Devastator

The Granddaddy of Transformers Combiners

Hasbro Transformers Generation 2 Toy Line, 1993

Okay, let’s just go ahead and get it out of the way right now. With the exception of a certain five robot lions, Devastator is the most famous combiner in all of mecha fandom. Oh sure, you can talk about Power Rangers or any others of a seemingly infinite number of combining mecha shows. But at the end of the day, Devastator (and we’re talking classic Devastor here, not the live-action movie’s Humongastator) is at the top of a class with very, very few peers.

Point of note, I am basing this review off the Generation 2 Toy Line which was released approximately a decade after the original series. The Gen-2 toys were pretty much identical to the (much more famous) Gen-1 toys, which the exception of mostly cosmetic changes (color palettes got swapped, etc).

Background

Discussing the history of Devastator is sort of like discussing the history of ice cream (go ahead, look it up). Everybody’s got a theory about where Devastator came from and what his origins are. In the animated series alone, two different versions are offered, with additional versions cropping up in just about every single comic franchise that has come and gone. Whatever particular version you prefer, it is widely considered canon that Devastator was one of – if not THE – first combiners in the Transformers universe, and his origin is intrinsically tied with another classic Transformer, the Autobot Omega Supreme.

When I say Devastator is a combiner, I mean that he is a giant robot whose individual form is composed of a team of (six) smaller robots known as the Constructicons (whom themselves have alternative forms; those being construction vehicles like a dump truck, a crane, etc).

It wasn’t until the second season of the animated series that Devastator had any combiner-peers and by and large, even after others came and went, he was and is still widely considered king. He became the poster child of the combiners for the Transformers line and has generally been revered by anyone connected with the fandom ever since.

Appearance – 3 out of 5

Devastator the toy looks very much like Devastator the character out of the animated series (or a yellow version of the character, since these are the Gen-2 action figures). The overall proportions of the character, the way he is physically built, and even how he transforms, all of it is well represented here. Tactile details are bit lacking, however and there’s nothing overall about the character’s appearance to really make this representation stand out (especially considering that he’s smiling for some reason; we can only assume it’s related to the death and destruction of one or more Go-Bots).

Construction – 2 out of 5

Devastator has a lot of problems for such a large toy. A lot of people playing with this toy back in the day may not clearly remember now, but the toy tends to fall apart rather easily. The individual Constructicons, when combined into Devastator, generally do not snap into place (I’m looking at you, Hook and Bonecrusher; Devastator’s arms). This means that if you tilt the toy, the arms stand a good chance of falling off. Worse, the toy is constructed of inconsistent materials. Some parts of the Constructicons are plastic while some parts are die-cast metal. This makes the toys very awkward in their weight distribution. The result is that even if you don’t move the toy, the arms may still fall off or the whole thing may topple right over.

Where Devastator deserves some praise is in the non-Orthodox manner in which the character combines. Just about every combiner after Devastator would follow the same (admittedly reasonable and sound) pattern – a large, central character with four smaller characters who would attach almost like some kind of power armor. Devastator is distinct in all six characters are of similar size and the manner in which each connects is unique. Unfortunately, this necessitates having additional parts that are sometimes incorporated into the individual figures and sometimes are not (more on that below).

Movement – 2 out of 5

Devastator doesn’t move very much. His shoulder joints allow his arms to swing, but there’s a risk that any time the toy is moved at all, one or both of the arm’s may pop off. The elbow joints likewise bend, but the range of motion is pretty limited. The hands rotate, but only by virtue of being pegs that stick into the forearm attachments. There’s no waist, hip, or knee joints, nor can the head turn (though it can tilt down slightly).

Extras – 2 out of 5

Extras. Yeah, about that. This is a bit tricky because Devastator comes with a lot of additional pieces, but not much of it is really all that useful. He comes with the pieces needed to combine (distributed amongst the various Constructicons), but they add little to nothing to the toys (they’re like snap-on attachments that don’t make any sense – why would a bulldozer need a drill on its hood?)

Each Constructicon does come with a pistol, but there’s nowhere to put those weapons when Devastator combines. At their size, it becomes almost a foregone conclusion that they will get lost (as evidenced by the picture; I’ve always been border-line religious about taking care of my toys and even I lost most of the guns). The result is Devastator comes with a lot of additional stuff that doesn’t really increase the playability of the toy.

