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Name: Transformers Micro Changers Collection 2 Blind Bags
Brand: Kre-O
Model: A2200
Pcs: Various
Time once again to venture into the world of tantalizing ambiguity with some more blind bags! Back in May, we looked at a line of Despicable Me Minions Blind Bags. Series 10, because I like to stay on top of what's current. Despite me not liking the franchise, they were... Fine. And I got the whole set! So let's see if I can repeat that success once again! And with a franchise I'm more interested in!
Admittedly, I wasn't planning on doing another blind bag unboxing(unbagging?) so soon after the previous one. However, the bag I use to keep these random blind bags and polybags is STUFFED, overflowing and ready to burst! Better clear some space before I suddenly find more overstock at the stores I frequent! Especially with the Unikitty blind bags finally out!
I already gave my opinion on blind bags, subscription boxes, and other surprise packages in my look at the Minions blind bags. We seem to be OBSESSED with them, given the HUNDREDS of different varieties have come out in the last several years, most likely because they give us the last "pleasant surprises" we can find in this world. In a time where things are so broadcast in advance that you could probably put together the details long before the event ever happens, subscription boxes and blind bags contain the only true "rewarding" mysteries in our lives.
I'm personally crazy about brick-themed bags and crates, and I grab them whenever I can! ...Though it's not as often as I'd like, since these things are overpriced for what you end up getting, and I'm dirt poor 453 days out of the year. Sadly, when it comes to blind bags, I'm more "blind" than "bag". ...Whatever that means...
Luckily, this is one of those times when I've been blessed with a bountiful... Bounty. I found all these blind bags for under $3 apiece, and today, we're going to look at them all!
These come to us from the construction toy line Kre-O. And since this is the first time they've been featured here, it's time for a short history. ...Scrolled down to when I actually open the bags? ...Cool.
Kre-O is a line produced by Hasbro since 2011. Its name comes from the Latin "creo", meaning "I create", so we have another building brick line named after a corruption of a phrase from another language relating to construction and toys(after Lego's "leg godt", meaning "play well"). It's almost like they were trying to emulate a certain other building brick company's attributes to capture some of their success or something...
It's actually the SECOND attempt by Hasbro to capture a portion of the building brick market, after their disastrous Built to Rule line from 2003 to 2005, which was less "building bricks" and more "stick some studs on some existing figures and building sections and call it a day."
Remind me to feature an example on this blog someday...
Their Kre-O line, however, was MUCH more successful, to the point I would have personally awarded them Bronze in the building brick market(possibly tied with K'Nex, but it's debatable if they're similar enough to compare[or care.]) Their first line, and the longest running, is based on, of course, Transformers, already one of their most profitable franchises(besides My Little Pony.) While the sets were designed to interchangeably use the same pieces for both vehicles and the Transformers, they also introduced Kre-O's own take on the minifigure, known as "Kreons." These were quite successful, and paved the way for a wide variety of sets, figure packs, blind bags, and future licensing opportunities.
Oh, and knockoffs. ...LOTS of knockoffs...!
Unfortunately, they didn't exactly make the best choices with most of their future licenses. Their second license was based on their own Battleship movie, for crying out loud!
Though they also got a shot at producing Star Trek sets, so that probably made up for it.
Besides the three above, they've also held the licenses to G. I. Joe(another franchise owned by Hasbro), Cityville, Dungeons and Dragons, Trolls, and a Chinese-exclusive line based on "Armor Hero Captor", which, from what information I can find, is basically a Chinese bootleg of the hit Japanese Kamen Rider series. If anything, Kre-O is absolutely the most "eclectic" of all the building brick producers!
Unfortunately, Kre-O's presence in the market has fallen considerably, with nearly all current stock in the USA being repackaged variations of previously released Transformers sets and figures you sometimes come across in your local Walgreens or Dollar General. And since Toys R Us is also no longer operating in the states, that pretty much cut off their outlet for all new sets in this country.
Apparently, it's gotten so bad, that Hasbro's announced they've ceased production of ALL Kre-O sets due to poor sales. ...I think. The only thing I've found that said this was ONE line on Kre-O's Wikipedia page, which didn't come with a citation, and no other sources to back it up. Until somebody finds an official source, don't take this as scripture.
Though, seeing as how the official webpage is stuck with a Trolls aesthetic, with a whopping ONE set they're still selling, I could believe they've thrown in the towel. ...I guess McFarlane Toys was taking up too much shelf space.
EDIT: When I wrote this and took a screencap, the Kre-O site still existed. However, trying to access the link now leads back to the main Hasbro page, with the only trace left being the aforementioned set that you need to manually search for in their Shop area. Kre-O is well and truly dead to Hasbro.
The theme of this blind bag line is Transformers. And while I didn't like the Despicable Me franchise the last blind bags were based on, I can say that I think this series is... Alright. I've never been much of a Transformers fan. I tried watching the original 80s show, never got that far, and I've (unfortunately)seen the first two Michael Bay movies and read a few of the comics, so I know what the franchise as a whole is about. Two warring factions, the Autobots and the Decepticons, from the organic machine world of Cybertron, are constantly battling on Earth to try to gain whatever energy source the incarnation says they're fighting over, all while transforming back and forth between their robot forms and whatever Earth vehicles they've also gained the ability to turn into. It's your standard obvious good vs. obvious evil plot, but it works for the young audience this franchise is aimed at.
Truthfully, I've always thought the toys were more interesting than the shows. Sure, it's fun to see these characters turn into different things in the show, but it's even better to make it happen in real life! YOU are the one who bends and snaps them in the exact pattern to change them back and forth from their vehicle/weapon modes and their robotic forms! That's a LOT more fun than just seeing them turn into a blob for a second onscreen, then come out as something different! Which is why I'm psyched to own some Kre-O Transformers sets and figures, since I can switch them back and forth between their two modes! ...Some additional assembly required, but they're not just stuck in one form, at least.
Seriously, why create Transformers toys if you're not going to make them transform?!
Like all successful shows meant to sell toys, Transformers has seen nearly back-to-back series since it first aired in 1984. Generation I, Generation II(which was just a repackaging of G1), Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Robots in Disguise, Armada, Energon, Cybertron, Animated, Prime, Rescue Bots, ANOTHER Robots in Disguise, and Cyberverse have all aired since the series' inception. And that's not counting the several Japan-exclusive shows and OVAs, the animated movie, and the live-action movies! Even with how badly this series has been drug through the mud on numerous occasions, it's still going strong with dedicated fanbases, and there's no clear sign that it's going to end any time soon!
