Three new Hone Borgs added to my review article below!
See the mystery of the Rider Borg finally resolved!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
[Transformers Universe] Ramjet
So here we go, the ugliest Transformer ever: Universe Ramjet. This is the large, colorful Ramjet sold as a Toys 'R Us exclusive in 2004 for $19.99 (not to be confused with Universe G1 Ramjet, sold in 2008).
Where Did We Go Wrong?
Universe was first conceived as a gap-filler following Armada, and intended to save Hasbro moneys by consisting entirely of repaints of old toys. Truly, the genesis of a quality toy line. Though there were a few gems in the lot, the toys would (perhaps unsurprisingly) range from drab to spectacularly awful. 3H Productions was given the unenviable task of tying this cacophony into a coherent comic book storyline. 3H still held the Transformers Club and convention license at this point, so the Universe repaint dregs were mixed with the more limited Botcon/OTFCC repaint dregs in said comic book- giving them a somewhat limited credibility with the fandom. However, in 2004, 3H lost their license (and filed for bankruptcy), terminating said comic without a conclusion, Hasbro simultaneously canned all future plans for Universe version 1, and Universe Ramjet was squeezed out of the toy grinder on to the aisles of TRU. Other toys were less fortunate.
The Herald Wears Primaries
I am told that this Ramjet is a herald of Unicron in the "Armadaverse." Once Unicron was destroyed in said continuity, Ramjet was thrown into the "non-space that glues the multiverse together." Maybe it is like the inside of the walls between rooms in your house- dark and full of rats. Evil beings in that non-dimension (super dimensional rats, perhaps) rebuilt him into his current form. You know he is powerful when all of his text bubbles have to be drawn in black with white letters. This does not save him from being blown away by Vector Prime.
As a sidenote, "Ramjet" is a name reuse from the Generation 1 series, where Ramjet was one of the conehead Seekers. Although no one knows if this is the same character, Ramjet HAS been known to adopt god-awful color schemes...
The Box
Pretty standard fare for Universe toys. Most Universe toys featured reused artwork, so I would normally say that it is refreshing to have original artwork for the larger toys. Unfortunately, the box art is nothing short of appalling. Here is a close-up for your benefit:
I get the feeling that the artist couldn't quite figure out how Transformer legs and arms connect to the torso, and decided to fudge it by omitting all such connective regions in the drawing. They also appear to have been using a mistransformed toy as a reference model (Nemesis Prime has the same problem- roughly 50% of the toy is missing in the package artwork. Oops!). Kudos, however, on the missiles, which have every detail from the toy etched in so thoroughly that they look like a pair of veiny phalluses protruding from the launchers.
As an interesting note, it appears that a G1 fan at Hasbro had some very different plans for the Mini-Cons. The toys pictured on the box back do not look anything like the ones included in the box- and frankly, much as I hate Mini-Cons, the ones on the box are all pretty awesome. Thunderwing is obviously G2 Skyjack and Gunbarrel is G2 Terradive (which, funnily enough, is also the name of another Minicon in this set). I think the other two- Terradive and Thunderclash- are supposed to resemble the Horrorcon Headmasters, Apeface and Snapdragon. The final product is kind of bland. There's a lot of grey plastic involved.
The Toy
The colors are... just not right. I've only seen red, blue and yellow used in 3 situations: (1) the little plastic package of crayons that they give to kids at family restaurants; (2) Hot Dog on a Stick; and (3) Gundams. None of them make this toy appropriate. He looks like Captain America's airplane. I wonder if his incorporation into the comic series as the main villain was done completely without a sense of irony.
As far as the toy goes, jet mode is pretty weak- really nothing more than the robot mode bent in half. The arms barely stow beneath the wings. Ramjet's overall design is a mish-mash of general airplane (inexplicable VTOL fins) and space fighter parts without great effort to hide the robotic bits. Armada was the first Transformers series to be co-developed by Hasbro and Takara and the designs reflect this. They adopt some of the mechanical flourishes of Japanese toys, but have not quite escaped the simplied kiddy aesthetic that was par for most American toys until then.