Packaging – 4 out of 5

As these are the Gen 2 toys, I’m going off of their packaging which was brightly colored and attention-grabbing. Each Constructicon came individually packaged with a distinctive picture of each character on the front. On the back were character bios, statistics, and an overall explanation of the Transformers story as well as how the individual Constructicons combined into Devastator. This kind of buy-and-play packaging, where kids not familiar with the animated series could still jump right in, was where Hasbro has always really excelled.

Overall – 2 out of 5

I feel like I’m being a little harsh here with this score. This toy has a lot of flaws, but it is also really ambitious. Having six robots instead of what would become the staple of five, having a unique combining method, all these characteristics lends some impressive credentials to this toy and helps explain why it and the character it represents have been so enduring. Unfortunately, the plethora of random parts and the lack of overall mobility of Devastator and the individual Constructicons really does just standout too much. While you can transform this toy from one robot into six, and those six into vehicles, you really can’t do much else. If the individual Constructicons had more mobility, if Devastator had more mobility, if the individual parts (such as the weapons) combined like the robots themselves, this toy would rank much, MUCH higher very quickly. As it is, though, this toy really stands solely on its ambition and memories idealized by the haze of childhood.

Heavy Arms Gundam

Because Nothing Says ‘You’re Screwed’ Like A Giant Robot With Big @$$ Guns

Bandai Gundam Wing Toy Line, 2001

In the early 2000s, anime was making its big push. Asian Chic was coming into style and the Japanese elements of many cartoons, once anathema as far as the entertainment industry was concerned, had become such a hot commodity that the many studios were looking for anything and everything they could find that had any Asian elements to it. It was during this time that Gundam Wing aired on Cartoon Network and, for a brief time, would become the king of that particular hill. Bandai, the international toy manufacturer, model producer, and all-around makers of mirth, decided this would be the perfect time to unleash upon the world some of the best mecha toys ever produced.

Background

Gundam Wing follows the story of five pilots who fly giant robots (called Gundams) in a war between the Earth and the colonies earth has established. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s pretty much the recurring plot of each Gundam series. Gundam Wing takes place in an alternate timeline from the main Gundam series and, as a result, takes some cinematic liberties with the mecha.

Heavy Arms is, like the other Gundams in the series, colorful in both design and in use. Its pilot, Trowa Barton, is reserved and dedicated, something that doesn’t quite match with a giant robot that has a huge gun for an arm and is bristling with missiles. Still, Trowa was a fan-favorite and Heavy Arms has been a memorable stand-out from the series ever since.　

Appearance – 5 out of 5

The term ‘attention to detail’ immediately comes to mind with this toy (and with all the toys in the line). The amount of work that went into this figure is quite honestly unheard of. There are textures and details that just seem beyond reasonable (such as under the arms and on the bottom of the feet. The paintjob is beautiful with absolutely not flaws or blemishes. The only figures that can compare with these would be actual models and even then, they couldn’t do much better. About the only way to have a more detailed figure would be to build the actual Gundam!

Construction – 4 out of 5

Heavy Arms has some beautiful construction, but also some problems. The plastic used is clearly a very heavy grade and high-quality. Unfortunately, the joints aren’t really up to the task of supporting the limbs, leaving them feeling week by comparison. Limbs tend to not stay in place if you pose the figure and its all too easy for an arm or a leg to pop-off during play.

Bandai, however, being the masters of their craft, have prepared for this by designing the toy to snap apart. That's right, it's designed to be broken so that it can be more easily fixed. If the arm comes off or the leg pops out, it’s really easy to just snap it right back into place. This isn’t as preferable as the limbs not to break to begin with, but if fixing them is a snap, it becomes almost a minor complaint.

Movement – 3 out of 5

Unfortunately Heavy Arms illustrates some of the impracticality of mecha. One is the lack of balance. The toy has some tendency to fall over if the arms are both extended. The other problem is the lack of mobility. While the leg joints are perfectly mobile and capable of great range of motion, the hip armor prohibits such movements, making elaborate stances and even kicking not really possible.

Extras – 3 out of 5

The figure comes with detachable hands, a single-barrel gun, a double barrel gun that doubles as the shield and, of course, the beam saber. There isn’t much else, but this arsenal is pretty substantial. As is frequently my complaint, there’s nowhere to store the unused parts (if the single-barrel gun is on the arm, there’s nowhere to put the second gun or the beam saber or the detached hand).