The GoBots and Robotix shows, on the other hand, aren't coming back, period...
As far as I can tell, this line isn't based on any one specific incarnation of the Transformers. They're just some of the dozens, if not hundreds, of characters Hasbro has come up with since it created the line from amalgamating Takara's Diaclone and Microman toy series. So fans of Prime or Animated or Generation 1, or any of the other more popular incarnations might be disappointed that the Kreons they chose don't match their favorite incarnations. ...Then again, that means there's no risk of them looking like the live-action variations, so that alone probably makes up for it!
Once again, the packaging doesn't exactly have much exciting detail to it, since it's a blind bag meant to be thrown away the second you get the character out of it. However, I'll give it credit over the Minions blind bags that a group shot of three Transformers over their respective transformations is INFINITELY more interesting than a standard group shot! ...Infinitely more interesting than Revenge of the Fallen as well, but that's a given.
"Build Kreon Figure or Vehicle!" Or, if you end up with duplicates, as I likely will, potentially both!
"Product Does Not Convert. Fantasy Scene." ...Except, you didn't show them converting. You showed the figure, and you showed the vehicle mode. No steps in between. If you showed it like an Animorphs cover, then I'd probably be a little confused, but since there are clearly steps to change it from the figure to the vehicle, I'm not seeing the reason for a warning. ...I guess they're just putting it on for the same reason there's a warning that a prop broomstick you buy for Halloween "Doesn't actually fly." There's always going to be an idiot who's never heard of the concept of common sense...
The back simply displays all the figures contained in this line, as well as the vehicles each one transforms into. And, unfortunately, we're not given any of the characters that anyone cares about. No Optimus Prime, no Starscream, no Bumblebee, no Megatron, Jazz, Ironhide, or Grimlock. Instead you have Bulkhead and Acid Wing and Hoist and Groove and a lot of other characters that probably appeared in the background once during one of the shows and that counted as enough publicity to slap a name on it and sell a dozen toy variants!
...Or, in the case of someone like Sunstorm, they briefly gave the wrong color to a character and tried to cover it up by saying "Oh, no. That wasn't Starscream. That was, uh, Sunstorm! Yeah. He's a character we always intended to include, and that was the perfect time to introduce him! ...Buy all our playsets and toys!"
Galvatron, the closest they get to Megatron, IS included in the "Preview Set" of Transformers Micro Changers. ...But, with how short a release that collection was, good luck finding him!
Speaking of which, as pointed out, this is "Collection 2" of the Micro Changers line. Like the Minions set, I can't find any actual release dates for this line, but all signs point to the entire series being released around 2015. We've had the Preview Set, and Collections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the original series.
Collection 5 changed the numbering back to Collection 1 and was given the subtitle Age of Extinction to tie it into the recent movie, with the series following simply known as Collection 2 of Age of Extinction. These additionally included Kreons with the option to change into animal forms, similarly to Beast Wars(and I'm assuming the movie they're based on.) However, these are slightly harder to find than the original Collections 1-4, due to Kre-O losing most of their distributors and being forced to dump them in dollar stores with no chance of restock. And, with the whole of Kre-O apparently being discontinued, that's the last of that! Aww, man! No Bumblebee figures?
As a final note, the first six sets apparently had serial numbers on the packaging to identify which character it contained, which is a godsend for collectors like myself! ...However, I checked every package, and found no evidence of the serial numbers the Kre-O Wiki page listed as belonging to each character.
The closest thing I could find was this sequence on the side of the back of the bag: "62351". However, not only does it not match any of the serial numbers, it's the same number for all the figures. I'm guessing what I have was the final release for the Collection, and by this point, Hasbro realized their mistake in how easy they made it to tell one bag from another, and removed the serial number. ...Either that, or I just bought 26 bags of the same figure... Wouldn't be the first time...
And despite it saying "6-12", this is another set that's lacking the "0-3" warning! Meaning nothing will happen to your kids if they handle this toy between the ages of 3-6.
Except maybe Budder coming to *VOIP* their face off! That's right, Brick. You're not getting off that easily!
Alright. Like I said, we have 26 bags to go through, and with 12 characters to collect, there's a fair chance we'll get the whole set! ...Hopefully. If I'm missing any, I'll include some pictures from another source. Right now, it's time to transform these bags! Into OPEN bags! Autobots! ASSEMBLE! Decepticons! ...Do whatever you do.
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We're back, and YAY! The whole collection has been uncovered! All 12 Transformers are here in all their Kreon glory! Unlike the Minions blind bags, there was nothing on the bags suggesting rare or secret characters, so I'm guessing there's an equal chance of finding each character in this line. ...Not that I found a unique character in every bag...
In fact, it took me more bags to find all 12 figures than the Minions did. I thank all powers of the universe that I managed to find every single one before I ran out of bags! ...And that leaves me with a lot of leftovers. ...Hello, eBay.
Since these are slightly more complex than Mega Construx's Minions, each figure comes with a sheet that gives the name and completed view of the figure, plus opens up to show how to assemble the two figure forms. There's also a checklist on the back to keep track of which figures you have and which you still need to collect. ...And since I'm crazy about pristine condition to the point they're about to name a new possessive OCD neurological disorder after me, I'm not going to check any of the boxes. ...What do I have to keep track of at this point, anyway?
I was going to complain that the list doesn't separate the Kreons into their alignments, so people unfamiliar with the franchise, like myself, wouldn't know if they're allied with the Autobots or Decepticons. However, they clearly print the individual logos somewhere on each of the Kreons, so they DO bother to let us know who's the goodie and who's the baddie. ...Unlike the Michael Bay movies, where you can't tell which robot is fighting who, but I digress...
All except Acid Wing, here, who's gone completely logoless. I don't know if they forgot, or if there wasn't a symbol on the original design and they were overly faithful, but he's the ONLY one who lacks any sort of identifier! ...There's probably a reason for that, but I'll get to that when I get to him to avoid sidetracking this look any further.
