Transformers: Energon & Beyond

**figrin bran** · 01-06-2008

I bought Landmine today. As JT might say, "not the best, not the worst". The transformation is rather simplistic - flip the back of the buggy to form legs, pull out side doors for arms, flip hood over to reveal head.

While JT was suggesting on another thread (Hauls thread, I believe) that the head design was probably done to incorporate some of the buggy design, they kind of overdid it as all the black grid lines obscure any detail on the face. I was expecting light piping with the eyes but they made the back of the head solid blue plastic.

**JediTricks** · 01-06-2008

Oh dear, that doesn't sound good at all. I won't be getting mine for a few days, it's coming in the mail, but no easily-seen eyes is a bad idea.

Supposedly, Incinerator is out at WM now, but it's raining here too much for me to bother, I'll probably make a run for him next week.

**orionlukteel** · 01-11-2008

Wow - major restocks going on!

I saw a shelf full of Leader Primes yesterday, and this morning I saw a Leader Nightwatch Prime (blue and gray paint app, a-la Recon Barricade) at WalMart this morning.

It looked nice, but not sure I'm ready to spend another $40 on it.

**figrin bran** · 01-11-2008

Originally Posted by JediTricks

Oh dear, that doesn't sound good at all. I won't be getting mine for a few days, it's coming in the mail, but no easily-seen eyes is a bad idea.

Supposedly, Incinerator is out at WM now, but it's raining here too much for me to bother, I'll probably make a run for him next week.

JT, Landmine's face reminds me of a baseball catcher. I joked earlier that it looks too Bionicle-ish and while that sort of design works for the larger scale of Bionicles, it really doesn't work here. behind the "catcher's mask" the entire head is light blue save for 4 dots where the eyes are supposed to be. However, the grids on the mask obscure everything else so that's all you really notice.

The rest of the figure is kind of lackluster - like I said earlier, a really simplistic transformation and it feels more like a Scout class TF than a Deluxe. Also the tiny exhaust pipes on the back of the buggy aren't glued in and so they come off rather easily, making them a prime candidate for those proverbial accessories that get lost in your carpet or flooring.

**Navtek** · 01-11-2008

I saw deluxe Cliffjumper last night at the Target liquidation center; AKA Target Mission Valley. That store looks like a warzone with two full aisles of clearance merchandise at 75% off. No battlepacks or exclusives.

It looked OK, but I couldn't bring myself to buy ANOTHER bumblebee just because it was red... and had a silver hood.

**El Chuxter** · 01-14-2008

When is the Animated Grimlock coming out?

I must have that figure.

"Cars and trucks bad!! Car robots worse!!"

**JediTricks** · 01-14-2008

Incinerator is out now, I spotted his case-mate (repaint Ironhide) at WM last Friday.

**JediTricks** · 01-16-2008

I got Landmine in the mail finally. Vehicle mode is decent, I like the suspension and the figure's hands as seats. On mine, the exhaust pipes are glued in but the back bumper isn't, I have heard that from others as well, it stays ok but could get lost down the line.

I think the transformation is very clever, it's like they took the G1 standard car transformation and made it work for the modern design and articulation. There's moving stuff like the engine covers moving in slightly to accommodate the knees, and the rear wheels sliding in to become the articulated feet.

Bot mode is pretty nifty, lots of articulation and poseability. The head though is pretty odd, Bran called it with the Bionicle/catcher's mask comparison, the face beneath doesn't translate for crap, they should have had the mask flip up or something. And the head comes off way too easily. But he does have roller skate feet (yet he stands fine) which is nifty, and his grenade launcher can be left on the car roof so it ends up over his shoulder a la G1. All in all, I think it's a pretty cool figure.