Robot mode is where Ramjet really shines. Collaboration with Takara is more readily apparent in this mode, which has a classical mecha form and a lot of nice mechanical detailing overall. The form is not unlike a Macross Valkyrie if you really think about it. Ramjet is based off of a remold of Armada Starscream, the notable additions being the head sculpt and VTOL fins (the look is nice, but I don't really understand why he needs them). The design is still a little blocky and awkward, but in a good way that hearkens back to late-era G1 toys. Simple and fun were not mutually exclusive terms then. Articulation is limited, but the figure is very sturdy in feel and well-balanced (the heel 'spurs' that fold out to balance the figure are sheer brilliance). The red crested helmet and black masked face give him a regal 'fallen knight' persona when set against the white and blue body. Also noted are the painted-over Decepticon insignias on the wings- another nice touch, whether or not intentional (Ramjet was not technically affiliated with either faction in the comic). Ramjet feels built to withstand play, which I always appreciate in a toy.
Most of my complaints with the toy lie in the gimmicks wedged into the design. Action sounds? Yes, it has those. One button is disguised as the jet cockpit, which emits a pew-pew sound when pressed. There's another one, but I can't remember where. Useless weapon gimmick? Yep- two in fact! The two cannons behind Ramjet's head spring forward when a Minicon is inserted into the rear port, ready to spray some phallistic missiles. The port is poorly placed, however, because the Minicon ends up blocking the two guns. The guns also made it necessary to have a huge overhang on the rear torso. Overall, it's not a bad feature, and the guns look a bit like the Macross/SDF-1 cannons. His left wing also pops off to form a sword, which is kind of a strange concept in itself- like ripping off your arm to beat someone with it. My wing does not come off, and I didn't want to force it.
I really wanted to dig into this toy in my review because of the gaudy color scheme and Armada association, but after having it on my desk for a couple of weeks I actually LIKE him. Ramjet's colors are so absurd that your eye is instantly drawn to him in a group, making him almost iconic in the way that G2 'Big Stick' Megatron epitomized that line.
So, Yeah
Ramjet is a very solid toy in design, and goes against the typical conventions of evil toy coloration. Certainly recommended if you never owned an Armada Starscream (or repaint thereof), but be warned that it carries all the flaws of Armada toys. Personally, I feel that this is an overlooked gem of a toy, as it barely garners above-retail prices even though it has been out of production for years. How often do we get obscure comic-based characters in a mass release? Ramjet was sold near the very end of Universe and without much interest. I expect that there are relatively few collectors that currently own Ramjet, which might make it an interesting piece to own a few years down the road. Certainly, he is worth the $19.99 price of admission.
Where Did We Go Wrong?
Universe was first conceived as a gap-filler following Armada, and intended to save Hasbro moneys by consisting entirely of repaints of old toys. Truly, the genesis of a quality toy line. Though there were a few gems in the lot, the toys would (perhaps unsurprisingly) range from drab to spectacularly awful. 3H Productions was given the unenviable task of tying this cacophony into a coherent comic book storyline. 3H still held the Transformers Club and convention license at this point, so the Universe repaint dregs were mixed with the more limited Botcon/OTFCC repaint dregs in said comic book- giving them a somewhat limited credibility with the fandom. However, in 2004, 3H lost their license (and filed for bankruptcy), terminating said comic without a conclusion, Hasbro simultaneously canned all future plans for Universe version 1, and Universe Ramjet was squeezed out of the toy grinder on to the aisles of TRU. Other toys were less fortunate.
