finally got it to snap on guys...thanks for all of the suggestions...now, I just have to find a way to not pry it off with a flat-head screwdriver... 

 

A couple of people have mentioned breaking the tabs when removing the wings, and that actually making it work better, not that I recommend breaking it, just if it happens don't panic right away.

 

Wish I would have seen your post a couple of days ago.. I was going to suggest try sanding down the clip points a little. I did it and I havent had any problems. I have taken my on and off several times with no problems...

 

Hey bro, thanks...I sanded the tabs down actually because I've found that I can just slide the clips off...so now, my tabs/ports don't actually reach each other...just the clips on Sharp Claw's shoulders, which I slide off...

 

Im selling my UT Warlord Predaking. Needs Rampage/right arm. $215 w/out boxes shipped in the US. Comes with all parts and inserts. Also included is a Crazy Devy gold chrome sword which needs handle from fists set. Also has Decepticon symbols neatly placed on each bot. Pm if interested

 

Sooo...I found out why I wasn't able to get one of the Ace's sale War Lords...My wife bought one of them for me as an early Christmas present! (Well, technically, it was 50/50, I just didn't know it at the time. lol) She's a peach, I love her to pieces.

I.

Love.

The.

Shit.

Out.

Of.

This.

Set.

No, seriously, I do. I have been overwhelmed with this set and it continues every day. Dang.

Up first, War Hawk (from here on out referred to as Dive Bomb):

I really don't understand the complaints about this guy. People said he felt knock offish and bad and I don't feel that at all.
Pros:
-Nice and simple to transform, but has enough steps to make it fun.
-Balances quite well, considering his backpack and how back heavy he can be.
-Paint apps were top notch on my figure.
-Love how the beast mode feet disappear.

Cons:
-Paint apps in beast/limb mode look like something from a KO. The random silver and Christmas colors slapped all over his legs just look stupid. Not sure why Unique Toys went and did it like that. Ugh.
-His limb mode attaches to the War Lord (here on out, Predaking) fist a bit too tight and it's sometimes a bitch to get it to come off to go back to robot or beast mode.
-Don't like how the wings detach. No breakage, seems to be holding, but the pin has loosened a bit, so the one wing tends to droop every now and then. I'm sure it can be fixed.

All in all, I like Dive Bomb. I like him a lot.

Ironhead (AKA Headstrong)
This is where I question UT's design change. People claim War Hawk's the worst of them, but this guy felt like a straight up KO, to me.

Pros:
-I like the ball jointed beast legs so you can pose him how you want.
-I like how the cannons on his back will keep him together if the legs ever loosen and don't want to stay pegged together.
-I like the colors on the figure itself.
-A bit more intricacy to the transformation, especially in the arms.

Cons:
-I hated how tight those tabs were that hold the legs in place in both beast and limb mode. Hacked 'em off. (Bad idea, more on that in a bit.)
-The weapon handles, while too small for any other related Transformers toy, are too big for this guy and his left fist has stress marks out the ying yang.
-He FEELS like a KO. Clearly he's constructed better than that, he's held up to a lot of abuse from me, but he feels like a KO.
-His cannon/foot screams KO. The plastic quality starts it off, but the colors just seal the deal. I'm not sure why UT decided to go this route, but no. Just...no. Oh and the irreplaceable batteries? FFS. They better not leak...
-His head design is a pain. You have to hold the robot mode head, while turning the beast head and because the robot head is so small, you really have to clamp down and it hurts. If you turn either head to pose it, the other moves with it. FFS!
-His beast mode looks ridiculously weird without the cannons in place. This is where MMC whupped UT's ass. Hell, I'll even give TFC more credit.

All in all, not the strongest entry in the series, but his beast and robot modes look pretty good, he looks great with the rest of the team and he's a necessary component. (If he were stand alone, eh...)

Savagebull (AKA Tantrum)

A little better than Headstrong, but not by much.

Pros:
Well...pretty much the same as Headstrong.

