{"id":12066,"date":"2011-03-17T23:59:20","date_gmt":"2011-03-18T04:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12066"},"modified":"2011-03-18T00:33:59","modified_gmt":"2011-03-18T05:33:59","slug":"transformers-week-reviews-reveal-the-shield-perceptor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12066","title":{"rendered":"Transformers Week Reviews
Reveal the Shield Perceptor"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> 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\u2019s subject. Y’see, Perceptor is a bit of a diva.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s allowing humans to use him as a normal sized microscope. The next he\u2019s 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\u2019s ranks. So I always found him interesting because he just looked different.<\/p>\n

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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\u2019s alt mode is a half-track. Just like in the Animated series. Interestingly, his robot mode is very reminiscent of his G1 form. <\/p>\n

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This leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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Hasbro really did a terrific job with the colors on this guy. Again, you get a d\u00e9j\u00e0 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\u2019s Perceptor is superior to his Japanese counterpart. I\u2019m not a big fan of the United Perceptor\u2019s sparkly red, which is strange because I usually prefer the metallic look, just not this time. <\/p>\n

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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\u2019s Superman line. He kicked butt. Hell, I even love Mo-Larr\u2019s 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\u2019t have this, and therefore is far less spectacular. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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Perceptor\u2019s articulation is pretty much what you\u2019d expect from a modern Transformer, but there is one odd configuration that kind of threw me. The biggest one is his shoulders, which are connected to the \u201cbackpack\u201d area of his body and not the torso. What\u2019s even stranger is how they\u2019re connected. The shoulders themselves are ball joints, but the ball joints set on a separate flat surface which connects to the backpack with a swivel. The arms have no problems moving, but they don\u2019t always look quite right since they\u2019re on another movable plane.<\/p>\n

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The rest of his articulation is straight forward. His hips and ankles are also ball joints. The head, biceps, wrists, and thighs are swivel joints, while his elbows and knees are hinge joints. Just like the old one, this Perceptor\u2019s chest piece can fold down on a hinge while his shoulder canon can rotate slightly and the front can move up and down.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019d like to say that I enjoyed his half-track mode, but I can\u2019t. It\u2019s not because I hate the half-track or because I\u2019d rather have a microscope. It\u2019s because of his transformation. This was the most frustrating Transformer I\u2019ve ever dealt with. Noisy warned me that he was difficult, but I just figured he meant complicated, not nearly impossible. <\/p>\n

The bottom half of Perceptor is a piece of cake, even intuitive. But his upper torso, specifically those odd shoulders and arms, is like some sort of torturous puzzle. And the instructions are no help. They just seem to repeat the same step over and over while expecting you to bend time and space contorting his arms into an area they clearly don\u2019t want to be in.<\/p>\n

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I own Bludgeon and Banzaitron. I thought I knew what tedious and complex transformations were. But at least those two figures can be transformed. Perceptor just sat there mocking me as I tried over and over with no success to keep all his internal bits from popping out of his outer shell. Finally, frustrated and slightly agitated, I gave up. So the pictures of his vehicle form aren\u2019t perfect, but it\u2019s the closest I could get. Perceptor has humbled me, and I must now go into the desert and relearn my Transformer-Fu.<\/p>\n

Also, something else that really intimidated me about this figure is how certain pieces would lock into place and the force you needed to exert to unlock them was scary. Like, \u201cThis is going to break because I\u2019m putting too much pressure on it\u201d scary. Thankfully nothing did snap, but there were some tense moments.<\/p>\n

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So, should you buy this figure? Yes. God, YES, if you\u2019re a Perceptor fan. Sure he can\u2019t do the whole microscope\/canon look, but his G1 robot mode is worth the price of admission alone. Just be careful when you do actually transform him, especially during those heart stopping moments where you feel the plastic giving. And most importantly, breath deep and don\u2019t get frustrated the first couple dozen times you struggle to put those arms in place.<\/p>\n

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For more Transformers Reviews, check out our Review Index<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

I was hoping to get this review up much earlier today, but I got a bit behind. So for those of you who have been waiting, I apologize for my tardiness. But in my defense, part of the blame sets on the strangely articulated shoulders of today\u2019s subject. Perceptor is a diva.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12068,"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":[944,943,941,2570],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/percTN.jpg?fit=50%2C50&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-38C","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12072,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12072","url_meta":{"origin":12066,"position":0},"title":"Transformers Reviews Reveal the Shield Wreck-Gar","date":"April 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Vault put us a little behind, but never fear, the fifth and final review for Transformers Week is here! Friday wraps up with a look at everyone's favorite Junkion, Wreck-Gar. Truth be told, I wasn't sure if I was going to buy him when I saw him. I have a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12051,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12051","url_meta":{"origin":12066,"position":1},"title":"Transformers Week Reviews Reveal the Shield Turbo Tracks","date":"March 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Transformers Week continues with today's look at Turbo Tracks from the Reveal the Shield line. Don't let that yellow fool you, Tracks is right at home with your Generations line toys. Tracks proved a bit difficult for me to find at first, but I had to have him. He's always\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12425,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12425","url_meta":{"origin":12066,"position":2},"title":"Vault Review: Transformers Hunt for the Decepticons Hubcap","date":"April 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve been having no luck finding any of the \u201cReveal the Shield\u201d Transformers that I want. Not just the nearly impossible ones like Windcharger and Warpath, but even Highbrow or Wreck-Gar. So I decided to satiate my TF need with a \u201cHunt for the Decepticons\u201d Hubcap I found on sale\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7252,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=7252","url_meta":{"origin":12066,"position":3},"title":"Toy Run #5: Transformers Temptation","date":"July 5, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"You know the drill. You get up thinking today could be the day. You hop in the car and head for your luckiest place. You arrive with giddy anticipation. It's now or never, you tell yourself as you round that last corner. What waits? Will it be great joy or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Toy Run"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11827,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=11827","url_meta":{"origin":12066,"position":4},"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":[]},{"id":17490,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17490","url_meta":{"origin":12066,"position":5},"title":"Vault Review: Transformers Prime Cliffjumper (First Edition)","date":"March 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s taken me a few weeks, but I was finally able to track down a First Edition Transformers Prime Cliffjumper for a decent price!\u00a0 It ended up being the Takara version (which was sadly cheaper than Hasbro's), but at least I was able to snag one. This is only my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/clif1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12066"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12066"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12071,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12066\/revisions\/12071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}