Pic review of HFTD Seaspray - Pic heavy!

Discussion in 'Transformers Feedback & Reviews' started by Deceptigtar, Feb 23, 2010.

  1. tf7

    tf7 Well-Known Member

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    lol. Rereading my post, I DID sound a lil rude. My bad...
     
  2. exomega255

    exomega255 Emerald Green

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    I actually think the engineering is very superb.

    The vehicle mode is quite "flat", as it should be, yet they are able to make the robot mode with plenty of attitude and not just also a "flat" robot. Imo, aside from one or two loose joints, it is a great Bot. The color scheme is very nice, and the details on the bot are very fitting.
     
  3. Veloxiraptor

    Veloxiraptor Moé than Meets the Eye

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    I like this toy more than I thought I would. The vehicle mode is rather bland and hollow-looking but Breacher will be a big help with that (they really should've been released at the same time...). Robot mode, meanwhile, blows the G1 design out of the water! The proportions are stocky but not awkward-looking, and the articulation is incomplete but at least it's not too badly blocked by other parts. It gets significant points for double-jointed elbows, and I always appreciate it when a TF can either hold their gun in-hand or mount it on the arm.
     
  4. orionpax636

    orionpax636 What the...?

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    I always dug characters like Seaspray, Cosmos and Beachcomber - little dudes that were happy-go-lucky in the original cartoon and dedicated to the Autobot cause. The shortcomings of their respective figures was easy to overlook due to the personalities the writers gave them.

    That said, I was happy to hear a Seaspray update was on the way, but was a bit apprehensive at the new look.

    Thankfully, having the figure in my hands took care of all that. I was wary of the almost impersonal snorkel look, but when you remember his G1 voice, it grows on you. The increase in size and proportions isn't an issue at all (hey, who doesn't like bigger toys?) if you envision him as a sea character - if he does actually dive, he needs a powerful body to handle all the additional pressure.

    The articulation is nice and usable, with the only missing joint being a swivel waist. I'm very happy to have this guy finally.
     
  5. 9.8m/s^2

    9.8m/s^2 What's in a name?

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    I'm wondering if there'll be some kind of unofficial robot-mode combo between SS and Breacher, as with Mindwipe and Skystalker.

    At the moment, the obvious one is to fold down part of Seaspray's backpack to make a platform for scout-class figures to ride on. Those huge heels that SS has keeps him stable. I don't have Breacher yet, but it looks like he would be the perfect height for this.

    Still, I'm kind of hoping for something a bit more...integrated, although the solidity of Seaspray's torso makes me think that's kind of unlikely.
     
  6. unicronsupreme

    unicronsupreme Well-Known Member

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    I picked this guy up as a consolation prize for not finding Drift today and I really wasn't into him from pictures, but I love it.
     
  7. Ravage_Eject

    Ravage_Eject Soundwave's Favorite

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    Just got him today. Wasn't sold on him at first, but I must say that he is a sturdy "little" guy! I like it a lot!
     
  8. NGW

    NGW Rawr

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    Picked this guy up the other night, and there really is a lot I like about him.

    Vehicle mode is nice, pretty cool design IMO, love the way everything is formed and the interaction with scouts is excellent.

    Transformation is a bit on the simple side, but its done in a very effective manner so it doesn't really bother me.

    Robot mode looks cool, love the diver helmet/mask design for his head, fold out fins are adorably awesome, can do a couple nice variations of the positioning for his guns and turbines.

    I do have a couple issues though that I am curious if it is common to the figure or just mine. Some of his joints feel...well, odd. His arms aren't too bad, but they seem kinda loose at the elbows, but that isn't quite what bothers me, no the real issue is his legs. Getting him to stand is a bit tricky for me, his legs just don't seem to want to cooperate. They're ratchets, and new ones at that so there is no way they can be so loose yet, and they don't exactly seem loose but, it's hard to explain but they don't seem to want to position how they seem like they should, and his feet are kinda hard to get into an actual stance, and I'm not sure what to do with the piece on the back of his leg/ankle. I dunno, anyone else get what I'm saying/experiencing this? His legs seem to kinda bounce back to a different position at times too.
     
  9. Angelwave

    Angelwave Physical Maintenance.....

