{"id":21991,"date":"2012-11-28T00:30:15","date_gmt":"2012-11-28T06:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=21991"},"modified":"2012-11-28T00:47:01","modified_gmt":"2012-11-28T06:47:01","slug":"mini-warriors-ufo-review-mw-04","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=21991","title":{"rendered":"iGear Mini-Warriors
UFO Review (MW-04)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> I had plenty of TFs as a kid, but my fondest memories are of the little guys. My (wonderful) parents were happy to oblige when I wanted a larger Transformer, but when their kid was easily placated by a smaller, less pricey one, they were smart to not look that gifthorse in the mouth. <\/p>\n

While I have plenty of love for the Dinobots, Ratchet, the Insecticons, Defensor, Tracks, etc., I really love just about every mini-vehicle (yes, even the Throttlebots… curse you Toy World…). I could say that it might simply the power of \u201chaving them all\u201d, but many of them were memorable little Transformers all their own. Cosmos. Seaspray. Tailgate. While I want to pick up that reissue Fortress Maximus something fierce, it turns out that some of my favorite Transformers were just a few inches tall. <\/p>\n

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Sadly though, Hasbro doesn\u2019t revisit the Mini-Vehicles often (unless you\u2019re Bumblebee or an easy repaint of Bumblebee anyway). I haven\u2019t kept up with every Transformers release over the years, but the only memorable update I can think of is the Generations version of Warpath<\/a>. There have been a few other \u201crecent\u201d attempts like the Legends Cosmos (which I would\u2019ve bought had I ever seen it), that giant Voyager Seaspray<\/a>, and a Windcharger (which I would\u2019ve bought had I ever seen it), but they often seemed to lack the charm of the originals. <\/p>\n

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Since Transformers is the one franchise where if the company in charge isn\u2019t making something, someone else might just make it, collectors still have an outlet for the 80s Mini-Vehicle love. iGear started up their Mini-Warriors line with Spray & Rager<\/a>. Those first releases were pretty fantastic toys (so much so, that this guy has ordered five colorways of Rager and two of Spray… I got it bad). I think the only thing I didn\u2019t really like about those first two releases: they could be a little bigger. I wasn\u2019t alone with those critiques and iGear stepped up to the plate making these newest figures a little bigger. I\u2019ll talk about that more with Hench (who\u2019s significantly bigger), but I\u2019m glad that UFO is larger than Rager & Spray. He\u2019s much better for it. <\/p>\n

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UFO is the unofficial version of one of my favorite Mini-Vehicles, Cosmos. Looking back, I\u2019m not sure how Cosmos came across his particular alt mode, but I didn\u2019t mind one bit back then and I’m not about to start now. A transforming UFO was a pretty cool idea when I was a kid and it\u2019s still a pretty cool idea today. Unlike iGear\u2019s other Mini-Warriors, UFO\u2019s alt mode doesn\u2019t bother with staying true to the original. I don\u2019t mind in the least. The new, updated design is plenty slick and I love this figure just as much for being a more “modern” take on a UFO. <\/p>\n

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In his robot mode, UFO could be considered a little cumbersome, but that\u2019s normal for the little guy. He was rather portly in his G1 days after all. Like the alt mode, the robot mode isn’t really concerned with homaging the classic version too much. He’s not particularly toy or cartoon accurate, but there’s enough elements of the original design here to make it work, particularly when the changes have mostly been made to let this guy finally move. The ball-jointed articulation is great throughout and I found it easy to put UFO in a ton of poses despite the curved design in the arms. The hip joints were a little loose, but not so much that UFO had trouble holding his poses. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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My favorite part of the robot mode though might just be the dome. Yes, I know he doesn\u2019t need to breathe, but it looks awesome. Along with the \u201cray gun\u201d look of the accessory, it gives UFO this great \u201cspace adventurer\u201d feel. I can see him skulking around on distant asteroids spying on the Decepticons and maybe getting a little more confrontational than the G1 version would have. <\/p>\n

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Another great accessory for UFO is a pretty swanky stand. iGear smartly made the ports on the stand and on UFO as well as the plugs on the post and the pistol all universal with each other. It gives plenty of options and angles to display UFO on the stand as well as multiple spots to plug the ray gun in as a cannon-type accessory. The only drawback here was the two articulation points on the post were a little loose and it would sag in some poses. <\/p>\n