Packaging – 1 out of 5

The packaging is pretty much the standard generic fare. The back shows the figures available in the series with no explanation as to the plot or the characters or anything. The front has no distinguishing traits above the name of the Gundam written on a paper nameplate inside with the figure.

Overall – 4 out of 5

This entire series is composed of some of the best mecha figures ever produced and that’s saying something. While sometimes the maneuverability is a bit lacking and the functional nature of the toys can be a little off thanks to the weak joints and heavy plastic, these things are none the less an absolute joy to play with. They are a tactile dream and beautifully evoke the series that inspired them.

Carl Macek, 1951-2010

Over the weekend, 59-year-old Carl Macek died from a heart attack. Macek was a producer by trade, specifically working with many anime movies and series. He was responsible for the some of the most memorable anime series to air in the United States, with names like Robotech and the entire catalog of the now-defunct Streamline Productions to his credit.
Macek and those of his ilk have been at the center of a controversy in the anime community, one that in the light of his passing I felt should be revisited. That controversy is the nature in which anime is translated and presented. This goes above and beyond subtitling versus dubbing and gets at the heart of translation. Probably one of the best examples of this is the show for which Macek was probably the most well-known, Robotech.
In producing Robotech, Macek, for a variety of reasons, incorporated three unrelated Japanese series (Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada) into one US series (Robotech). In doing so, he had to rewrite elements of each show, stringing a consistent plot between them. In doing so, he developed a lot of themes that, for obvious reasons, were absent from the original Japanese series. Fans of the original SDF-Macross (because fans of Southern Cross and Mospeada are pretty rare) generally do not approve of Macek’s approach, of his (what they saw as) bastardization of the three series.
It is the opinion of many fans, myself included, that the benefits of Macek’s approach far outweigh the failings. While it is true that Macek’s production did not use a verbatim translation of the original Japanese story and script, what he did was craft an original story, creating a new and unique identity. Many of the elements present in the original shows were retained, if not expanded upon. It’s also worth pointing out that while Macek did edit the shows, they were largely edited for content to be made suitable for television audiences in the United States. Still, a lot of unprecedented material still aired. The tear-jerking death of Roy Fokker and the subtle themes of transexuality (or at the very least cross-dressing) of Yellow Dancer were retained and are part of what helped Robotech to endure in the hearts and minds of fans.
Carl Macek would go on to found Streamline Productions, one of the premier anime distributors in the 80s and 90s in the United States. Streamline would translate and release work along the lines of Macek’s general approach which was to translate the story and not the words. While opinions of this approach certainly vary, there are those of us who hold the Streamline films up as the pinnacle of the industry. I think the best example of this approach is in the landmark anime movie Akira. In the original Streamline release of Akira, the main protagonist Kaneda hits on Kay by saying "how about we go somewhere and have a few laughs". The original line would more accurately be translated as "Let’s go together and drink some tea," as evidenced in the later release. While the second line is definitely more accurate, the first line is just more in keeping with the spirit of the character when spoken in English.
Another great example is the translation of the Castle of Cagliostro. In the more accurate translation used in later years, Lupan tells Jigan that "I got my butt royally kicked". Translated into English, this line is a little awkward for the character who is normally very full-of-himself and overconfident. When Streamline originally did the translation, however, Lupan defends himself by exclaiming "Hey, I was only a kid". It’s not as accurate, but in many ways it’s more appropriate.
I say all of this because I feel like Macek’s legacy as a producer and as an icon in the anime industry has largely gone unappreciated. Many of the films and shows we associate with anime in the late 80s and early to mid 90s (what is sometimes referred to as the Japanimation era) owe their existence in the United States to Macek for his guidance through that period. Starting with Robotech and through dozens of other shows, Macek’s unique approach to producing gave us some of the most memorable masterpieces of the artform. Now that he’s past on from this world, a major era has truly come to an end. Hopefully, we’ll see others that follow in his footsteps. But we’ll never see another like him.

Green Lantern Jet

Because Every Superhero Needs a Jet

Mattel DC Superheroes Toy Line, 2009

The Mattel DC Superheroes toy line is geared at children under the age of 7. They’re simple toys with only a handful of features and overly-stylized, simplified characteristics. Yet, these toys are still well-made and worth paying attention to. After all, for many children, these toys are their introduction not only to action figures and the more serious toys (assuming that isn’t a huge oxymoron) they’ll be playing with later on, but also the characters and iconography of modern mythology; namely comic book superheroes.

