ROTF Dirt Boss Review

Dirt Boss is another release from the 1st wave of Scout class figures. He is clearly based upon the Scrapper Drones from the first Transformers game. The resemblance is so uncanny it must have been planned.

In my opinion the name isn't very appropriate for him. Dirt Boss puts you in mind of a digger or off-road racer but here he is a forklift truck. Sticking with Scrapper would probably have been a better option.

Okay lets start with the bot mode. The first thing that struck me about him was the odd choice of colours. Green and dark grey dominate the figure. There are hints of gold and red here and there but the Devastator-esque green is all over. The shins and feet have been painted gold but, unlike the photo, is hardly noticeable against the green.

However, despite this Dirt Boss has lots of detailing all over his bot mode. Including his two honking great tonfa style pneumatic rams. This little guy looks like he may not be able to fight from a distance but up close he will kick your ass.

Thanks to loads of ball joints he has excellent articulation. The shoulders and elbows are jointed on the arms and the hips, knees and feet on the legs. He is a posing fans dream as the feet are stable and the arm blades offset the slight weight of the back.

My only gripes with the bot mode are his gormless expression and the alt mode cage placement. The expression is one of an old man about to die of total boredom but hey you would be bored if you were a Decepticon forklift truck. The cage could surely have had some mechanism to fold or slide into his back that would have made the robot mode even better.

In bot mode once you've got past the minor flaws you have a decent looking Decepticon trooper.

Transformation again is quite simple and intuitive. The arms fold in and swing around to form the lifting arm, the legs fold underneath and the cage drops and closes to hide the head under the seat on his back. Since again I have no instructions for him it was really easy to accomplish and it all fits together very well.

Once transformed to alt mode you have a little green forklift truck. There is lots of detail again here. The forklift arms don't raise and lower but tilt slightly, there is a forklift steering wheel now and a driving seat. In alt mode we have the same colours green and dark grey and only minor gold paint on the side of the forks and some side panels. We also have a Decepticon logo show up for the first time. I really would have liked to see one in bot mode too.

My main gripe with this mode is why on earth would a forklift truck be of use to the Decepticon cause? I can't see Megatron sending troops out to stake out warehouses to see if there is any stock worth moving around slowly. You might see him on a construction site but in most cases they use cranes to move the pallets of equipment around. Yes the alt mode is well crafted and well done but would probably have been better served as an Autobot. (No doubt he will be repainted into one at some point!)

Overall, Dirt Boss is a well crafted figure that is based upon the design from the game. If you can get past the fact that he is very Contructicon styled but isn't one, his ill fitting name and the weird choice of alt mode you have a decent figure. Not one of the stand out scout class figures but certainly worth a look at.

Scores:

Bot mode: 8/10 - Colour scheme and cage placement do distract from a good looking bot mode.

Alt mode: 7/10 - Good looking but a very obscure choice of vehicle.

Transformation: 7/10 - Simple and intuitive.

Overall: 7.5/10 - Not a must buy like some of the other scout figures but worth it if you can get him cheaper than RRP.

ROTF Soundwave Review

Soundwave is the second of the preview figures to be released and has some resemblance to his G1 roots. In this incarnation Soundwave is officially packaged as a triple-changer. However, be warned the 2 alt modes really aren't all that different. More on that point later.

Lets start with the robot mode since that's how he comes packaged. Soundwave does come off as slightly on the stock side. Huge brutish arms and chunky shoulders coupled with big legs definitely make him look like a bit of bruiser. The arms do come off as quite blocky and have been molded as fists. Unlike Soundwave's previous incarnations which made him look like the spy he is supposed to be he does come off as much like a muscular fighter ready to punch you at a moments notice.

There are lots of different colours to compliment the primarily drab grey colour. Navy blue parts coupled with the occasional red, yellow and silver detail highlights are found all over. Also, the transparent blue light-piped areas of the figure definitely add to the look.

There is plenty of detail to be found on the figure including, blades on the arms, solar panels over the shoulders and 3 circular lenses on the chest. Quick note: most official Hasbro stock photos have the chest forward not revealing all of the lenses. It comes packaged with the chest back which makes it look much better.

The robot mode also has a firing 'Ravage' missile. If you have seen the movie Ravage is fired to earth in protoform mode from Soundwave's satellite form. The detailing on the missile is intricate and is intended to indicate it is Ravage. Although if you do store the missile in this mode it just sticks up behind his head and if fired realistically would just fire in the air and land on top of him.

Soundwave does have some posability but his arm movement, in particular the lack of full joints on the elbows and wrists, is severely hampered. You can make his blades look like they are slashing forward but that's about it. The shoulder panels also can limit arm movement. However, there is lots of leg articulation which means you can give him lots of different standing poses.

Overall a very decent robot mode but the lack of arm articulation and the stockiness take away from the feel of the figure.

The transformation is one of the most natural so far for a RotF figure. Not too complicated and intricate but the satellite prongs do feel a bit fragile.

Alt mode time: Satellite mode can be set however you like with the panels in lots of different positions to achieve different looks. In the film he looks very much like a cybertronian shuriken and this look can be achieved here. He is very faithful to the film in this mode and does look like you expect with very little surprises. Primarily grey now with only the translucent light blue sets you in mind of a satellite.

Second alt mode: Cybertronian jet. Well you just move the solar panels back to make something akin to wings and that's it. Not really a necessary alt mode and it doesn't feature in the film. Pretty unnecessary really.

Overall, Soundwave is an average figure. I started out really liking him but then with the newer figures my interest has wained and his blockiness doesn't fit with the rest of the line. I would have preferred a much sleeker, stealth like figure more akin to the G1 Soundwave. The satellite mode does need to be rested against something to display as a satellite and the jet mode is really unnecessary. I like the satellite mode as it is faithful to the movie but the robot mode puts me off.

Scores:
Bot mode: 6/10 - Too stocky to fit in with the figures character and lack of arm posability.
Alt mode: Satellite 9/10 Jet 6/10 - Faithful Satellite representation but pointless Jet.
Transformation: 8/10 - Natural and not too complicated.
Overall: 7/10 - Average figure that shouldn't be your first purchase. This is probably why he was a preview figure.