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Paint was pretty sparse, relying mostly no molded colors, but what\u2019s there was pretty sharp. I should also note that the colors aren\u2019t quite a spot-on match for the original. With the Rager mold up to five colorways<\/em> it makes me wonder how many different versions of the other figures iGear will try to sell. I have some reservations about the multiple colorways (would I really need them all?), but even I have to admit that a fleet of UFOs wouldn\u2019t be a bad thing…<\/p>\n

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Overall, iGear really has a smash hit on their hands with this line. The best example of that may be that they\u2019ve announced a ton more<\/a> and I still find myself wondering about the handful of other they haven\u2019t brought up. Yes, that\u2019s partially based on the nostalgia for the old mini-vehicles, but it\u2019s also because of how well these unofficial versions have been made. They\u2019re sturdy toys, they\u2019re fun to transform, and look great separately and together. I\u2019ll have some more group pics when I review Hench (& my growing fleet of Ragers), but these are easily some of the best third party items in 2012 and is already a line to watch in 2013. <\/p>\n

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I had plenty of TFs as a kid, but my fondest memories are of the little guys. My (wonderful) parents were happy to oblige when I wanted a larger Transformer, but when their kid was easily placated by a smaller, less pricey one, they were smart to not look that gifthorse in the mouth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"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":[34,1707,10,35],"tags":[1729,1798,2595,2570,1799],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-5IH","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21097,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=21097","url_meta":{"origin":21991,"position":0},"title":"Mini-Warriors Rager & Spray Review","date":"September 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"With the Transforming Collections Kickstarter wrapping up this weekend, I thought it\u2019d be a good time to get to a review I\u2019ve had on the backburner: iGear\u2019s Mini-Warriors Spray & Rager. I don\u2019t own a lot of \u201cThird Party\u201d TFs, but the appeal of modern mini-vehicles is hard to resist.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22064,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=22064","url_meta":{"origin":21991,"position":1},"title":"iGear Mini-Warriors 4th Ann. Rager Review (MW-02G)","date":"December 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes, it\u2019s another Transformers review. No, we\u2019re not having a secret theme week. We\u2019ll get to the big bad November Matty box starting next week, but sometimes you have to go where the fun is and for me, the fun has been with iGear\u2019s Mini-Warriors this last week, particularly Rager\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23465,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=23465","url_meta":{"origin":21991,"position":2},"title":"iGear Mini-Warriors MW-01C Chrome Spray Quick Review","date":"May 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve got to head out of town (again) this week, so I\u2019ve just got a quick review to finish of the week. I couldn\u2019t find much in my toy room that would be a good fit for a quick look, but then the postman arrived with something perfect: a repaint\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22946,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=22946","url_meta":{"origin":21991,"position":3},"title":"iGear Mini-Warriors Tubes & M.A.N.A.T.E.E. Review","date":"March 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Did I miss a week or what? Some changes at work and a nasty bug kept me woefully away from my IAT duties last week. I\u2019m still not quite back to 100%, but I have to get something posted before I go crazy. Today, \u2019ve got a quick look at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21622,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=21622","url_meta":{"origin":21991,"position":4},"title":"Review Round-Up (October 15th-21st)","date":"October 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Review Round-Up was interesting this week. We've got older toys I never knew existed courtesy of new addition Memories of ToyMorrow, Cool and Collected continues their King Kong barrage, and apparently IAT\u2019s the uncool kid on the block \u2013 I feel like the only guy not buying & reviewing Prometheus\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20672,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=20672","url_meta":{"origin":21991,"position":5},"title":"Spotlight: Transforming Collections Toy Reference Book","date":"September 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Phil Reed\u2019s Battlegrip.com is one my favorite toy sites. Phil runs a great site with a unique perspective and a cool mix of reviews of new & old toys (including a strange obsession with FrankenBerry). Phil has a new project, an unofficial Transformers guide that he\u2019s taken to Kickstarter. We\u2019re\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21991"}],"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\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21991"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22006,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21991\/revisions\/22006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}