{"id":21562,"date":"2012-10-23T01:01:13","date_gmt":"2012-10-23T06:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=21562"},"modified":"2012-10-23T01:30:18","modified_gmt":"2012-10-23T06:30:18","slug":"vault-review-transformers-prime-am-19-gaia-unicron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=21562","title":{"rendered":"Vault Review: Transformers
Prime AM-19 Gaia Unicron"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>This week, I\u2019m looking at the Transformers Prime Gaia Unicron.\u00a0 This is the first Prime import that I pre-ordered before the press images were even released.\u00a0I\u2019ve been pretty happy with Takara\u2019s exclusive figures so far, so I thought I\u2019d take a chance on this guy. If only I knew then what I knew now…<\/p>\n

Transformers Prime has an interesting take on Unicron.\u00a0 For untold ages Primus and Unicron fought.\u00a0 Neither being was able to gain the upper hand and claim true victory until Primus created the Thirteen.\u00a0 The Thirteen defeated Unicron and cast him into the depths of space.\u00a0 Unconscious, Unicron drifted through space.\u00a0 His immense body\u2019s gravity gathered matter toward itself, creating a planet, while taking up a stable orbit around a single star.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t until millennia later that the Autobots discovered that Unicon\u2019s broken body made up the core of their adopted home, Earth.<\/p>\n

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At the end of the first season, the gravitational forces of a planetary alignment stirred Unicron from his slumber.\u00a0 Unicron\u2019s body was slowly reactivating, threatening to destroy the entire planet, but his mind was already awake.\u00a0 He could use his powers over the planet to create stone avatars out of rock.\u00a0 Optimus and the Autobots fought them off as best they could, but it wasn\u2019t until Megatron came to their aid that they were able to teleport to the center of the Earth and beat him back into unconsciousness.<\/p>\n

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This is why Gaia Unicron looks a bit different from other versions of the character.\u00a0 While his avatars seemed to be made entirely out of rock in the show, the figure is an interesting mesh of geological and cybernetic components.\u00a0 These aspects work really well together in robot mode and give him a look that\u2019s mostly in line with his look on the show.<\/p>\n

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My favorite aspect of this figure is the pumpkin colored metallic bits on his chest and legs.\u00a0 It almost has a foil-like texture to it, and definitely gives off a different kind of shine than the chromed parts on Darkness Megatron.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I also really like how sinister his huge shoulder spikes and demonic wings look.\u00a0 I even like the giant Uni-face on his back.\u00a0 Unfortunately, how the figure looks in robot mode is about as good as it gets.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve heard two different descriptions for Unicron\u2019s alt mode.\u00a0 Some people say it\u2019s a funky space ship, or a tiny lopsided volcano with his face on it.\u00a0 I\u2019m not really sure whether he\u2019s a space ship or a volcano (a sentence I\u2019ll probably never repeat in my life).\u00a0 Honestly, it doesn\u2019t really matter because his alt mode is a mess either way you look at it.\u00a0 There are just no other words for it.\u00a0 Continue to page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The really disappointing part is that his transformation isn\u2019t his worst feature.\u00a0 If Unicron\u2019s alt mode is a mess, then this next part can only be described as a disaster.\u00a0 Unicron is essentially a giant Arms Micron and was designed to be \u201cworn\u201d by Voyager Optimus or Megatron as \u201carmor\u201d.\u00a0 The piece essentially fits over their shoulders, giving them an excessively large cape-like contraption.\u00a0 Unicron\u2019s horns and wings are put on separately over the front of the characters, kind of like a rollor coaster safety harness.\u00a0 This armor-cape is so large and unwieldy that it actually needs feet to hold it up.\u00a0 Also, it doesn\u2019t really connect to Megatron\u2019s shoulders and has to be balanced onto him.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As for articulation, Unicron\u2019s limited in this aspect too.\u00a0 His head, wings, shoulders, and hips are all ball joints.\u00a0 He\u2019s got swivel\/hinge elbows, but only because they are removable accessories.\u00a0 His shoulder spikes have two swivel joints.\u00a0 His knees are also hinged, but they don\u2019t even move a full ninety degrees because of his design.\u00a0 His ankles are also technically hinged, but only because they fold back for transformation. \u00a0\u00a0Sadly, he just isn\u2019t easy to pose in any kind of action scene.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Unicron technically comes with three accessories.\u00a0 The first two are large spiked rock hands that can be connected to form one single piece.\u00a0 I really like the cybernetic rocky detail on these pieces, plus each side has two Micron ports jutting out of the rocks.\u00a0 Both pieces are connected by a hinge joint, which is where the limited elbow articulation comes from.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Unicron\u2019s Arms Micron is named Bogu, and he seems to be a little tank mole made out of rocks.\u00a0 I really like his drill nose and little tank tread feet.\u00a0 Bogu\u2019s weapon form is Unicron\u2019s small spiked club hand.\u00a0 This is actually how his hand looked in the show, but didn\u2019t ever turn into a tank mole creature.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is a pretty disappointing Transformer, even for someone who doesn\u2019t usually care about alt modes.\u00a0 I do like his robot mode, and the use of the metallic copper armor is pretty cool.\u00a0 I also thought his minicon was pretty cute.\u00a0 But those three things don\u2019t really make up for a figure that just isn\u2019t designed very well.\u00a0 If you\u2019re a huge fan of the show, or a Unicron completist, then you may want to pick this figure up eventually.\u00a0 But I\u2019d definitely wait and see if you can\u2019t get it for much cheaper than retail.<\/p>\n

