{"id":23240,"date":"2013-04-22T00:17:26","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T05:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=23240"},"modified":"2013-04-22T09:15:30","modified_gmt":"2013-04-22T14:15:30","slug":"fansproject-dx-armored-battalion-review-holiday-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=23240","title":{"rendered":"FansProject DX Armored Battalion
Review (Holiday Edition)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> The FansProject DX Armored Battalion Holiday Editions were on my radar for awhile, but I wasn\u2019t sure I needed it in my collection. Mostly due to it being a set, I really wanted one, kinda of wanted another, and didn\u2019t much care about the third. When it sold out, I was okay not having it. Then they came back…<\/p>\n

I never had any of the Deluxe Insecticons as a kid. Heck, I only had Bombshell and he was lost in The Great Flood\u2122. Over the years, I\u2019ve thought about picking up the G1 Insecticons in reissue form, but I never seemed to have the money when they popped up. I tempted to go check eBay right\u2026 now… (No! Focus!)<\/em> Anyway, the Insecticons were kinda like the Dinobots (and a few other select characters)<\/em> in that, even if you didn\u2019t have them, they stuck out to you. You knew about them. You might\u2019ve known (& been jealous)<\/em> of some other kid that had them. <\/p>\n

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Well, you knew about three of them anyway. Or at least I did. While the original Insecticon trio was an iconic part of Transformers in my childhood, the other four weren\u2019t even on the radar. I remember seeing them in the checklists with their \u201csophisticated\u201d transformations, but I remember having some prejudice against later 80s Transformers back then \u2013 the more mostly solid-colored, blocky figures like Whirl, Quickswitch, and those Deluxe Insecticons just didn\u2019t much appeal to me (Bring on G.I. Joe!!)<\/em>. <\/p>\n

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It didn\u2019t help that you never saw the other four Insecticons anywhere. And it turns out that there might have been a very good reason for that, the four deluxe Insecticons (Barrage, Chop Shop, Ransack & Venom) were licensed from Takatoku Toys (later bought by Bandai), not Takara. This wasn\u2019t that abnormal back then, a lot of Asian lines were melded together to make Transformers \u2013 Jetfire himself was a Takatoku Toy. But while Jetfire had a lot of time and energy spent on getting him in the media and distancing himself from the toy, that didn\u2019t happen for the Deluxe Insecticons. In fact, if I didn\u2019t have a huge affinity for those old Transformers Checklists, I probably wouldn\u2019t even remember them at all. <\/p>\n

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Enter FansProject. In 2011, they released three new figures that represented updated versions of the initial three Insecticons: Stormbomb, Backfiery, & Thundershred. I completely missed those that year, but in 2012, they offered an exclusive 3-pack through TFSource<\/a> that took those three molds, added some new pieces, and changed their colors to homage three of the four Deluxe Insecticons (Sorry, Venom, you\u2019re sorely missed)<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Now, based on everything I\u2019ve just said, you might be asking \u2013 why did he buy these? Well, I can\u2019t exactly say why at the outset. <\/p>\n

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There was just something about this set that leapt out at me, particularly Teardown (the repaint of Stormbomb that homages not-Barrage… do try to keep up…)<\/em>. The bright colors, once something I disliked, looked awesome. The old fondness for Bombshell probably carried over somewhat too. I\u2019m not sure, but either way. I really wanted him, but I refrained from buying the set. I thought I\u2019d be okay without it, but then it sold out. I was a lot more bummed than I thought. I patrolled eBay looking for someone selling Teardown separately, but had little luck. And the secondhand price for the set certainly wasn\u2019t going to get me when the original price did not. I figured I\u2019d just go without. So be it. <\/p>\n

But then TFSource got more back in stock! And, it\u2019s well-established here at IAT that I\u2019m a sucker. I didn\u2019t want to miss them again. Since they were exclusive, it was my first order from TFSource and it was pretty fantastic \u2013 they really aren\u2019t kidding about bulletproof packaging by the way. Everything got to me quickly, and I\u2019ve purchased from them twice since. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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Well, as usual, I\u2019m 500 words in and I haven\u2019t started talking about the figures. Ideally, the 30 pictures will do most of the talking, but I have a few things to add so I should get to it. <\/p>\n