Cons:
Heh. Going to have to say the same as Headstrong. (Sadly.)

Although, special mention, his hip flaps do help with locking things into place and goes towards stability. I wish Headstrong had the same pieces added in, but there's no way to fix it, now. The head design isn't terrible, but it's two different pieces and they're not solidly connected. With a fingernail I can move the face a little bit back and forth inside the beast head, just feels like cheap construction. Scary.

All in all, a bit better than Headstrong, but not by much, still has that KO feel.

Violence (AKA) Rampage:
Hot damn, UT! This guy is awesome! He might just edge out Dive Bomb a little bit. He's just a solid and well balanced figure.

Pros:
-His transformation is straight forward and works well in either direction. Gives you 3rd party figure and feel without the stress of crazy 3rd party/Masterpiece/ROTF transformation.
-He looks awesome armed to the teeth. He looks like he's about to hit the crazy button at any time and you best watch out!
-His limb mode works well and detaches from the Predaking fists just fine.

Cons:
-His pelvis is loose. Well, to clarify, the waist is fine, but the black plastic that holds the ball joints tends to swing left to right, like there's a piece missing and he should be able to hold it straight. I can't help but wonder if these cheaper boxless sets are KOs or factory rejects...
-His beast mode's articulation is a bit hampered in the back legs. The feet are ball jointed, but the legs are not. Kind of limits his movement, compared to the rest of them. I'm not sure why they cut corners here.
-Why does he have the arm mount for the combined form cannon? I don't want to have to break out the drill and modify Dive Bomb! Damn it.
-Speaking of...why does HE come with the combiner weapon? I just found that odd.

All in all, a solid figure and at the time, should've been an indication of what was to come from UT, because it was proof that as they go, it just gets better.

Sharp Claw (AKA Razorclaw)

Beefy and powerful looking, just as he should be.

Pros:
-A very bulky looking robot mode and crazy dangerous when all armed up. (Love it!)
-Quite poseable.
-Transformation simple enough, but has some neat features such as the leg panels. (I thought that was pretty cool, actually.)
-Balances quite well, even though mine is misassembled a tad.

Cons:
-The misassembled legs... Those thighs are such a bitch to deal with. The ratchet in his right leg, at the knee, is one or two teeth off and it can't be corrected due to the construction design, so it looks like he has a limping bad leg. Drives me nuts. If I keep tearing it apart to try and fix it, he'll be destroyed, so I had to give up.

-Speaking of... Having to tear the thighs apart to add a piece of water bottle cap (I had to do it too) is ridiculous, especially at the price they're asking for this dude. I don't care if he comes with a bunch of accessories to seal the deal, it's a terrible design. Also, putting the cap mod in is pointless in the end. The nub that catches the gears is stripping down to nothingness with each movement, soon he won't be able to stand when combined. That REALLY bothers me.

-His tail. DAFUQ, UT? Every time I move it, it detaches because of...whatever. You can look at it funny and it comes off. Why they didn't pin it in is beyond me, but it seems like a no brainer. (FFS, come on UT!)

-No way to attach the cannon to his forearm. Such bullshit. Bullshit, I say!

-His deco and soft molded facial features sell him as a KO. That really disappoints me. From the neck down, he's solid and feels like a real figure, but from the neck up screams KO. *sighs*

All in all, the plastic quality is MUCH better than even the previous figures in this series, which shows that they were listening to the people's complaints and that they really were trying. (They still are.) Aside from some things that really bug me, I like Razorclaw. He's a good, but not great figure. Rampage and Dive Bomb are competing for that spot.

And now, we come to the big bad himself: War Lord (AKA Predaking)

WHOA. WOW. UNF. DAT COMBINED MODE. UNNNNF.

Pros:
-EEEE NORM US. I saw pictures, I watched videos, I still wasn't prepared. My body was not ready and I still liked it. The scale, the wingspan, the sword, all of it says "Lookit me, I'ma mudstomp you"

-The sword. Holee.... It's not just massive, it's SHARP. Like "Ow, I actually broke skin because of this thing!" sharp. I just love the detail on it, incredible.