Though I guess I could alternatively tell good from evil based on which faces are relatively neutral or friendly-looking, and which look like they're picturing how well my skin would fit on their torso...
And once we separate the teams, we get an equal mixture of Autobots and Decepticons! ...And Predacons. ...And Maximals. ...And Insectacons. ...And Protectobots. ...And GoodyGizmos. ...And LuncherTakerers. ...And AlgaeAndroids. ...And That-Last-Pistachio-Nut-That-Tastes-So-Horrible-You-Never-Want-Pistachio-Nuts-Again-bots. ...And the seven hundred other factions this franchise has given us. ...And Hasbro wonders why it's so hard to acquire new fans for this series...
Each figure comes with this pretty sweet baseplate, which also bears the Kre-O name, and gives you plenty of pegs to position the Kreon on. It also comes in handy to stick pieces on the figure's not using in his/her current form.
However, an earlier release apparently gave them actual bricks to stand on, with the Kre-O name printed on the front. ...I still find myself liking the baseplates. Harder to knock the figure over with a baseplate, which, as anyone else who collects and displays figures can probably attest to, is an absolute NIGHTMARE when it happens and it rolls under a shelf or shatters into pieces. ...I'm too cheap to get a glass case!
Since this is our first look at Kreons, let's make a short comparison with regular minfigures.
First of all, Kreons are slightly taller than Lego figures. While the torso and head are practically the same size, the legs are slightly longer, making Kreons taller by about a millimeter. It's not as noticeable as comparing Block Tech to Lego, but it's there.
Apparently, third-partiers are under the impression that bigger = better, when it comes to showing up Lego. Brick could never see eye-to-eye with anyone to begin with, but this is ridiculous...
Speaking of Block Tech, Kreons also have a pronounced torso. It's not as noticeable as Block Tech figures, but it still makes these figures look overly buff and muscular.
But, since most of Kre-O's lines are based on action properties, the design also being used for female characters isn't as ill-fitting or distracting as Block Tech's "girl" series. ...Kind of makes her hotter, doesn't it?
Kre-O does have another figure design for their "cuter" franchise lines, but we'll talk about those when we feature a set that features them. I don't need more irrelevancy in these reviews than I already add...
Interestingly, Kreon figures flip the arm attachments, having the peg on the body, with the socket on the arm.
And with the arms on a ball joint, it gives them slightly more arm movement than most other brick figures. ...In case you forgot, our word of the day is "slightly"!
The arms are designed much more robotically, with hands that, while they keep the Lego "claw" design, are much thicker than the standard minifigure, and are much harder to detach. That's a plus for anyone worried about brick figure hands falling on the floor and their dog eating them. ...I'm assuming I'm speaking to a smart enough audience for that to be the worst-case scenario...
Speaking of additional movement, the figure legs are also on ball joints, so not only can they move back and forth like a typical figure, but also about 90° to the side and 360° around!
This is easily the best feature of these figures! One of the major limitations of playing with brick figures, especially when you're animating with them, is the lack of poseability. Yet these figures allow me to pose them in a number of positions, making motion look much more natural! ...Or as natural as 20 FPS looks, anyway...
Also, like with BricTek figures, the waists are articulated! These figures are a brick stop-motion animator's dream come true, and very nearly better than Lego figures! ...It's a shame this figure type never caught on and there's not much of a selection of characters to work with...
The legs also have holes on the sides, allowing for additional accessory slots, and to help with the Transformer Kreon transformations. Especially those that require wheels, which we'll see in a bit.
The final noteworthy difference with Kreon figures are the head sculpts. While the painted facial features are kept relatively simplistic, meaning they're not that different from regular Lego minifigure faces, there's a noticeable slope in the chin area. ...Just... ...WOW! Did Bruce Campbell design these, with Jay Leno serving as creative consultant?! Butch Hartman is looking at these figures and saying to himself "...I KNEW I could have made my characters look more angular!"
It looks especially silly for characters made of chrome, so we'll just pop the helmet back on, and BOOM! His head doesn't look as ridiculous. I'd recommend you keep the helmet on for each of these Transformers figures ...Unless you've always thought Optimus Prime should have been played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. ...Actually, that WOULD be the best Transformers movie we'd have!
And with that, let's take a look at each of these figures, as well as what they transform into. I don't know anything about these characters, so I can't bring up any major comparisons to their animated forms, but I'll try to find which incarnation each one is, and if the transformation, among other things, is correct. Everything I'm going to say concerning in-universe details are all from another source, so if I get anything wrong or misunderstand the lore, then sorry. I'm just not made of sterner stuff.
We'll be going with the order they're laid out on the back of the bag, since that's how I organized them in the first shot. This again separates "like" figures and mixes up the Autobots and Decepticons, plus there are no Rares or Secrets this time, but I feel like this'll give the look the best variety. Besides, you don't want the Autobots or Decepticons in one group for a long period of time... Things happen...
Let's get things rolling with Autobot Bulkhead, aka "Guy With A Smirk He Thinks Looks Cool But Gives The Impression He Has Nothing Going On Inside His Head." From what I can tell, he's based on his Transformers Animated incarnation, though, since he's missing his trademark lower jaw, it's a little hard to tell. If this was Lego, he probably would have gotten that Hulk/The Thing/Kingpin body mold to emphasize how massive he is, but in the standard Kreon form, he looks like a fan wearing Bulkhead's design on pajamas, since he didn't feel like making a full costume for the convention. ...Or maybe this is Bulkhead after he's slimmed down?
"Hi. I'm Bulkhead. Two years ago, I was the heaviest member of the Autobots. But while my mass was helpful in taking down Starscream and pals, I found it became harder and harder to walk, and I'd have to sit down and rest after every 300 miles or so. When I found that I was at risk for Type 2 Mechanibetes, I knew I had to lose some weight or risk slowing the team down even more. I dedicated myself to a healthy diet and lots of exercise, and now I've shrunk to the more manageable weight of 6000 pounds. Also, I finally managed to grind that jaw down, so I can finally show my friends my beautiful smile. Thanks, SlimFast!"
The decal work is pretty good for a shrunken-down version of a large character. You can easily see the Autobot logo on his chest, plus what are meant to be shoulder designs on either side of it, and a car grill and headlights near the bottom of his torso. Again, this is a MASSIVE Autobot, so it's not a 1:1 exact duplicate, and they had to omit or squish a number of details originally from the character, but they left enough to make him recognizable. ...At least, AFTER you've looked him up!
