I'm guessing the figures you have are complete. But that piece looks like part that should be in one of the legs from Geminus. Should be in the lower leg, which the foot part connects with.

Maybe its something that just got by the workers in the factory.

 

OK, my bad. I just checked my packing slip and I see what happened. Due to my credit, it applied to one of the crew and not the other so there were 2 separate entries for these guys instead of the bundle I originally ordered, I got confused. Still, the price is not that bad...sorry for any confusion.

I agree with Jetbolt, it looks like the ankle joint but that would be impossible if his foot is still attached   I really don't see any other part like that. Did you get the extra head? If so, it might be a part from that if it got smashed up real good.

 

I love these two, easily the best transforming figures I've had in years.

 

Just got 'em today and they are now with my MPs. Seriously, I love these buggers.

 

Late for the party. Received mine today and these figures are REALLY awesome! I cannot put these figures down. So beautiful.

 

Got mine yesterday, and even though I was crazy busy I couldn't put them down, amazingly fun figures. Well worth the purchase!

 

I got these on Monday with a bunch of other things, all of which followed Quake Wave that I got last Thursday.

I opened Apex because the cardback came off in transit (essentially making it "opened" when I got it). Left Geminus sealed, figuring it's the same figure so I can always open it later if I liked Apex.

Initial impressions-
Either the legs are too short or the arms are too long. And that bothered me.
The transformation was cool, the weapons are great*, the figure feels nice...
But those proportions.

*The hammer is too big to be a 1-handed hammer and too small to be a 2-handed hammer, but it's still a hammer.

So I let it ride for a few days.

Apex is growing on me, but I'm still not sold. I concluded that the proportions don't matter if and only if it's kept in a dynamic pose.
I don't like the inward shoulder joints in their execution because it doesn't look all that great if it's 2-handing the hammer.

 

My Apex and Geminus came in today. Man, I love these two. Aside from some minor issues with the odd Joints, they've left a great impression on me. They're cute, they're well-armed, and I can get Apex to stand balanced in a running pose on the mouth of a Standard Beer bottle (something many Movieverse Deluxes I own wouldn't be able to do).
Their Hammers are Nice and beefy, Perfect for caving in Decepticon heads.
Their Pricetag is a bit much, but I'd rather pay $35/piece for a Third Party Deluxe than $100+/Piece for a Third Party Voyager/Leader (Like the Fansproject Warbots and Code)

 

My Mech Ideas Apex and Geminus Gallery

 

For more pics, click on the image above


Prelude: Legal stuff first as always. These two figures are from a third party company called Mech Ideas, not from Hasbro or Takara-Tomy, and thus not official Transformers figures. They pay homage to the G1 figures Topspin and Twin Twist, but can’t be called by these names for legal reasons.

Robot Modes: An interesting conundrum right at the start: are these two figures repaints / retools of each other? Well... somewhat. The basic design of the two robots is very similar, as is the way they transform, but they show quite a few differences in their sculpt and if I were to guess how many parts are from the same mold and how many are different, I’d say maybe 60-40. Their torsos, upper legs, and arms are pretty much identical, but lower legs, shoulders and heads are different. Much like the original figures, actually, who were also basically the same, but with quite a few different parts.

Both figures have the full range of motion you’d expect from a current Deluxe-class figure (bonus points for double-jointed elbows) and everything holds together very well. The figures are sturdy, too, and there is no worry that they’ll break apart just from falling over (I do know a few third party figures like that). The attention to detail on the sculpt is amazing, especially considering that these two have rather simple paint jobs. Finally, their heads are very nicely done, being close to their appearance in IDW’s “Last Stand of the Wreckers” comic, and really give a lot of character to these guys. Geminus / Twin Twist even comes with a second “zombie” head, modelled after the way he looked shortly before his death after being tortured by a Decepticon.

Finally, the weapons. Both Apex and Geminus come with two guns each, plus a big war hammer. The hammers are identical for both figures and you can, if you want, use the handle from one to make the other hammer longer. The figures can hold their respective hammers two-handed and adopt quite a few cool poses with these weapons. The guns can plug in on their backs if they don’t use them and the hammer, too, can be stored there by sliding the handle between their shoulder pods.

Bottom line thus: two very cool looking and very well designed robots. No complaints.