-The combined forearm cannon. It's so big and imposing!

-The range of poseability for a figure of this size, combined or not, is incredible. He puts Titan Class Metroplex to shame in this department. (That being said, Metroplex still wins because he's as poseable as he is, in the size he is. Two feet of plastic and very expressive, still wins. lol)

-The heels and toes can be used in the poses as well and their movement points are so tight that they can hold the poses without breaking a sweat. The feet might be ugly, but they're well made in that department, even if they look and feel like a KO. (Looks can be deceiving.)

Cons:

-WAY too back heavy. Too heavy in all directions, really. Fortunately the cannon and sword are just enough weight to counterbalance.

-Balance, in general, is a BIG issue. This guy wants to fall over faster than a Wino on a binge drink with the worst rotgut tequila and a sleeping pill for good measure. Seriously, he just cannot stand under his own weight depending on the stance/pose he's in. It's a real thrill killer, too. Almost immediately you experience the balance/stability problem when he's put together. Honestly, it pisses me off. He's |---| <--- this close to greatness, but the stability/balance problem completely kills that chance.

-Stability as in connection points... FFS those arms are connected so tightly that you feel like he's going to break if you detach them how you want to. (I.E. a normal, reasonable way) In fact, I took the advice of one of the video reviews and left the shoulder cannons connected to Razorclaw and just connected the arms to the cannons instead of his shoulders, directly, and when I went to remove them...I snapped one of the cannon barrels right off. Fortunately, due to their design, I was able to super glue it to reconnect it and it's been rock solid ever since. After that, I decided to connect Dive Bomb and Rampage directly. I see now this is not the greatest idea either, because of how you have to grip Razorclaw to remove them. If those arms start to slide out, you're applying pressure to his elbows and it could lead to breakage. I really, really don't like that. At all. Plus, the cannons look better being back mounted instead of in the arms/shoulder. Still, if I want longevity, I'll have to stick with using the cannons as a connection point instead of directly using Razorclaw's shoulders. Just not a solid, or well thought out design.  

-The cannon LOOKS like a KO with it's ridiculous paint apps, the feet do too, as well as Dive Bomb and it's all due to the paint apps. Up close, it looks like some far flung Chinese factory tried to make their own transforming robots. From afar, it all works and looks like a Hasbro-ish Transformer finally made it to production. Problem is, when you want to play with it (and you do!) you need to be up close and that's where the KO look/feel comes into play. Just not a great visual design choice. Kind of gaudy, too.

-The wings/backpack on their/it's own are just absolutely ridiculous. They look great when combined and really sell it, but they're just an absolute bitch when it comes to storage/display. There's really no room for them and the whole Predaking form takes up a sizable piece of property on your shelves. That sounds great in theory, not so in practice. I mean, dayum, that's a lot of space taken! Plus those wing blades...LOOK great, but absolutely needless in the end. The wings, on their own, look fine without them and they're meant to fold in when not in use. Problem is, the wings are meant to be off to the side when not in use, which is most of the time because he's not in combined mode! Such a dumb, dumb, dumb plan. The blades, while fierce looking, are absolutely unnecessary and the ability to fold them in, even more so. (DA. FUQ. UT?!)

-The excess pieces left over when not combined. I see why they created the torso pieces as they have, but integration in other forms would've been really nice. I realize this is basically G1 updated, but come on, other G1 updates have found ways to integrate pieces. This should have done the same. I'm not saying replicating MMC's set is the way to go, but at least they found ways to use them other than accessories sitting off to the side. Big accessories taking up space, sitting off to the side.