Background

The Green Lantern actually is part of an intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. As such, there have been several Green Lanterns (including Guy Gardner who was big in the 90s and WHATHISNAME from the Justice League animated series). Hal Jordan is the one most people usually think of. Like many DC superheroes, he’s incredibly brave, resourceful, intelligent, physically near-perfect, etc. Apparently DC Comics didn’t discover faults until sometime around the 80s. But my pro-Marvel bias aside, the Green Lantern evolved into a very unique and interesting character.

The Green Lantern Ring gives Hal Jordan the ability to manifest a wide variety of powers and abilities, as well as the ability to make tangible objects out of thin air. Sometimes, there’s some overlap (such as why would a man who can fly at super-sonic speeds need to manifest a jet?), but for a Seven-year-old, that simply doesn’t matter. Green Lantern is Batman’s friend and ally and he comes equipped with a pimp jet that shoots rockets. And if that isn’t the definition of awesome, I don’t know what is.

Appearance – 3 out of 5

Scoring the appearance of toys like this is difficult because since it’s a kid’s toy, realism takes a backseat. Many even basic features are left out in favor of having very simplified characteristics of both objects and characters. This means that the figures are very simple and very basic in their appearance. But it needs to be noted that this is intentional.

Green Lantern is lacking some details (since this is clearly Hal Jordan, where are the white stripes on his otherwise brown hair?) but is gifted with others (his mask and ring aren’t just painted on, they’re individually constructed). The ring itself even has the Green Lantern symbol built into it. That’s some serious attention to detail! The jet, on the other hand, is made up almost entirely of see-through green plastic that is cheap sunglasses’ level of transparent. For those of you who grew up with Legos, you remember the transparent pieces were usually the coolest and this jet will help to reinforce that truth.

Construction – 4 out of 5

The converse side of things is that while kids’ toys are usually very simple in their appearance, they’re very rugged in their design and construction. The Green Lantern action figure and his jet are no different. A very sturdy plastic is used in both of these and nothing short of an intentional and willful desire to destroy them would visit anything but passing wear-and-tear on these toys.

Movement – 2 out of 5

Again, like appearance, these toys are intentionally designed to lack any meaningful ambulatory abilities. Still, there are some notes to point out. The shoulder joints of the Green Lantern figure are ball-joints, allowing for a full range of arm motions, and not merely the liner joints like the hips. It is unfortunate that the legs are a single unit (meaning that lifting the left leg means the right leg follows). The neck joint allows rotation but nothing else.

The jet has only two moving parts (not including the firing mechanism for the missile launcher): the canopy and the trigger on the back of the jet that does…nothing. Well, it does something. There are two little plastic turbines in the back of the jet that move. For some reason. It’s not entirely clear what they’re supposed to be, except maybe to give the appearance of flight. You can see the mechanisms that turn the turbines, which a Seven-year-old might find fascinating. But this novelty serves no purpose to play.

Extras – 2 out of 5

The jet comes with three missiles, all of which attach (one loads into the firing mechanism and the other two attach to either wing). Unfortunately, that’s about it. The Green Lantern figure has hands that can hold accessories from other toys in the Superheroes line, but he doesn’t come with any himself. Again, this is probably a conscious decision to avoid choking hazards and similar concerns.

Packaging – 1 out of 5

The packaging is about as generic as they come. It’s an open-air package with the figure behind plastic and the vehicle strapped down to the cardboard box. The back has the generic picture all toys in the line carry, giving a pretty small composite shot of all the toys in the line. And offers no explanation to whom the Green Lantern is, why he has a jet, or why he and Batman are friends.

Overall – 2 out of 5

This is a hard toy to score because it’s quite obvious that the target audience for it is of a very young age. Details and accessories are eschewed for a remarkable – but not unheard of – durability, while an overall generic aesthetic is sought. Still, this is a fun toy to play with and for the younger audiences, it will likely stand out. And again, for those parents looking to introduce their young children to comic book heroes, these kinds of toys will do a fantastic job. Plus, the jet’s see-through green plastic. And that’s just cool.