The Herald Wears Primaries
I am told that this Ramjet is a herald of Unicron in the "Armadaverse." Once Unicron was destroyed in said continuity, Ramjet was thrown into the "non-space that glues the multiverse together." Maybe it is like the inside of the walls between rooms in your house- dark and full of rats. Evil beings in that non-dimension (super dimensional rats, perhaps) rebuilt him into his current form. You know he is powerful when all of his text bubbles have to be drawn in black with white letters. This does not save him from being blown away by Vector Prime.
As a sidenote, "Ramjet" is a name reuse from the Generation 1 series, where Ramjet was one of the conehead Seekers. Although no one knows if this is the same character, Ramjet HAS been known to adopt god-awful color schemes...
The Box
Pretty standard fare for Universe toys. Most Universe toys featured reused artwork, so I would normally say that it is refreshing to have original artwork for the larger toys. Unfortunately, the box art is nothing short of appalling. Here is a close-up for your benefit:
I get the feeling that the artist couldn't quite figure out how Transformer legs and arms connect to the torso, and decided to fudge it by omitting all such connective regions in the drawing. They also appear to have been using a mistransformed toy as a reference model (Nemesis Prime has the same problem- roughly 50% of the toy is missing in the package artwork. Oops!). Kudos, however, on the missiles, which have every detail from the toy etched in so thoroughly that they look like a pair of veiny phalluses protruding from the launchers.
As an interesting note, it appears that a G1 fan at Hasbro had some very different plans for the Mini-Cons. The toys pictured on the box back do not look anything like the ones included in the box- and frankly, much as I hate Mini-Cons, the ones on the box are all pretty awesome. Thunderwing is obviously G2 Skyjack and Gunbarrel is G2 Terradive (which, funnily enough, is also the name of another Minicon in this set). I think the other two- Terradive and Thunderclash- are supposed to resemble the Horrorcon Headmasters, Apeface and Snapdragon. The final product is kind of bland. There's a lot of grey plastic involved.
The Toy
The colors are... just not right. I've only seen red, blue and yellow used in 3 situations: (1) the little plastic package of crayons that they give to kids at family restaurants; (2) Hot Dog on a Stick; and (3) Gundams. None of them make this toy appropriate. He looks like Captain America's airplane. I wonder if his incorporation into the comic series as the main villain was done completely without a sense of irony.
As far as the toy goes, jet mode is pretty weak- really nothing more than the robot mode bent in half. The arms barely stow beneath the wings. Ramjet's overall design is a mish-mash of general airplane (inexplicable VTOL fins) and space fighter parts without great effort to hide the robotic bits. Armada was the first Transformers series to be co-developed by Hasbro and Takara and the designs reflect this. They adopt some of the mechanical flourishes of Japanese toys, but have not quite escaped the simplied kiddy aesthetic that was par for most American toys until then.
Robot mode is where Ramjet really shines. Collaboration with Takara is more readily apparent in this mode, which has a classical mecha form and a lot of nice mechanical detailing overall. The form is not unlike a Macross Valkyrie if you really think about it. Ramjet is based off of a remold of Armada Starscream, the notable additions being the head sculpt and VTOL fins (the look is nice, but I don't really understand why he needs them). The design is still a little blocky and awkward, but in a good way that hearkens back to late-era G1 toys. Simple and fun were not mutually exclusive terms then. Articulation is limited, but the figure is very sturdy in feel and well-balanced (the heel 'spurs' that fold out to balance the figure are sheer brilliance). The red crested helmet and black masked face give him a regal 'fallen knight' persona when set against the white and blue body. Also noted are the painted-over Decepticon insignias on the wings- another nice touch, whether or not intentional (Ramjet was not technically affiliated with either faction in the comic). Ramjet feels built to withstand play, which I always appreciate in a toy.