This is one of the figures they gave arm cannons to, which I think he had in the show? I couldn't find a clip of him shooting guns, but his arms look like they have some sort of blaster built into them. ...Or maybe they're just trying to make his arms look bulkier. ...Considering how much skinnier this version is, he needs all the overcompensation he can get...
On his back is a simplistic build probably meant to represent those claw-things on the show version's back. ...Though while they were sharp and green in the show, here, they're dull and gray. Like a Bayformer movie...
It actually looks more accurate if you turn it upside-down! ...I really hate when something I do in 10 seconds looks better than what they took years to create...
Speaking of create, flip a few pieces around, and we have his vehicle alt form, which I think is supposed to be the armored car from the show. ...Either that, or a Star Trek Federation space shuttle riding on a flatbed trailer.
This is the major weakness of these Transformers Kreons. Since the Kreons are supposed to transform, that means their alternate forms need to incorporate the figures into them. However, due to the builds and the limited ways pieces can be used with the figures, most of the transformations amount to "lay the figure flat and stack pieces on it." Admittedly, they're clearly trying to mask that fact, but the final product looks more like a costume than somebody cosplaying as these characters!
Also, stand the figure up in this form, and you have a workout tape hosted by a Spanish matador. "Now pump those muscles like you're waving the red cape for your life! Ole!"
Joking aside, it looks fine for what they were given to work with. Obviously, the wheels don't turn, and the way he's hanging onto the front wheels with his arms in unintentionally hilarious, but for a cheap plastic toy pretending to be a cheap plastic toy, I've seen worse. ...I really don't have anything else to say. This Autobot assembled well.
Next, we have the Decepticon Scourge, aka "Galvatron's Flunkie And Leader Of The Sweeps Who Had All Dignity Sucked Out Of Him With The Japanese Incarnations." This is clearly based on the G1 incarnation, specifically the one created in Transformers: The Movie from Thundercracker, since that appears to be the only one with a blue color palette. While the helmet's not exact, I have an easier time believing this is Scourge than I had with Bulkhead, since he's much skinnier and doesn't lack a giant iron jaw. ...Though he does lack that cannon or whatever it was on the top of his head. ...Probably for the best...
Of course, the biggest question I have about this character is WHY DOES HE HAVE A BEARD?! What purpose does facial hair serve on a robot? Especially one of these slightly racist Fu Manchu-esque beards?
Same goes for Jetfire from the movies. Which evolutionary path did these organic robot things need to go down for hair-like tentacles to develop around their faces?! It's clear that these machines don't age in the same way that humans do, so what needed to happen for these robots to look and act like 70-year-old men? It's like if there was an alien race that had an extra toe growing out of their bellybuttons. There's no purpose, brings up a LOT of questions, and just makes them look ridiculous.
Aside from the character's inexplicable facial hair, he also has decal work similar to his television counterpart. ...However, the color scheme feels flipped around here, since the silver part is supposed to be on his waist, while I don't see anything that looks like the grill in the middle of his chest on the actual character! ...Or maybe he installed a pizza oven in his crotch area? ...I think I'll stick with Papa Murphy's...
This guy also comes with arm cannons, though not as part of his regular form. I just stuck them on because I needed somewhere they wouldn't get lost. These extra pieces are a pain to store where I can grab them again...
What I DIDN'T intentionally modify is Scourge's gun. ...What am I looking at? I see the gun part, but what does the black piece add? Apparently, he usually carries around a strange sniper rifle, which I kind of see here, but it looks like he forgot to unholster his gun and he's pointing the gun, holster and all, at his opponent! Fastest draw in the West! ...Killed instantly for not being the fastest shot...
Oddly, despite this guy being a flying Decepticon(I mean, he's leader of the SWEEPS), his wings aren't included, leaving him with this sloped brick on his back. You could argue that it's so they're not discarded when he switches to vehicle mode, but considering how many pieces aren't used when switching the Transformers back and forth, what difference would it have made?
Speaking of, here he is in his flying submarine form. Actually, this one looks better than Bulkhead's. Maybe it's because the design of the helmet looks more natural for this design, maybe it's because the arms aren't used, maybe it's because it uses all the pieces, maybe it's how simplistic the transformation is and how it covers up the defining characteristics of a figure, but if I saw this from a distance, I could be fooled into thinking it's actually a brick spaceship! ...A brick spaceship I bought off AliExpress for $0.75, but something buildable with a unique design, nonetheless!
Also, stand Scourge up... ROCKET BOOTS! 10/10!
...Is what I would have said, if they remembered to paint his nails pink. 0/10!
Next is Decepticon Blight, aka "I'm Not Blot! Really!" This is the Predacon version found in Transformers Prime, who's there to give Abominus a leg up on life! ...You know? Because he transforms into a left leg? And is therefore part of the Abominus combiner? ...As a leg? ...He's barely a character, so I have nothing to work with!
...I'm actually impressed. They managed to get practically every feature of this guy WRONG! He's wearing a distractingly wrong-shaped helmet, there's no yellow, he's missing his mouthpiece, the colors are way too dark, he has the wrong weapon, and most of his color scheme is comprised of teal and PINK! Like I said, this guy's barely part of the franchise, but there are still toys made of him! I don't know what they were basing this guy off of, but they should be fired immediately!
...But they remembered he had red eyes!
They also gave him... This. On his back. ...Is it a shell? A tail? A hump? A tube like Mewtwo's that connects his head to the rest of his body? An aneurysm creator? ...No? Well, that's what it is to me!
Since I don't want to fry my last remaining brain cells on this, let's switch it over to its transformation. Since this is a Predacon, instead of a vehicle, it has a "Beast Mode". Truthfully, it looks better in this form than its regular robot mode! ...It still doesn't look like its animated counterpart, but it's in the ballpark, at least. I'm impressed with how beast-like the helmet looks in this position, and how the hunched-over look makes it look more menacing! Plus, the claw accessories make more sense in this mode. So while he looks more like a blue Rat Trap from Beast Wars, I can give them credit for SOMETHING related to the actual figure! ...Now if he could just turn into a leg...