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    Just got this guy today. Man, he is just awesome. Everything about him just works. I really wouldn't hesitate to buy this mold again. One solid figure.
     
  10. MidnightBliss

    MidnightBliss Well-Known Member

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    NGW- Yes, I have the same feeling in my toy. The joints in his arms feel slippery.
     
  11. orionpax636

    orionpax636 What the...?

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    I kind of feel what you're saying. If your figure is like mine, the difficulty starts in that the ratchets in the knees and hips are pretty tight, but the angles at which they lock are too far apart. If you wanted to stand him in a pretty static, neutral pose, it's not possible to stand him with his legs perfectly straight, because they're too thick. He can stand up straight, but the legs will have to be in a wider stance, because the ratchets won't let the hips stay in anything in between that wide stance and straight up and down.

    It might be possible to remedy ratchet problems like this by filing down some of the teeth of the ratchets - I got the same fix for Universe Powerglide from Razerwire. I don't know that I want to do it with Seaspray here though, because it doesn't bother me too much - his legs manage for him to get into some pretty dynamic poses as is. But it is a bit unusual.

    As for the heel pieces, they are a bit obtrusive and don't serve as much of a stabilizer (since the contact point is rounded). I keep them down though, since folding them back up hinders the range of motion in his ankles.
     
  12. Abrogate

    Abrogate Nondescript Former Poster

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    Got my Seaspray today. I'd seen his transformation in video reviews, but didn't really have it committed to memory, and didn't read the instructions. It looks simple, but there's actually a lot of nuances to it. Lots of joints, especially in his legs, but they don't quite move in the expected direction. But they're not as bad as The Fallen's, they still allow for normal poses and are quite helpful over-all.

    People in the last few posts have mentioned odd QC, so I guess I'll examine mine. The ratchets in his left shoulder are very tight, right is normal. The ratchets in his hips that allow for outward movement are normal, but the swivels that allow for forward and back movement are sliiightly loose. This, coupled with the fact that his waist and his torso don't exactly lock together, make him a bit wobbly when posing him, but when you stand him on solid ground, he's fine. Mine seems to have some silver paint spilled on his right shoulder.

    All in all, I think he's a really cool guy. I love the overt nautical theme, as he is homaging the very first naval Transformer. Frankly, I'm not sure why people want him to be yellow and look "more G1." I've always seen as gold as "a cooler shade of yellow," and yellow is really my least favorite color, so I don't see how reducing him to that would make him better. Plus, I like his design better than the G1, which I didn't see as terribly iconic. This guy seems like "Seaspray joins the Wreckers," pretty pumped up.
     
  13. My03Tundra

    My03Tundra LOVES TO EDIT POSTS!!

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    Man, I love this figure. Little Seaspray has grown up BIG time. A must buy for all of the fans.
     
  14. Skylock

    Skylock Rogue

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    Just picked up this guy. Man what a solid mold.
     
  15. Gligamesh51

    Gligamesh51 @ThatGuyNeedaHam

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    Now this is where it gets interesting for me, after reading the recent posts since this is locally released.

    I bought Seaspray, back in March, from KO Toys.com. Now I have an official Hasbro release. Yet, even thought KO toys sells the factory defects, my fresh new hasbro Seaspray has loose elbow joints! Despite the KO one having trouble staying locked together in alt mode, and the separating plastic on his leg, the KO defect figure as a whole is tighter than the Hasbro one. The only real difference is the elbows between the two. Yes, the hip ratchet joints are looser than the KO one, but he still stands without trouble.

    I don't really know what to say about all this. I'm not saying to buy from KO, because they are supposed to be factory defects, but the hasbro releases still seem to be weaker...
     
  16. My03Tundra

    My03Tundra LOVES TO EDIT POSTS!!

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    I quickly and quietly snagged some photos of Seaspray with some of the "basic" sized figures I had with me at work. Sorry for the fuzziness in some of the pictures as they had to be taken quickly with not a lot of time to focus. As someone had requested there is even one of Huffer in Seaspray. Not a bad matchup, if I say so myself.
     

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    Last edited: Jul 19, 2010
  17. Anguirus

    Anguirus Well-Known Member

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    ^ Hey, thanks!
     
