged together. Sure Optimus Prime was a truck with a trailer, but Megatron was a tiny jet half the size of Optimus and a quarter the size of Starscream. Something is wrong with that. Second, the line had no story or supporting material. There was no reason for this series, no back story, no comics, no cartoons, nothing. It simply existed. I think the last and greatest reason is that Hasbro/ Kenner gave the line no chance of survival with limited distribution. The toys were only available through Kay-Bee-Toys. These stores were limited to shopping malls and their toys were always priced higher than their competition of Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, or even Toys R Us. Safe to say, with no advertising or anything to let you know the toys were out there, you probably wouldn't venture into Kay-Bee-Toys randomly.

It was sad to see this line end so quickly, but it was probably for the best. The line really didn't have any care put in to it, and without care, a toy line won't succeed. Some of the figures would return in the later Transformers: Universe and Robots in Disguise lines, and free lance artists would try to craft a story to make it part of Generation One. If Hasbro ever revisits this idea, hopefully they will do a far better job in the future. For now, it rests as a failed attempt and it served as a precursor to the true return of the Autobots and Decepticons in 2001.

Machine Wars Prowl

Happy New Year everyone! I thought I would kick off 2010 with part one of a series of reviews on the long forgotten, short lived Machine Wars toy line. The first figure on this list to kick things off is Prowl. For those of you who have never heard of this line, Machine Wars was released in in 1997 as an attempt by Hasbro to rekindle the flame of the vehicle Transformers. Beast Wars had proven to be a massive success upon its debut in 1996, and it is credited with reviving the near dead Transformers franchise. The toys were super successful and the new animated series was a big hit. The Machine Wars line was short lived (only consisting of twelve figures), and the toys were Kay-Bee-Toys exclusives. There were three class sizes. The first were the ultra class which consisted of Optimus Prime and Starscream. Then, there were the voyager class figures consisting of Sandstorm and Soundwave. Last, but not least, were the basic sized figures consisting of Megatron, Megaplex, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Hoist, Hubcap, Mirage, and today's figure Prowl.

The basic class figures consisted of four molds with two repaints each. These molds were all left over from the Generation 2 line, while the other four figures were repainted versions of European exclusive molds. The jets were all Decepticons, while the tow trucks and formula racers were Autobots. Prowl shared a mold with Mirage and is reborn as a white formula one race car. The mold looks good in both modes. The race car has some good details from the stickers to the actual design. The transformation is super simple. You pull up on the spoiler and the car transforms automatically into robot mode. All you really have to do is unpeg the legs and pull and assemble the gun parts from his legs.

As I mentioned, I actually like this figure. Although the transformation was automatic, it had the great articulation of the Beast Wars toys, and the paint scheme made the figure feel like Prowl. Although I really don't care too much for him not being a police car, as least he wasn't a combo of a formula one racer and a police car. That would be so dumb....oh wait, Hasbro did one for Energon. The fun thing about the Machine Wars figures is that they did bring back the classic memories of the old school toys. However, because of their limited distribution and slapped together feel, they didn't achieve any level of success of Beast Wars or even Generation 2.