Next is Autobot Arcee, aka "Character Created To Introduce Gender To The Transformers, Who Was Supposed To Be A Strong Female Role Model, But Ended Up As Daniel Witwicky's Babysitter." Arcee might be the most popular character in this lineup, as she's seen a good number of incarnations across the different shows and other media, and she's gotten a fair amount of importance in most of those appearances. However, this is clearly G1 Arcee, based on her color palette and features. ...And hopefully, this is also based on her form before she ended up with Daniel being the "head" of the team-up!
I'm actually quite impressed with her design work, as it's VERY faithful to her G1 incarnation. The helmet's off, as she wore some sort of "afro" helmet in most of her appearances, but the decal on her chest is almost exact! I don't think they omitted anything, as we have a pink top half, then a grill, then a white area, then a smaller grill, before it goes into a pink waist and white legs with pink kneecaps. This is the most accurate of all the figures so far, and I'm almost blown away with the detail they kept! ...This is probably why this was the last character I found, and why it was the hardest to find in the pile. They wanted to save the best for last!
Also, I guess this is their take on her shoulder blade "blades". Still looks better than Bulkhead's.
This isn't even the only Kre-O design they made for Arcee. A repainted version was also sold in the SDCC-exclusive "Kreon Class of 1984" figure set, where she was notably given a nose.
A version was also included in the Autobot Command Center Kre-O playset, though this one's clearly based on the Prime incarnation, as it's blue and spiky. ...Because that means "tough" and "independent" to designers not interested in having personality define a character...
But across the designs for this character, they made sure to sculpt the fact that she has large breasts. ...And I'm sorry, but I need to bring this up again: WHAT IS THE POINT OF BREASTS ON A TRANSFORMER?! It's a MACHINE race! Do Transformers children even exist? Even if they did, are they breastfed? Why? What evolutionary turn needed to happen for the breasts to be on the front like a human female? If they're not meant for nurturing young, what other purpose do they have? There are other ways to define if a character is female. You don't need to go the Lola Bunny route!
So let's move past the questions that will never be answered and look at her vehicle mode, which, as her name suggests, resembles a small car. You may also be interested to know that this was the first transforming toy of Arcee in 30 years, after a long line of unproduced prototypes. And, for what it is, it looks alright. Once again, it looks like a small brick set, with the figure body blending in with the rest of the pieces to create a convincing car model. And it DOES look like an R/C vehicle, to the point I'm disappointed it didn't come with a little control pad... There's a beauty in its accuracy, and in how well the bricks work around the figure, that this is now my standard for the rest of these figures!
...The one thing that might bring it down is that the transformation doesn't feature the head or weapons, leaving us with what looks like a headless store mannequin tied to a torture rack. ...So close to being progressive, Kre-O. So close...
Next is the Decepticon Acid Wing, aka "My Name's Acid STORM, Guys!" ...Yeah, I don't know why they gave him a name change, considering he's clearly based on the G1 character Acid Storm, part of the Rainmakers, whose shtick is to make acid rain, hence the STORM part! Maybe it was just an oversight on Kre-O's part, as keeping a few hundred figures accurate isn't an easy task(I refer you back to Blight), but WOW! Nobody bothered to double-check and do a "Find On This Page..." search to make sure all the names were correct? And this isn't a typo; somebody had to have consciously mistaken "Wing" for "Storm". And yet nobody caught on all throughout the pitching, designing, molding, advertising, shipping, and stocking phases?! ...Maybe it's a good thing that Optimus Prime wasn't included in this line, because we'd have a lot of angry fans of Beast Wars saying "That's not Optimus Primal!"
Anyway, his design's pretty much the same as it was in the cartoon: Green, green, and more green. With a big yellow missile-thing on the front and some random decals on either side of it. Not exactly the hardest thing to design or animate, but this was a one-shot character who was meant to be in the background, so we'll give him a pass on how over-simplistic he is. After all, he himself admits that "I'm a green guy. That's like literally my whole thing."
His back accessory is the most accurate we've seen yet, as they actually gave him a custom pair of wings. So with the wings, the arm cannons, and how fluorescent green he is, plus with how much his helmet resembles his animated counterpart's, this is yet another figure that's incredibly accurate to who he's based on, possibly even more than Arcee! ...And they STILL managed to misname him "Acid Wing". ...No, I'm not over that! How do they put THIS much work into a figure, yet miss out on his name?! ...Ok, now I'm over it.
Transformed, the character looks... Ok, I guess? After seeing the transformations for the last three figures, this one goes back to looking like they stacked pieces on the figure, as opposed to an actual vehicle. It's sleek and jet-like, I'll give it that, but it just looks like he's wearing scrap parts on his person. It doesn't even look like it could fly, even with those massive wings on his back! ...Yeah, not a fan of this transformation.
...Until you stand him up, and he looks like a menacing overlord! And Starscream's the one we need to fear gaining power?
Next is a Decepticon Vehicon, aka "We're Not Real Characters, We're Just Bullet-Fodder. ...More So Than 90% Of Actual Transformer Characters..." I was going to comment on how difficult it must have been for them to come up with that name, but since these are soulless foot soldiers from Prime, I don't think they would have gotten more than two seconds of thought for their name in-universe, either.
I think this one looks pretty accurate to the cartoon, but considering how many variants there are, and how dark their color scheme is, it's a little hard to tell. I like the decal work, with the silver window on the top and the ridges at the bottom, and the helmet and eye shape look accurate, so it has that going for it. ...I don't know. I don't know how to judge a generic foot soldier based on accuracy to the source. If we're not supposed to pay attention to how they look in the cartoon, how much attention should we give the toy variant?
Also, BIG HONKIN GUN!
The back simply holds some of the pieces needed for the transformation. ...Which, considering how that's the case in the cartoon with how simplistically designed they are, how mad can we reasonably get about this cop-out?
Even the vehicle mode looks generic. In fact, it's almost the SAME THING as Arcee's transformation, just black and lacking the same fin on the back! It also doesn't incorporate the head or gun. ...I'd complain, but since this is a character based on being generic, I feel like I'd be giving it more thought than I'm meant to give! ...I'm not going to beat this dead horse any further and just move onto the next one. The time I spent analyzing this is probably longer than the lifespan of these things in the show, anyway.