Generally, I like all the figures. There are a few quibbles. Namely that they\u2019re not the best updates to the originals because they\u2019re mostly repaints. The original versions were all-new molds that had little to nothing in common with the more famous trio. FP did a great job of making decisions on deco and with the new head sculpts to create some great figures. If you\u2019re like me and weren\u2019t all that interested in Barrage or Chop Shop, then these are near perfect in that regard. If you\u2019re waiting for modern versions of those original though, these may just be a really cool thing to tide you over. <\/p>\n

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All the figures transformations are a mix of amazing and aggravating. One thing I\u2019ve learned from Third Party toys is that Takara & Hasbro tend to do things the same way over and over. I\u2019m used to it. Most of us are, we can figure out how to transform (most of) figures unaided, like we\u2019ve been doing for thirty years. FansProject usually has me glued to the instructions for at least the first or first couple times. There are some odd twists, diagonal movements, or weird steps that boggle the mind. Plunder (the repaint of Backfiery that homages not-Ransack)<\/em> somewhat traumatized me. He hasn\u2019t been a locust since the first couple days of having him and he may never go back. <\/p>\n

As such, Plunder is probably my least favorite of the set. He\u2019s not a bad figure. He\u2019s probably the best homage of the set in both his bot & alt modes, but just something about him hasn\u2019t set as well with me as the other two. It may be that his transformation annoys me, but I don\u2019t find much notable about his bot mode. The giant bug head is a plus as are the giant orange wings, but someone has to be my least favorite in the set and Plunder has taken his spot with little challenge. <\/p>\n

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Blockade found himself in the middle. I love the brown & orange deco and the Chop Shop head sculpt looks great, but some transformation issues here rob me too. It\u2019s really cool who his arms fold into his legs during transformation, but it\u2019d be cooler if I had someone else to do it for me. I think I\u2019ve gotten the hang of it, but it took a few times. There are also a few parts that have to be removed and added back on somewhere else. I\u2019m okay with it, but it does feel like cheating a bit. <\/p>\n

Like Plunder, Blockade features a ton of great articulation with multiple ball joints (or de facto ball joints) throughout the legs and arms, but Blockade gets extra points for waist articulation and all those ball-jointed bug legs. Also like Plunder, Blockade is relatively close to his G1 incarnation. <\/p>\n

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Teardown is really the one that Fansproject had to make the most changes too. He\u2019s a yellow & green beetle, but after that the similarities between Barrage & Teardown more or less end. It doesn\u2019t matter one bit though, because, as expected, I love Teardown. The yellow & green deco is fantastic. The new head sculpt does a great job of updating the questionable old one (Barrage\u2019s alt mode horns simply stuck off the top of his head).<\/p>\n

Teardown also gave me no transformation problems \u2013 he\u2019s got this cool diagonal cut for his arms. His articulation is similarly top-notch and, like Blockade, he moves surprisingly well for being such a blocky figure. His \u201cboots\u201d are a little too bulky for Teardown to achieve a vanilla pose, but I\u2019ll take it. Did I mention I love the colors? <\/p>\n

All three figures include a weapon (you actually need part of Teardown\u2019s gun to complete his alt mode \u2013 the barrel becomes the tip of his horns) and those weapons fit great in their hands. When I ordered, I also get an extra set of the guns wrapped in green paper as a free gift from TFSource & FansProject. Pretty cool. <\/p>\n

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Overall, even though I\u2019m not in love with each & every one of the figures. I did end up loving the set. I can\u2019t break it up. Blockade & Teardown look amazing in their bot modes and Plunder\u2019s like their not-as-cool friend that you hang out with because you enjoy the company of the other two. I do wish the figures were a little taller overall, but that hasn\u2019t been a deal breaker. And these guys are done so well, that they do make me long to go back and snag a few, well at least Stormbomb, of the standard black\/purple versions. I\u2019d be interested in one or two of the original Takatoku Toys colorways if FP chose to do them. I am a little interested in the \u201cWarbug\u201d versions shown at TFCon, but most of all, most of all, FP needs to figure out a way to do a not-Venom. I mean, c\u2019mon. Only making three out of the four of a team? Who are they, Hasbro?<\/p>\n

As of this writing, the Holiday Editions are still back in-stock at TFSource<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \t

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