-Vault<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week, I\u2019m looking at the Transformers Prime Gaia Unicron.\u00a0 This is the first Prime import that I pre-ordered before the press images were even released.\u00a0I\u2019ve been pretty happy with Takara\u2019s exclusive figures so far, so I thought I\u2019d take a chance on this guy. If only I knew then what I knew now…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[34,10,35],"tags":[1768,1561,1771,1769,24,436,1371,1770],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/unicTN.jpg?fit=50%2C50","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-5BM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":28146,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=28146","url_meta":{"origin":21562,"position":0},"title":"Transformers SDCC 2014 Boxset: Knights of Unicron!","date":"June 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4512,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=4512","url_meta":{"origin":21562,"position":1},"title":"Vault Review: Transformers Animated Arcee","date":"March 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In 1986, the first Transformers movie introduced fans to a slew of new characters. Hot Rod. Kup. Springer. Blurr. Arcee. Ultra Magnus. Galvatron. Cyclonus. Unicron. Back then, you could watch the movie and then hit up your local store for all but two of those new characters as action figures.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21725,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=21725","url_meta":{"origin":21562,"position":2},"title":"October Review Index Update & Top Reviews for October","date":"November 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s been a busy behind-the-scenes week to close out the month here at IAT, but we\u2019ve got some housekeeping duties to get out of the way. With October over, we\u2019ve updated both the IAT Review Index and Battlegrip\u2019s. We\u2019ve also got a quick look back at the top reviews of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21754,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=21754","url_meta":{"origin":21562,"position":3},"title":"Review Round-Up (October 22nd-28th)","date":"November 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This week\u2019s Review Round-Up played dirty pool! We\u2019ve got our awesome mix of cool reviews of hot new toys and interesting reviews of toys that time forgot, but Toyriffic is on my naughty list! If not for them, I\u2019d never have known about the awesome Halloween repaint of the Hot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15061,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=15061","url_meta":{"origin":21562,"position":4},"title":"Vault Review: Transformers Prime NYCC Exc. Bumblebee & Arcee","date":"October 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Just when I thought I didn\u2019t have to worry about getting any of the New York Comic Con exclusives, Hasbro went and made a Transformers Prime two pack.\u00a0 Luckily there were plenty left over after the show and I was able to snag one from their toy shop. Transformers Prime\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/arbu12.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11827,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=11827","url_meta":{"origin":21562,"position":5},"title":"Transformers Review Generations Scourge","date":"February 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"You wouldn't know it from looking over our recent reviews, but I've bought a lot of the Generations TFs. I should probably get to reviewing those - some of them have been waiting for awhile, but I wanted to rush Scourge to the front of the line. I've always been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21562"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21562"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21583,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21562\/revisions\/21583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}