Next is ANOTHER Decepticon: Hardshell, aka "I'm Not That Loser From Prime!" This one confused me for a short while, since all my searches for "Hardshell" led me to the character from Transformers Prime, who looks nothing like this. However, I eventually found that the G1 character "Bombshell" was called "Hardshell" a few times for no reason, and THIS is the character the figure is based on. ...And Kre-O decided to go with the "Hardshell" name. I guess I can't fault them in this case, since it's more Hasbro's problem than theirs, but thank you for making it easy for a casual fan to look up information on a character you're still producing toys for! The genealogy of Tenchi Muyo is easier to follow!
The character looks pretty accurate to the G1 counterpart, even down to the helmet and the suit-of-armor-like mouth grill on the face! The purple is a much darker shade than how he's usually presented, but it's still the same purple-and-yellow pattern, even keeping the yellow pockets that he has for some reason. ...Of course, seeing this character with a mouth grill makes me question again why Bulkhead and Blight are both missing their lower jaws? If Kre-O had no problem painting Hardshell's jaw on, why not those two figures? Or is it compensation for giving this character the wrong name? "We won't change the figure's name, but we'll make him look as close to the animated character as possible! ...Which you won't know about, since you'll be too busy looking up the OTHER Hardshell!" ...The further I go into this line, the more I'm catching on to why Kre-O isn't around anymore...
He also wears his "proboscis" tool on his back, which does look like the shoulder cannon he wields. Technical-wise, this is the most ambitious figure we've seen so far!
Also, he has arms on his arms. In which one arm is armed. An armed arm with arms, if you will.
Since this is an Insecticon, we get another Beast Mode, in this case, a dung beetle. ...Because that's the most intimidating form for a character of pure evil, isn't it? Even though this form keeps the head and body exposed, it actually works better than the forms that want to convince us they're vehicles. Since these are organic creatures they're trying to replicate, it makes a little more sense for their own limbs and appendages to be a part of the transformation. And with the little leg attachments, making this the first form to not use the actual legs, it actually does look like a beetle! So far, I'm more impressed with the animal forms these things take than the more common vehicle modes we always see! ...Though the snout on this thing does look a little long...
BAM! Fixed! Who knew you could do more without a head when you're an insect? Clearly, the proudest appearance for a character who can apparently take over the minds of his victims! Now go... Roll poop, or whatever you do in that form.
Next, we finally have another Autobot, as it even says in the name Autobot Powerglide, aka "Not To Be Confused With Decepticon Powerglide! ...Who Doesn't Actually Exist!" ...I have no idea why they included "Autobot" in the name, since there's only one Powerglide, and he's always been part of the Autobots. He hasn't even been part of one of the sub-allegiances like the Prentenders or Protectobots, he's always been part of the main stable of Autobots, in this case G1, so to give him the descriptor "Autobot" just seems redundant. Maybe it's a case where they copy/pasted too much from the original form, and NOBODY checked before they sent these out? ...At this point, I can't put it past them...
The design looks mostly like the real thing. However, his chest area was originally blank, with no Autobot logo, and the panel was on his crotch! I guess they added those to the chest area to keep it from being too plain. Also, he's the only Autobot in this collection to wear arm guns, as those are usually reserved for Decepticon filth! However, the most distracting feature is the helmet, as G1's headgear was bullet-shaped, not a reuse of Scourge's. This is a case where that bullet-shaped helmet Blight wore would have worked for a figure!
See? Look at how much better that looks! ...Or would look, if he didn't now look like a Conehead cosplaying as Optimus Prime...
I absolutely LOVE his wings on his back. Obviously, they couldn't have his arms going through the wings, as the actual character has, but just how bulky they look here is hilarious! This is a figure I can barely pose, as he's so back-heavy, even on the plate, he constantly falls over! How does he even go through life carrying those around? In reality, he wouldn't be a daredevil! He wouldn't even be around long enough to make toys of, as a Decepticon would blow him to pieces as he struggled with a doorway! ...Though considering fan reactions to this character, maybe that would have been the best thing to happen to him...
Though, nobody can say that he doesn't go forth into battle with winged feet!
For the transformation, I barely had to do anything. This is the only figure out of this lineup that uses all pieces for both its regular form AND its alt form! Just put down the wings, attach the fins to the bottoms of the feet, and everything's set. ...And that unfortunately makes this another weak transformation. It reminds me of Acid Wing, but done slightly better. Maybe it's the large wings covering the arms, maybe it's the shape of the helmet, maybe it's the addition of small fins adding more detail to this mode, just something makes this look more like a plane than Acid
Again, this is a figure that looks better when I stand him up! Here, he looks like he's gone into a "Turbo Form", and he's ready to break the sound barrier on his way to the speed of light! Off you go, Autobot Powerglide! Go and ignore your comrades in peril because you've fallen in love with a spoiled human...
Next is another Autobot: Perceptor, aka "I'm The Smartest Guy In The Team, Yet I Can't Use My Own Transformation Without Help!" This is another G1 form, based on the color scheme and cosmetics. And he's not to be confused with Magnificus, the DECEPTICON from the same incarnation that can also change into a microscope. ...How'd you like to be at that party? "I can turn into a semi truck!" "I can turn into a sports car!" "I can turn into an armored tank!" "I can turn into a microscope! ...I'll see myself out..."
He looks pretty accurate to his original form, with an outlined chest area and a large belt buckle right above his black waist. However, the blue legs make the light gray look blue, which throws me off every time I look at him. Also, since this guy's the team scientist who speaks mostly in jargon, the fact he has a sneer doesn't help him come across as someone who prefers to use his head than his robo-muscles. ...Or maybe he's one of the few TV scientists who isn't a stick in the mud, I don't know. ...His eyes were blue in the cartoon, though.
His back carries the first hinged accessory of these figures, and it's a pile of pieces that acts like an accessory! Apparently, his microscope tube doubles as a shoulder cannon when in his robot mode, and that's what they made, instead of just having it be a pile of parts that loosely match what the Autobot/Decepticon had on their back! The person who designed this figure had some love for the character! ...But not enough that they didn't create an alternate form where you could transplant the face onto a geisha! ...Yes, that happened.
