Typically my reviews are laced with heavy imagery and text, but once I got my hands on the first production releases of their Vitruvian HACKS line, I knew I had to actually show these in action.
I’ve posted a pair of videos on YouTube showing the Vitruvian HACKS Gorgons and Spartans, and will be releasing one shortly featuring the Blanks.
Have no fear, I’ll be doing my normal text and image based reviews as well, but I just wanted to get these out there in front of folks ASAP. Please excuse my video review inexperience and check out this first look at the Vitruvian HACKS below!
Remember, these figures are currently available via pre-order at BossFightShop.com!
Part 01 – Vitruvian HACKS Gorgons Unboxing and Video Review
Part 02 – Vitruvian HACKS Spartans Unboxing and Video Review
Enjoy, and let me know how you liked them. More standard reviews are coming soon!
It’s JoeCon brochure day! The most magical day of the year…
It’s the day when speculation of the upcoming G.I. Joe Convention Set can officially begin, and looking at the brochure, there’s going to be plenty of speculation to go around!
Check out the brochure over at GIJoeCon.com and see that the Sky Patrol convention set has been confirmed! But not just Sky Patrol. The G.I. Joe Collectors Club also mentions the COBRA ADDERS featuring Sky Creeper, Air Devil Troopers and Night Vultures! COBRA Air Commandos! SWEET!
The Air Commandos are some of my favorite obscure 90s G.I. Joe characters, and I am beyond thrilled to see them included here. Not only that, but it also looks like the Club is dipping into the International Sky Patrol figures, Abutre Negro (Black Vulture) and Escorpiao Voador (Flying Scorpion). Looking at the parts for these great international figures, you can see the club could easily repurpose their Cesspool head and other parts.
Plus, just looking at the brochure, it immediately becomes clear that G.I. Joe fans are pretty damn handsome.
So Loveland, Colorado, June 16th-19th. Will I see you there?
Keep watching GIJoeCon.com for the latest details!
Today I finish off my Combiner Wars reviews with a look at the Voyager scale Combaticon leader Onslaught as well as the whole combined form of Bruticus!
Combiner Wars continues to roll full steam ahead, check out my Transformers review page, or click the links directly below.
The Combiner Wars theme, I’m happy to say, has had far more “hits” than misses, and I feel comfortable saying that Bruticus is another solid home run. Using the same connection template as the previous combiners, the limbs all say firmly secure, yet offer very nice poseability, as the other combiners do.
Perhaps what puts Bruticus over the edge is that he is a combiner team I actually owned part of when I was younger (as a G.I. Joe fan back then, I naturally gravitated towards the military theme) along with the Stunticons and Aerialbots. Unlike the Stunticons and Aerialbots, however, I don’t believe I ever owned the entire set of Combaticons, so this is like a new world for me, and it’s one that I like.
Britucus’ very distinctive head sculpt is translated perfectly with this combined figure, and I love the broad, triangular chest plate. He looks imposing and powerful, and unlike Menasor, he doesn’t feel like he exists just to topple over. The wide stance of his legs (like Defensor) holds him in poses really nicely, and even though the individual Combaticons have some pretty different, distinctive colors, he still makes for an awesome combined character.
Bruticus is great, all things considered. I think I may still like Superion the most (well, unless you count Devastator), but Bruticus is a close second, followed by Defensor. Menasor needs to rethink his outlook on life.
Combiner Wars Bruticus
Character
Articulation
Robot Mode
Transformation
3.9
Summary
Beware the military machine! The Combaticons combine to form Bruticus, one of the most feared and sinister combiners ever. The Combiner Wars version takes his unique look and translates it perfectly to the Combiner Wars formula, recreating everyone’s favorite bad ass Decepticon military weapon. The color scheme is great, and very vintage inspired, and even if some of the components aren’t the best (Blast Off and Brawl I’m lookin’ at you) the end result is another great gestalt from the Combiner Wars. As cool as Titans Returns looks, I’m not sure I’m ready for the Combiner Wars to be over.
It’s amazing what some minor changes can do to change one character into another, and those minor changes work wonders for Onslaught.
Obviously based on the Hot Spot tooling, Onslaught has just the right changes to completely redefine the figure into a different, more effective character. The elaborate hook and ladder system on his back in vehicle mode is now a triangular mount for his two cannons, and not only does it look more potent and deadly in vehicle mode, but the it converts nicely into an effective chestplate for Bruticus.
The vehicle itself is narrow and sloped, like the fire truck, but still makes for an excellent military type vehicle, although not especially vintage accurate. Like Hot Spot, transformation is relatively intuitive and easily accomplished, and as cool as the vehicle is, the robot mode is even better. Articulation is spectacular, with great movement at all necessary joints. I love how imposing the armored shoulder pads look, and the intricate lined sculpting in robot mode is seriously impressive.
Sculpting in the new head is nearly flawless, and it’s amazing to me how a featureless robot can express such emotion with the different positions of his head and body.
The twin cannons can stay attached to the back like you might expect, but are also removable and can be held as robotic guns, too.
Like the rest of the Combaticons, Onslaught’s colors are based more strongly on the classic toy than the animation, but work well in that regard, and as a lifelong G.I. Joe fan, I’m extremely attached to the military angle of all these Combaticon toys. Onslaught is a great vintage update and makes for a fantastic centerpiece to the Bruticus combiner.
Combiner Wars Onslaught
Character
Articulation
Vehicle
Robot Mode
Transformation
3.8
Summary
A healthy retooling of the Combiner Wars Hot Spot, this Combaticons leader looks and feels great. Sturdy and well articulated in both modes, and with a fantastic vintage inspired color scheme, this version of Onslaught is everything that has made Combiner Wars fun. The fact that they can take an existing toy and tool it just enough to feel fresh and exciting is a great surprise and helps them get more mileage out of their production budget. His new head sculpt is great, and the retooled gun mounts (instead of the ladder) does exactly what it needs to do. Great update.