Veritech Alpha VFA-6Z

The Third-Generation Robotech Fighter Makes Good

Toynami Robotech Line, 2003

　

It seems only natural to go from the forgotten Destroids to the unloved Alphas. Robotech, being the cobbled-together Frankenstein’s monster of an animated series, is most famous for the first portion, known as the First Generation, which was actually a rewritten version of the wildly-popular and successful Macross series from Japan. However, Robotech had a Second and Third Generation whom have typically not fared as well in the public consciousness. Nevertheless, the fans are out there and every once in a while, a toy will come along that will make them proud.

Background

The Third Generation of Robotech, based off the Japanese show Genesis Climber Mospeada, had a strong emphasis of evolutionary development. As such, it only made sense that the Veritech Alpha be seen as the descendent of the Veritech Fighter made famous during the First Generation of the series. It is a transformable aircraft that is smaller and generally considered more powerful. The multiple variations are mostly cosmetic and they generally play a support role to the Cyclones; Transformable motorcycles that act as Ironman-esque power armor.

Because the Third Generation has largely been forgotten about by all but the most ardent of fans, it’s pretty rare for there to be toys for the story. In fact, it fell to Harmony Gold, the holders of the Robotech license, to co-produce the toys. The result is a set of four action figures that largely came from out of nowhere and disappeared pretty much without a trace, leaving behind only rumors of how awesome they were.

　

Appearance – 3 out of 5

The VFA-6Z, like all the Alphas in the series, is nicely colored with a decent range of paints used. While the colors aren’t terribly extravagant, they are very indicative of the mecha from the show and do a good job of looking straight from the cartoon. Everything is appropriately colored, no matter how small the space or subtle the attention needed.

Construction – 4 out of 5

This is a beautiful toy that is well constructed out of very quality plastic. The arms and joints feel very sturdy and the plastic has a good heft to it, making it feel very solid. The one flaw in the construction is, unfortunately, a notable one. The interchangeable hands have to be physically forced out of their docks and the pegs that attach them can break all too easily.

Movement – 2 out of 5

Like the Excalibur from last week, this toy has pretty adequate movement. While it is far more maneuverable than the Excalibur, the range of motion for many of the joints is still a bit limiting (especially the hip joints). The primary weakness, though, is the inability to transform. As one of the most memorable aspects of the Veritech fighters, not being able to even partially reconfigure (as they have a middle transformation between robot and jet, known as Guardian in Robotech and Gerwalk in the Japanese series) is a really damning strike.

Extras – 2 out of 5

The Alphas each come with a series of interchangeable hands (a trigger hand for the right arm, two fists, and two open hands) and one gunpod. Unfortunately, that’s it. There are no light-up elements, no firing missiles, nothing at all. This is all a pretty small deal. What’s unfortunate is the lack of anything to do with the extra hands. While it makes sense that there’d be nowhere to put them on the mecha, it still means that you’re left with three hands lying around at any given time. Also, the lack of additional weaponry limits the playability, while the lack of even a second trigger hand means that if you do buy a second toy, you can’t exactly go all John Woo style. Which, come on, is a real shame.

Packaging – 2 out of 5

The packaging is devoid of anything but the most basic of features. The back is completely identical between all four toys, and the front only distinguishes between them with the name written on the bottom from of the plastic. Fortunately, the plastic is quite sturdy and the windows on the front and sides give you a good view of the toy and its additional pieces. Clearly meant for collectors, there is no diorama to play with and no explanation as to the story or the characteristics of the individual mecha whatsoever.

One place where the packaging is noteworthy is the inclusion of credits. It’s pretty rare to know the names of the design team behind the toy, but the back packaging gives you the names of the Project Director (George Sohn, because directors always come first), the Sculptor (Shin Tanabe, who did a fantastic job), the Mold Tech and Paint Designer (Daisuke Fukuda, who is probably the most unsung hero of this toy), the Package Concept and Designer (Nitai Kearney, who needs to be talked to), and the Quality Control (Scott Tipton, who deserves a raise). I’m not saying every toy needs to credit every person responsible for the development, but having a few names to thank in our prayers for good toys is a nice addition to the usual packaging fare.

　

Overall – 3 out of 5

Three out of five is being quite generous with this toy, but the quality of work that went into its construction simply cannot be praised enough. This is a very well put-together toy that, the frustration with the hands aside, is a lot of fun to play with. There are plenty of elements that could have been done to make the toy more memorable and stand out more, but at the end of the day, it seems like adding things like transformable features or opening compartments would have just subtracted from the quality construction which is, without a doubt, this toy’s biggest selling feature.