I was hoping to get this Reveal the Shield review up much earlier today, but I got a bit behind (sorry, Noisy). So for those of you who’ve been waiting, I apologize for my tardiness. But in my defense, part of the blame rests on the strangely articulated shoulders of today’s subject. Y’see, Perceptor is a bit of a diva.
Perceptor was always a strange character to me. He fell into that odd category of Transformers whose alt mode could change scale depending on what the situation called for. One moment he’s allowing humans to use him as a normal sized microscope. The next he’s battling Decepticons as a giant microscope shaped canon with tank treads. But no matter what the size, his design was truly unique among the various cars and trucks that crowded the Autobot’s ranks. So I always found him interesting because he just looked different.
There were plans to introduce Perceptor into the Transformers Animated series which never came to fruition. But an echo of that version of Perceptor lives on in the new Generations toy. Instead of transforming into a microscope/canon like his G1 counterpart, this newest figure’s alt mode is a half-track. Just like in the Animated series. Interestingly, his robot mode is very reminiscent of his G1 form.
This leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand it’s really nice to see some semblance of the Animated series survive past its cancellation. On the other hand, I really wanted him to be his unique microscope/canon self instead of just another vehicle. The lack of microscope/canon stings just a bit harder when you see his robot form, a damned near perfect modernization of his G1 look.
Hasbro really did a terrific job with the colors on this guy. Again, you get a déjà vu G1 feel from the dark reds and surgical scrub teal, all accented perfectly with black gloves, boots, and underwear. Plus, this is one of the few times I actually get to say this, but Hasbro’s Perceptor is superior to his Japanese counterpart. I’m not a big fan of the United Perceptor’s sparkly red, which is strange because I usually prefer the metallic look, just not this time.
Also, I love chromed figures. Superpowers Brainiac and Cyborg were two of my favorites as a kid. There was this awesome metallic Steel figure in that old 90’s Superman line. He kicked butt. Hell, I even love Mo-Larr’s weapons in MOTU Classics. Shiny is good, and Hasbro knows this because they gave Perceptor his metalized knobs and trim. For some reason the Henkei version doesn’t have this, and therefore is far less spectacular. Continue to Page 2…
Agreed on all points Vault! His shoulder issue/frustration is very reminicent for me of Sideswipe/Sunstreaker/Red Alert’s, but on a whole other level of teedium. The other issue for me is that thin black piece in his legs where the treads hinge into his legs, but also acts as a slide to move the treads into their proper place. For me this also was another one of those “time & space benders”. Luckily, Hasbro has some of the best manufacturing facilities overseas and they seem to know just which plastics to use for TF’s tolerances & longevity. His bot mode once you have him together? Awesome! I’m a big fan of the IDW/Furman take on the TF universe so Blurr’s sniper rifle rests in my Perceptor’s hands. 🙂
Good review as always!
Thanks!
Yeah, that leg piece is also a pain. Those shoulders just outweighed everything else for me though. They’re like an evil Rubik’s Cube, lol.
I’m glad the TF designers know what plastic to use. If this were Matty, we might end up with breaking translucent bits or rubbery shoulders.
sadly, that’s something I hate about modern transformers… I just can’t transform them without the instructions (and too often, I can barely do it WITH them) forcing me to choose the form I prefer them in. in other words… I transform them ONCE, just for the hell of it, and that’s it… they just don’t have the play value they used to (hand me ANY g1, even ones I didn’t own, and I can transform them in seconds.. even many of the g2 and beast wars/machines ones)
god, I’m old
I know what you mean. When I first got back into buying Transformers I couldn’t believe how much they’d changed. “Instructions, who needs these.” Ten minutes later I’m digging them back out of the trash, lol.
I will say this….I never cared for the transforming into a giant microscope bit…..
What about the giant canon bit? 😀
My ideal car would look exactly like this bot’s vehicle mode. If you see one of these things rolling down your street, be sure to wave HI! to me, before I launch a missile at you. 🙂
Lol, remind me to never give you a giant robot.
Glad I read your review, Vault. Now I’m curious to see if he’s as complicated as any of the ones that have stumped me (Return of the Fallen Prime, Classics Galvatron, or that annoying Deluxe Skids figure).
I’ve seen some great photos of him with a number of sniper rifles and scratch built monocles and I wish Hasbro had thought of those accessories in his design. Might have made up for the lackluster alt mode. Like WFC Soundwave, it feels like such a cop out.
I’ll be interested to see what you think. Every time I fail at transforming one of these guys I feel like I just flunked Kindergarten, lol. So let me know what you think.
Yeah, he really should have come with some sort of cool gun. It would have helped him out a lot in a battle. As is, he really needs to be facing the enemy head on to use his shoulder canon.
Good looking but the stability and complexity issues leave this guy up on my shelf rather than posed with some of the other current deluxes that have more “play” in them. He does look cool with a Halo Reach DMR though.
Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be doing much with this guy other than keeping him in robot mode.