  18. Philister

    Philister Teutonicons Rising!

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    [​IMG]
    For more pictures, click on the image above

    Robot Mode: First thing first: Seaspray (or Sea S.P. Ray, if you will) is vastly bigger than the figure he’s homage to, G1 Seaspray. Much like other Minibots turned giant his reincarnation in present times includes a vast increase in size, as he’s now a Voyager-class figure. The general look of the original figure has carried over, what with the turbines on his shoulders and the front of the hovercraft forming his legs, but of course this vastly larger figure has a whole lot more in the way of detailing.

    Unlike his predecessor, who could only move his arms at the shoulders and nothing else, this new Seaspray is very posable. His bulky body design hampers him but slightly, he can easily pull of multiple poses, including the Kung-Fu kick. In certain poses he does have some stability problems, as his feet are rather small compared to the rest of him. He does have heel spurs in the form of the blue panels flipping down from his lower legs, but they are rounded, so balancing on one foot is kind of difficult. Unless, of course, you activate Seaspray’s hidden feature: the flippers (no, not the band!) Seaspray can unfold blue flippers from his feet. Truth to tell it looks pretty ridiculous to me, but it does give him added stability.

    Seaspray carries two missile launchers that can either clip to his forearms or held in his hands. The translucent blue missiles are shaped somewhat like harpoons, which fits his naval image. Speaking of hands, Seaspray has very nicely sculpted hands, not the usual fist-with-a-hole, but because of the arm design he can’t turn them fully at the wrist despite having a wrist joint.

    So bottom line: A very nice robot mode that pretty much checks all my boxes for excellence.

    Vehicle Mode: As he did in days of yore Seaspray still transforms into a hovercraft. The design is a bit different this time, though, as the new Seaspray more resembles the kind of ferry that’s used to bring cars or equipment from the main land to a nearby island. He’s got a big cargo space taking up the rear two-thirds of his length, including a loading ramp on the rear end that can be lowered to allow Scout-sized vehicles (or smaller) to drive up. G1 Seaspray easily fits into that space with room to spare.

    Seaspray’s missile launchers can remain in the same spot where they were in robot mode (clipped onto the forearms), which leaves them on the sides of the hovercraft, ready for firing. The rear turbines are mounted on joints, too, so you can easily reposition them in multiple ways (same goes for the robot mode, of course). So the bottom line here is: A very nice and solid vehicle mode that offers interactivity with other toys. What more do you want?

    Remarks: Seaspray was kind of the odd-bot out in the original G1 cartoon series. He was the Autobots’ Naval Combat Expert (Megatron himself deemed him such), but seeing as 99% of all missions and battles in the cartoon took place on land, in the air or in space, Seaspray never had much to do (I think there were more sea battles in the cartoon’s first season, before Seaspray appeared, than in the entire series afterwards). His most (in)famous appearance is probably the episode “Sea Change”, where he fell in love with a mermaid and was temporarily transformed into a merman (one of the silliest G1 episodes ever in my mind). With that as Seaspray’s main claim to fame, it’s no wonder many feel that the little Minibot was vastly underappreciated.

    This newest incarnation (only the third-ever toy called Seaspray and the first in 17 years) might not have any in-media appearances under his belt, but there is no denying that he’s a pretty great toy. The ROTF line and its follow-up Transformers (2010) keep bringing out top-notch Voyager-class figures and while I wouldn’t put Seaspray at the top of that list, he’s definitely in the top ten in my book. Oh, and despite being nominally part of the Movieverse, he’s going on my Classics / Universe shelf. Recommended to all Transformers fans that enjoy a good homage to a classic character or feel, like I do, that there aren’t enough seafaring Transformers around.

    Rating: A-
     
  19. eyeballkid

    eyeballkid Old

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    My only complaint is that Powerglide could have been his buddy, but NO, they screwed up that mold!
     
  20. payres

    payres Well-Known Member

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    Sea Spray (2010) - Autobot - www.tfu.info

    See the slats up the side of the cab/along the top of the robot's shoulders?

    Bars for the Hook & Bar weapons gimmick. So you can tool Seaspray up with goodies from Darkmount, Breacher, Ironhide & Skystalker.