Most of my complaints with the toy lie in the gimmicks wedged into the design. Action sounds? Yes, it has those. One button is disguised as the jet cockpit, which emits a pew-pew sound when pressed. There's another one, but I can't remember where. Useless weapon gimmick? Yep- two in fact! The two cannons behind Ramjet's head spring forward when a Minicon is inserted into the rear port, ready to spray some phallistic missiles. The port is poorly placed, however, because the Minicon ends up blocking the two guns. The guns also made it necessary to have a huge overhang on the rear torso. Overall, it's not a bad feature, and the guns look a bit like the Macross/SDF-1 cannons. His left wing also pops off to form a sword, which is kind of a strange concept in itself- like ripping off your arm to beat someone with it. My wing does not come off, and I didn't want to force it.
I really wanted to dig into this toy in my review because of the gaudy color scheme and Armada association, but after having it on my desk for a couple of weeks I actually LIKE him. Ramjet's colors are so absurd that your eye is instantly drawn to him in a group, making him almost iconic in the way that G2 'Big Stick' Megatron epitomized that line.
So, Yeah
Ramjet is a very solid toy in design, and goes against the typical conventions of evil toy coloration. Certainly recommended if you never owned an Armada Starscream (or repaint thereof), but be warned that it carries all the flaws of Armada toys. Personally, I feel that this is an overlooked gem of a toy, as it barely garners above-retail prices even though it has been out of production for years. How often do we get obscure comic-based characters in a mass release? Ramjet was sold near the very end of Universe and without much interest. I expect that there are relatively few collectors that currently own Ramjet, which might make it an interesting piece to own a few years down the road. Certainly, he is worth the $19.99 price of admission.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
[RealxHead / リアルヘッド] Hone Borg (ホネボーグ)
Having begun the arduous task of photographing and cataloging my collection, I thought it might be interesting to put together a mini-rundown on some of the vinyl toys.
This guy is an original hero character from RealxHead (リアルヘッド), commonly referred to as the "Hone Borg." His full name is Mohican Hone-Borg No. 1 (モヒカン ホネボーグ １号). Hone Borg is a powerful hero created by Mori Katsura, whose sole opponent thus far is King Warubone 1st Gen. (キング ワルボーン １世). There are several hidden meanings in the name and design of both toys. First, both contain skeletal references in their names: "hone" refers to bone, and King Warubone has the English word embedded in its name. Also, both characters also pay homage to the famous Henshin Cyborg toys from the '70s, with the "Borg No. 1" in Hone Borg referencing the name of the original HC toy, and "Waru-- 1st Gen." referencing the name of the villainous King Walder; both toys also possess removable arm extensions- a distinctive feature of the vintage toys. Even the header design for the two toys may remind HC collectors of the sci-fi rainbows and dark mutant hues used in the packaging of Henshin Cyborg toys (I guess a photo of the header would have been useful here). It is not known whether Hone Borg and King Warubone inhabit the same Mutant Zone world as the other RxH characters, or some other universe entirely.
This is the very first version of Hone Borg, one of several toys sold at the grand opening of Shinto Gangu in February 2008 in Aoto, Tokyo. The vinyl is a pearlescent gray with metallic blue and gold spray. As a sidenote, this version had both hands attached, whereas most subsequent versions would be sold with the bone sword extension attached and the extra hand bagged. I consider this the definitive version of the Hone Borg and love its simple arrangement and subtle colors.
The second and third Hone Borg releases occurred very soon after the first, in February again and March 2008, respectively. While I've always thought the 3 paint schemes to be nearly identical, each one is actually quite distinct. Both second and third releases use silver + another color (whereas the first only had gold spray); the two versions also differ in the chest spray style. Note that the third Hone Borg was also packaged with both hands attached.
The second run of Hone Borg consisted of 3 figure types cast in a pearlescent black vinyl. This was the first of said black vinyl Hone Borgs to be released, and was sold in April 2008. Being also the first Hone Borg not to feature metallic colors, the contrast between the pristine white spray and glossy black vinyl is very striking. It reminds me a little of ink block prints.