Speaking of which, his alt form is... How do I put this politely...? ...PATHETIC! All they did was transplant the black square pieces to the bottoms of his feet(which, why didn't they do that with the actual figure?) and take off the head. He looks like a doll that nobody plays with, hunched over and sitting in the corner, like Pinocchio before he was granted life. ...Except Pinocchio had the benefit of a head! I know coming up with accurate transformations for dozens of Transformers with less than a dozen pieces to work with isn't easy, but... Why even try with this one?
He can't even use his transformation without help! He has to rely on someone else to look through the lens and interpret what they see. He's the team scientist, one of the smartest Autobots on Cybertron, and he has to rely on other Transformers to get his data! ...Then again, Megatron, leader of the Decepticons and the most evil of the Transformers, originally turned into a gun that had to be fired by another of his party. ...A few of these characters drew the short straw for their alt forms, didn't they?
And how do you fit all that robot into something that size, anyway?! Thing must have matter packed tighter than a white dwarf star! ...Don't put that thing on your desk; it'll fall through, then keep falling...
Next is Decepticon Lugnut, aka "I Wouldn't Even Move My Arms Without Megatron's Permission!" This is the second Animated character in the lineup, and, like Bulkhead, he's another character whose build is greatly in contrast to his brain power. In a world of Pentiums, he's a Commodore 64. ...Also, both Animated figures are big brutes with no brain power. A subtle jab at the intellect of the people behind the show, maybe?
His cosmetics look fine, I guess, but he's another victim of the one-size-fits-all Kreon body. Not only is he supposed to be much bulkier than a regular Transformer, but he's a hunchback, so his head should be in his chest area. Without the odd, goblin-like proportions the original had, this guy looks almost intelligent and intimidating, like HE's the leader of the Decepticons! ...I'd vote for him.
His out-of-character aura of respect and dignity isn't helped by the weapon they chose for him. I know they were trying to give him a hammer or something he uses to smash things in the show, but when you make it a translucent purple staff, it doesn't look like a regular blunt weapon. ...In fact, I think that's what transformed him into this form. He held aloft his magic purple crystal scepter and said "By the power of the AllSpark. ...I HAVE INTELLIGENCE!" ...Maybe I should become a writer for the show?
Also, Lugnut does not have a helmet. ...In fact, without the helmet, he DOES look like his goofy, brain-dead counterpart! ...Perhaps his helmet originally belonged to DC's Prometheus, and he no longer has any smarts to draw upon?
His alt form is almost exactly like Powerglide's, with the exception of different pieces holding the fins on his feet in place. Since he's supposed to look like a bomber plane instead of a sleek jet, this is yet another problem with giving every single Transformer the same form. Give him some body armor or something to bulk him up!
In fact, this is a figure they actually nerfed from its original release! Originally, the figure was equipped with dome-shaped arm accessories, giving the appearance that he's carrying two bombs in his plane form. However, for later releases, they replaced them with clip-on turbines. ...Was there seriously controversy about a Transformer who transformed into a bomber plane carrying BOMBS?! Oh, those GIANT blasters and small black pistols most of the other Transformers carry are just fine for kids, but vaguely dome-shaped underarm accessories? HANG THE DESIGNER AND EVERYONE HE'S EVER KNOWN! Our children will have nightmares for years that there's a plane that carries WEAPONS!
Oh, but the McDonalds Happy Meal toys that also feature the character carrying missiles? Buy 12! Give them to your 3-year-old to play with!
So, I'm sorry, stilt-legged, thin bodied, helmeted, purple stick of power-wielding Lugnut. Your reign of terror has already ended because they've deemed your weapons too violent for children. ...On the plus side, you'll probably find great work as a first-class luxury jet! ...If you keep the helmet on and the facade up that you know what you're doing.
Next is Autobot Hoist, aka "In An Alternate Universe, My Name Was Smokescreen." He's a G1 Transformer, and apparently the team doctor, dispatched to help with minor injuries when Ratchet is too busy patching up major injuries. ...Not that you could tell by this figure, as the way he looks, he thinks the best anesthetic is to blast your head off with his giant gun! ...What? You won't feel a thing, and you can't wake up to complain!
The character only vaguely matches his animated counterpart. While the window and grill match up with the real thing, he's colored a much lighter shade of green than the Hoist from the show(though not quite light enough to be considered a second "Acid
Hoist also has extra parts that become a back accessory, and it's another hinged accessory that actually functions as something! Even though he didn't have a hook in robot mode in the show, it looks good here, as it gives the figure some semblance of a machine doctor, after they ruined that image with one of the giant laser guns they liked giving these figures... The gray brick was an addition by me, since I had nowhere else to put it, but doesn't it look like a crane-and-hook system? ...A dangerously bright-orange one?
I'm REALLY impressed with the vehicle mode. Once again, we have a model that looks like a brick vehicle without looking too much like a figure squashed underneath! AND it's a different design than Arcee's/Vehicon's! The windows look nice, the hook looks convincing, and the wheels don't look like they're being held by the arms. If I didn't know it was a figure, I'd figure(hehe) it was a pretty nice budget set!
...As long as I see it from the front. On the reverse side, it looks like he backed over someone and their legs are sticking out from under him! ...This is what he gets for abandoning his Autobot brothers to star in a movie...
Finally, we have Autobot Protectobot Groove, aka "I'm A Pacifist, Yet I'm Part Of A Militaristic Team Dedicated To PROTECTING Others!" He's the other Transformer in this lot, besides Blight, who combines with others to make a combiner Transformer, only this guy's a G1 member on the side of good, and he forms a RIGHT leg! It's good to know that Defensor will always have a leg to stand on! ...I'm making more leg jokes. I think I'm getting tired...
Groove's cosmetics look VERY different from the animated character. He has silver shades, a silver car grill and headlights(despite turning into a motorcycle), and I don't recognize that red control panel from anything I've seen him from. However, considering that the actual character is usually colored solid brown and white, I get the impression this was done on purpose to add some color to this character. ...Or to make it not look like he stood too close to a cow with an upset stomach...
The parts on his back are just pieces to be used in his transformation, so they look nothing like the shovel or windshield or whatever he has in his show form. ...Still, it's good to know that they've made it clear he has the drive! ...I'm dying here...
One transformation later, and... This is my favorite alt mode of the lot. It's a vehicle mode that's not a car or plane, the body was used brilliantly to resemble what it's meant to be, and it looks like a vehicle to scale with a regular brick figure motorcycle! I gave some of the other transformations credit that I liked their mini-vehicle brick set appearances, but this one looks like something I could actually use with my brick figures! It's the most convincing of everything we've seen so far, and it pulled it off while still using the bulk of the Kreon body!
