Transformers Legacy United Deluxe
Item No.: Asst. F2990 No. F8526 Manufacturer:Hasbro Includes:Axe/crossbow, Roof/shield, gap fillers/side doors Action Feature:Transforms from robot to car, armor bits Retail:$24.99 Availability: December 2023 Other: Nor Rock Lords, Arguably Better
Not a nod to Transformers so much as a competitor, Infernac Universe Magneous seems like someone is aware Rock Lords exists and decided to do one better. Kicking off the line with the black repaint, it's a new Armorizer - that means it's a robot, it's a car, and it's parts you can slap on other toys. The default car and robot modes are good, with nice texture and a head with sufficient personality. Rocker ankles, swivel wrists, and more await you - as well as removable limbs and toed feet. I love that they tried something new here, but the dark colors and shadowy face will either earn it a place on your black toy shelf, or a spot hidden in the shadows of your other displays. It doesn't "pop," but it does look cool.
Hasbro seems to have room in the line for new characters, as long as you can take them apart and they serve as upgrades to other toys. After five lines of these, I'm not sure how I feel about this - we've had little buildings, little vehicles made out of weapons, piles of bones, Junkions, and now rocks. There are some neat nods and nice ideas running through them, but even the very best ones are at a point where I would say I'd be happy to see them find a new gimmick to try out. And I like this.
A a new character, it looks precisely as it should - and that's something toy collectors don't get to experience very much. Most of these nostalgia lines feature characters that are compared to old toys, old cartoons, old comics, or some other form of media - and that's an uphill battle when it comes to fan acceptance. o other Infernac Magneous toys exist, and he's never been in a comic, so this rocky robot just has a nice head with a face mask that looks vaguely like one of the 21st century Foot Clan symbols in spots. He's mostly black and gray, with gold eyes and not a lot of specific robot detail outside the head and knees. Everything else is made of rocks, or in some places, car elements like windows. Articulation is good, and he feels very sturdy for a figure whose gimmick is "can be pulled apart." I had no problems getting him to stand or hold his gear, and the rocky sculpting really worked well for me. I would have liked some more robot detail - or perhaps less robot detail - but it looks enough like a Transformers character so not to totally throw fans for a loop. Unless you're only here for nostalgia or to whine it's not something rare from Japan that you never had in the first place, but it's not like Hasbro doesn't cater to almost all camps in these collector ranges.
He's a good deluxe, with rotating wrists, rocker ankles, and extra foot joints allowing for even more poses. Does he need these? Sort of - they're here for the transformation. It also gives him more personality, which is good given he doesn't have much of a face.
Transformation is pretty simple - I still used the instructions but things tucked in nicely. Going from coal robot to coal car is easy enough, not as simple as the toys of 1984, but easy enough.
The car mode is basically a block of rock with car elements like a bumper, wheels, and armored windows. This may sound goofy, but it's quite good thanks to some excellent texture sculpted in the various rocky bits and a deft use of paint. It doesn't necessarily look like a real rock, but it's rocky, and for those who are about to rocky, we salute you. I suppose you could also say it looks like someone didn't wash their car for 20 years, as just enough car is exposed in what is a mass of naturally occurring elements.
As an Armorizer, Hasbro showed him bulking up Animated Universe Optimus Prime [FOTD #2,738] and it works nicely. The "gap fillers" become spikes for his wrists, various elements combine to become an axe, the shield becomes - are you ready for it - a shield, and the other stuff wasn't necessarily given a specific function. The arms act as some sort of rocky bumpers on Optimus' legs. It works well. You also get a burned-out car husk left over you can use in a display, it works fairly well but it's still mostly just parts stuck on another figure. It's fun, and that's what matters - and it reminds me a bit of Gilthor, which is the Japanese character I've never had that I want of choice. If nothing else, this proves Optimus looks cool with black and grey weapons and armor bolted to him.
I've seen these guys pop up, and sell - and I dragged my feet opening mine. I like it a lot more than the other rocky guys so far, but with no Autobot symbol or any sort of traditional Transformersy markings fans may shrug. They're missing out. It's a clever design that can embrace gaps or panels not quite fitting together thanks to what it is, and it's way more interesting to fuss with than a wadded-up robot in a ball that was Rock Lords. Well, maybe the Narlies were kind of neat, but I admittedly thought the entire concept was kind of insulting when I was a kid. You want rocks? I got a yard. I can get you rocks. How many rocks do you want? A rocky car is innovative, although once you get one or two you've probably got enough. You also have to give credit to Hasbro for including gap filler parts, if you're in to that sort of thing.
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