All in all, this was an ambitious first project from a fledgling 3rd party, and they went too ambitious in some ways and not at all in others. That makes it straight up frustrating. On the one hand, it's a REALLY nice Predaking, on the other hand, it's flaws are numerous and noticeable, even detrimental in function. That's a genuine shame. Overall build quality is passable, but only just. Figures like Dive Bomb and Rampage really anchor the set and make it qualify in quality territory, while figures such as Tantrum and Headstrong leave it in KO territory, while Razorclaw is stuck somewhere in the middle, when all of them could've just shined like the gems they tried to be.

Even with all of it's flaws, I still love it to pieces. I really do. I even still recommend it, I honestly do. Just be aware of it's shortcomings, don't expect miracles and no way/no how should you spend it's original MSRP or even the current asking price of $300.00/300.00 plus shipping. Hell no. The $250.00 shipped that Ace's was asking is exactly the right price and not a penny more. Even $250.00 plus shipping is asking too much, unless BBTS has it go on sale and you have a POL already started. If TFSource puts it at $250.00 and offers freebie shipping, I say go for it from there as well, but please don't pay a penny over $250.00.

Not a one.

$199.99 would be far more palatable and reasonable considering the build quality and plastics used on Tantrum and Headstrong.

With a bit of TLC, a few mods (such as the bottle cap thing) and not cutting the tabs on the leg bots like I did, he'll turn out to be a fine addition to your collection, just not the centerpiece or the Masterpiece. Go in with reasonable (not lowered, even) expectations and possibly a sturdy figure stand, plus excess storage/display space and you'll quite happy with UT War Lord.

 

Bottle Cap mod?

 

You snip a bottle cap from a water bottle, one of the 16.9 ounce bottles, take the two pieces and place one in each of Sharp Claw's hips, so it pushes the ratchet piece deep into the ratchet detents so it catches better. There's a post and a video describing it. Give me a few and I'll repost it for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K3Nt4jTM8k

 

I have Feral Rex instead of this version as I think that version is the best (to me). I loathe the oversized sword that he has though, and I love the wicked looking scimitar-esque blade that this one comes with. Does UT have a contact page? I want to buy two of them (the swords, not the bots)


bucket

 

Really liking these figures... a lot more than I thought I would.

Scales nicely with Combiner Wars and follows the 1 Voyager, 4 Deluxes format.






Also found myself a good use for packing popcorn  

 

Just want to ask, coz I read somewhere that UT Divebomb was compatible with the G1 version.
If so, does this mean the wings fit ? Or can he attach to G1 Razorclaw in Predaking mode.

And if so, does this mean all the UT predacons are therefore compatible with the G1 figures ??

I really like the look of this guy and am thinking of getting him, if I can still find him at a decent price

 

As far as I can tell no it's not...
But this is a great set. I have had mine for a while and I still pull him out every now and then..

 

Nice. Quick question; is Warlord pretty steady as a combiner?

 

Sturdy? Probably between Feral Rex and Ares.

 

I love that idea of packing peanut sword holders!

iDD

 

Let's find a way then !!!  

 

Blast from the past.
Got a Warlord on the way so decided to trawl through the thread to consolidate a list of fixes. I hope mine doesn't have too many problems ... well, better late than never, even if "late" is by like, 4 or 5 years lol

 

When I got mine back last year, I don't think I had any real serious issues with mine.

The only issue is probably Sharpclaws legs when he becomes torso mode. It's quite lose at the hips, and tends to take a bit to balance properly. But other than that, really solid figure. Actually my favorite 3rd party Predaking (do I need to dodge the tomatoes ??) !!! I just like the fact it's proportionate !!

The only thing that is its real issue these days is it height, due to every company now vowing for a place in MP Land !!

 

This is a nostalgic thread. I love the SOX look of Warlord, and the individual bots are very G1 (although possibly even too G1/simple). I've given up hope of a CW/UW/TR Predaking so this will fit right into that gap. I can only dream of what might have been if Toyworld hadn't split up/decided to continue pumping out SOX-inspired, MP-grade combiners. The Predaking wars came a little too early for him to benefit from the advancements in 3P tech and engineering.