Get outta here, Brick, and your pathetic two-wheeler! Pink's vehicle is a Transformer! Top that, loser!
And that was a look at the entire collection of Collection 2 Kre-O Transformers Micro Changers! We had some good figures, some bad transformations, and an overall glance at how well they can pull off transforming brick figures into... Not figures.
However, no matter how much we were impressed by any of the characters in this line, I think we can agree that there's one certain line of transformers that is more impressive, more powerful, and more united as one than any of these figures and their alignments.
The Mighty Legion Cheetah Transformer Team!
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Quality: The plastic quality is pretty high, which I'd expect from one of the (former)market leaders. It's almost indistinguishable from Lego in how it looks and feels, beating out Mega Bloks in overall plastic quality for the most part. The paint jobs were also quite high, with decals painted to match the smallest of details on the original characters, and (mostly)accurate color schemes! However, there were pieces that felt too loose, especially the wheels and some of the leg joints, and a few of the helmets squeezed the Transformer heads to tightly to easily be taken off. Also, there was clear scratching on some of the decals, despite these being brand new out-of-the-package figures! While these are quite good quality, especially compared to third-party figures we've seen on this blog, they needed a slight bit more quality control to make them complaint-free. ...Unless I'm reviewing something, in which case, there will ALWAYS be complaints!
Design: Kreons are some of the best figures I've ever seen, being very articulate and detailed, while still resembling a standard brick figure! They have a much sleeker design and a wider range of movement in their arms and legs than a minifigure, with the added bonus of holes in their legs to place additional accessories. This greatly helps this line's transformation abilities, as you're easily able to insert wheels and guns into these slots to further add to the illusion of conversion(such as it is.) I guess the head design is a bit strange, but in the "good" sense, as it gives the figures a look all to their own. ...That's all I can think of to comment on the figure designs. They're very well made, with a design and articulation that sets them apart from all other brick figures, and I can think of no flaws with them! ...They're better than the other Kre-O figure design, at the very least...
Creativity: The fact that they were able to come up with all these forms that these figures can take is a major creative venture in and of itself! It's VERY hard to make brick figure parts look natural when combined with regular bricks, so seeing an entire range of figures dedicated to that very goal is impressive! ...Whether they succeeded or not is another story. Some of the figures I thought turned out really well, with Arcee, Hoist, Scourge, and Protectobot Groove faring the best in how well their pieces geled with one another to create convincing vehicle modes you'd be foiled into thinking were regular brick sets! Others were quite poor, with Bulkhead, Autobot Powerglide, and Lugnut coming off the most unconvincing, just looking like they took the figures and stacked some pieces on top of them, resulting in them looking more like heavily decked-out figures than vehicles. All the rest fell somewhere in-between, with some looking a lot better once I added or removed certain parts they kept attached! Besides the transformations, how accurately they painted the different figures to match their animated characters is impressive with a lot of these! Figures like Arcee, Scourge, Hardshell, and Vehicon all clearly had fans working on them, or at least skilled professional artists, as they look almost EXACTLY like whom they're based on, down to the smallest detail! I guess I could get annoyed at how a number of these figures clearly reuse transformations and helmets, but if you're creating hundreds of different figures, each requiring an alt form, that need to be sold at a smaller price point than Lego, I think it's forgivable. ...What DOES annoy me are the Transformers they didn't even TRY to make look like their original counterparts, like Blight, Lugnut, and Hoist! Were these figures given to the interns, who were too busy getting everyone coffee and watching BoJack Horseman to bother with a "stupid kids show"? ...That's probably a worst-case scenario, and these characters just didn't translate well to Kreon form. On the whole, these characters look great, or at least recognizable, and the fact you can switch between characters and vehicles/beasts/equipment is a LOT of fun! I just wish they focused more on what characters worked than how many they could churn out.
Readability: The transformations were very simplistic, with most of them simply having you transplant a few pieces to another part of the figure, but it was nice to have an instruction sheet to show what piece goes where. Especially with the figures where the body had to be positioned in a certain way to fit the form. As there are fewer than a dozen pieces with most of these figures, the instructions are all put into one simple square, with every brick clearly shown where it goes. They serve their purpose, and it's hard to get lost with ONE step! No complaints.
Packaging: They're just blind bags, so the design of the packaging isn't really given much thought. You're just after the figure inside, so they're designed to be ripped open and thrown away, giving you nothing but the copyright data and the lineup of what you could possibly get inside. I'll give it credit that, instead of the standard group shot most of these bags use, the front depicts a large shot of three of the Transformers posed in a theatrical way, while their individual transformations zoom by below them, so it's a little more exciting than standard blind bag fare. Still, as with the Minions, while I can't fault the packaging for how it's designed and for fulfilling its purpose, I can't give it high marks for creativity, and I'm not convinced to keep it around after I open it.
Compatibility: Since Kreons have all the same details as regular Lego minifigures and more, plus the parts are regular bricks you'd find in any standard set, I don't see any way these wouldn't be compatible with your garden-variety building brick!
Overall:
These were a lot of fun to collect and put together, and I'm elated that I found the whole set! The quality's not bad, the figure design is VERY good, to the point where I wish we had more characters using the design, but the creativity on display is what REALLY makes this set work collecting! Not only are you getting high quality figures, you're getting 2-in-1 figures, meaning you can play with either the character or the alt modes! Sure, the accuracy is sometimes questionable, and not all the characters fit the Kreon form or concept, but on the whole, more of the characters are well made and impressive to transform than the ones where they had no idea how to translate the transformation into a simplistic brick set. I don't really care for the Transformers franchise, which is probably why I'm not giving this line full marks, but I do believe in giving credit where credit is due, and for these overlooked figures from a now-defunct brick line, credit is SORELY needed! If you can find these hanging around your local Dollar General or Walgreens, and you're a fan of Transformers and/or brick figures, I'd recommend checking them out! ...As long as they're under $4 apiece. As with any blind bag, spending any more without knowing what you're getting is ludicrous! And if anyone tells you otherwise, they're clearly joking, so just tell them "This is bad comedy!"
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