Alternate Modes: The transformation isn’t quite a simple as it was for the original G1 Jumpstarters (whom you basically just folded in half), but it’s not the most complicated transformation ever, either. Apex / Topspin becomes a Science Fiction style space jet (with rather questionable aerodynamics, but I guess he mostly flies in space), while Geminus / Twin Twist becomes a tank with two drills up front. Here the similarities between the two figures are even more pronounced, as the vehicles are pretty much identical except that Apex has wings on the sides, Geminus has tank threads below, and they have different attachments sticking out in front.

Both vehicles can mount some or all of their respective weapons on top, with the handle of the hammer becoming the barrel of a big gun and the hand weapons going on either side. Alternatively the hammer can also be stored beneath the vehicles. And... yeah, don’t really have that much more to say here. Two decent vehicle modes, close in look to those of the G1 Jumpstarters, but really not that extraordinary. The focus of the figures is clearly the robot mode.

Remarks: I was going to talk about the long history of the Jumpstarters here and how Top Spin and Twin Twist were present in just about every incarnation of the Wreckers across all the various comic books and such stuff, but then I read the last paragraph of Geminus’ profile text, which reveals the secret of the Wreckers / Demolition Crue’s success: after each mission they go to a planet full of femme-bots and... relax. And by relax I mean... you know what I mean, right? The Wreckers got their own pleasure planet hidden away, where they go to have amazing... relaxation. Just in case you were wondering what the appeal was of joining an elite unit with a casualty rate as high as the Wreckers. A private planet full of femme-bots.

As for the toys, they are great, solid Deluxe class figures. Nothing bad to be said about them at all. The characters they reference are not the most prolific of all Transformers, naturally, so they might not be for everyone. But the love for detail, the great quality, and the (for a third party toy) relatively low price tag combined make them an all-around great deal. Certainly not a must have for everyone, but fully recommended to all Wreckers fans.

Rating: B+

 

Does anyone know an easy way to get the chest to lock together? I can't get it to slide all the way down and to get the tabs near the shoulders to lock in. I don't want to force anything and end up breaking either of these guys.

EDIT: Never mind, I figured it out. Had to press the chest into the waist harder. Really fun figures and I love the added touch of the dead head for Geminus.

 

Hey guys, I want your opinion: I'm trying to figure out what Third Party figure(s) to buy, and I've narrowed it down to the Demolition Crue, Fansproject City Commander, or Fansproject Colossus (Bruticus). What would you recommend?

 

All of them are very good. Are you aware of the fact that City Commander + Classics Ultra Magnus and FP Colossus + ROTF Bruticus set could cost you up to 300-350 each? Maybe the much cheaper Demolition Crue could be a better start.

 

Anybody still high on these guys? I need some convincing to go get them, hehe  

 

Great quality, highly poseable, spot on likenesses and ooze thuggy character.

As demonstrated here.

 

I ordered Apex & a G1 Topspin in good condition during the summer, and finally ordered Geminus to go with him last month. He arrived a couple days ago! Great to have the pair together! Do it. They're by far the most affordable 3rd party Deluxes, great as a pair if you're any kind of Jumpstarters/Wreckers fan, and spectacular if you're a Last Stand of the Wreckers fan.

 

Absolutely. I bought them when they were released and I still love them. They're not perfect; the proportions can look funny at certain angles and if you stare too hard at them you'll find other little things wrong. But they're a hell of a lot of fun, articulation is awesome, I haven't found any reasons why people shouldn't try them out. For what 3rd party stuff normally costs, they're an awesome value for the money.

 

Check out the groin section of your figure. It looks exactly like the small square piece that attaches into the groin area.

- Gregg

 

Just got these guys and transformed them both to bot mode and I love them. Satisfyingly complex but not frustrating transformations, and very solid feeling in both modes. These are the best feeling 3rd party bots I've had the pleasure of handling yet (I also own the Intimidator limbs, the not-Throttlebots, and a couple of the Function-X series). They feel sturdy and very well thought out. Great execution of design on these and the price is great compared to most 3rd party offerings. I fact that the hammer can be stored in a couple of different ways in vehicle mode is a huge bonus and really shows how much love went in to the design of these figures. I hope we get to see more from this company.

 

Just got them today, after reading all the positive comments here. Very impressed, especially for the price. There are 3P figures I've paid twice as much for that aren't as fun and well-designed as these. Yes, there are some minor quibbles (some spots too tight, some too loose, stress marks on the little holes the hammers mount to), but nothing major.
I did widen out the holes in the backs of their shoulders to create extra weapon mounts; kind of surprised they didn't do that, actually.
Looking forward to the next release by this group.