This is the second black vinyl Hone Borg, also sold in April 2008. There was some confusion surrounding this one because its colors resemble Rider 1's costume (causing many to dub it the "Rider Borg"), AND it was released at around the same time as a Chaosman with an obvious color homage to Rider 1. So is it or is it not a homage paint scheme? I think the resemblance is intentional, but for whatever reason, the colors were chosen to not entirely mimic the costume of Rider 1. So why does he look different from the Chaosman? Well, Rider 1 had a number of different costumes throughout the series, and moreover, a revamped costume in KR: The First movie. Chaosman resembles the costume used in the new movie (which had red eyes and a much darker color scheme than the original TV costumes), while this Borg soooort of resembles the original costume of Rider 1 in the TV series (which had pink eyes). Nonetheless, certain liberties were taken with the color arrangement on this version, so it is not a direct homage.
Somewhere around the same time, a small number of unpainted versions were sold or given as gifts. Reportedly, this was limited to a white and black unpainted Hone Borg, with about 10 pieces of each made available.
Following pearlescent black vinyl, a pair of Hone Borgs was cast in white semi-translucent vinyl. This particular version was extremely well-received by collectors after being shown at Shinto Gangu in May 2008. Unfortunately for our mental health, its release would not be forthcoming until September of that year. Needless to say, there was a lot of anxious waiting and refreshing on announced sale days.
After the milky white vinyl Hone Borgs, the release pattern became a lot less predictable. A series of green unpainted Hone Borgs would be released, with some being painted and sold as customs by New York based artist, L'Amour Supreme. Some colors would be used to produce more than one version of the toy; others would see only one usage (to date).
Mr. Katsura would also revisit the popular slime green vinyl that he introduced early in 2007. Hone Borg became the 5th character to be officially slimed in March 2009 (6th, if you count the Superposition toy). This was an in-store only release, but I was fortunate enough to be in Japan at the time and actually purchased this one from Shinto Gangu. Although the slime green releases are very simple in execution, the soft semi-translucent green material does not seem wanting in terms of visual impact. I've heard that Mr. Katsura actually used a sample of the popular ooze/slime/gak sold in toy stores during the '90s to perfect the color of this vinyl.
The most recent Hone Borg released is this white vinyl version termed the 'Kabuki' Borg. The 'Kabuki' Borg was sold at the multi-artist event known as the Shinto After-School Club, which took place in June 2009. The Kabuki term comes, of course, from its resemblance to the makeup of actors in classical Japanese kabuki theatre. Notably, this version also uses new paint masks to create the face 'makeup' and painted crest; I suspect we will see a number of future releases with a similar composition. While I appreciate the combination of historical influences on this toy (kabuki makeup on the Hone Borg's head, which itself resembles Noh masks), the bright white vinyl, black scarf and contrasting paint colors causes it to stand out a bit on my shelf. Perhaps it will blend in more once a few additional 'Kabuki' Borgs are thrown into the lineup.
And finally, this is a clear test shot of the Hone Borg toy. To my knowledge, these were not sold publicly. There were 2 similar toys on display at the grand opening of Shinto Gangu, and only one is currently in the 'prototype' case at the store. In theory, this could be the other example (although it would surprise me if only 2 were produced in total). Unlike the above versions, this one did not come with an extra hand to replace the bone sword extension- presumably, it was a display piece in the store and never had one to begin with.
I think we are far from seeing the end of production of the Hone Borg, and there are certainly numerous versions that are not featured here (I have 3 more on the way). This is one of my favorite RxH toys, so expect this article to be updated as the missing pieces are bagged and tagged in the name of historical preservation.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Best of the Worst
I have officially concluded my purchase of the ugliest Transformer of all time. Tune in soon (when the box gets here) to be convinced that you should also desire and buy him!
P.S. No seriously. I have been inspired to write a review by this purchase.
P.P.S. It is not Armada Sideswipe.
P.S. No seriously. I have been inspired to write a review by this purchase.
P.P.S. It is not Armada Sideswipe.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
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