Okay folks. Big decision to make.

Tomorrow is my payday (yay!), and I'm tempted to start collecting a Menasor combiner. Third-party one, obviously.

My collection revolves around the Universe/Classics/Generations sort of scale, and my combiners thus far include the likes of Warbotron and TFC Uranos.

Now, obviously the latest entry to the 'Combiner Wars' regarding Menasor is TransFormMission's epic-scale design, but is this the one I should go for regarding my collection?

Are there any other entries in the pipeline that I've yet to hear about?

Naturally there's also FansProject Intimidator but isn't he a bit tiny?

Or shall I wait for a new combatant to enter the arena? Whenever that may be?

I do NOT want Combiner Wars/Unite Warriors Menasor... more like MenaSORE, am I right??

Thanks all.

 

I'd say you should wait for someone else to tackle him if ya want a CHUG Menasor, Transformmission's offering is nice but would probably feel out of place considering the individual bots are about Masterpiece sized.

 

FansProject's "Intimidator" Menasor is smaller than your standard combiner, and their Motormaster's combination is an all-day affair, but it's considered the best Menasor out on the market right now, which doesn't say much since there's nothing else out there.

There's also Bold Forms' Lone Wolf for Motormaster, which can combine with the CW/UW limbs, but he's a trainwreck.

Wait to see how TransFormMission's turns out.

 

FP's M3 is definitely smaller compared to the rest of your combiners. The Combiner Wars Menasor is actually pretty decent if you get the PE upgrade kits for it (head + body + sword) + (hands + feet). However, since you already have Warbotron, I'd say just stick with the Transformmission one.

 

IMO you really only have one option with TFM. I have no desire to have CW stuff in my collection and don't think they fit in well with the other 3P offerings and FP M3 is basically too small for my liking.

 

PE Menasor is as good looking as a 3P I would say.

 

And also a good size bigger than the rest of the regular CW combiners

 

Once I collect all of Havoc, I will repaint my CW Menasor into a custom. Hope that helps.

 

Go with TFM. Doesn't matter if the cars are "MP-sized"; they're roughly Voyager. And the combined mode will be about the same size as the Warbotron you already have.

I'm a big fan of Intimidator, but the Stunticons cars are smaller than Deluxes. Plus, I gotta say that I started getting the TFM guys because I wanted a bigger combined Menasor, but I didn't expect to like the cars as much as FP's. When I got my hands on the first one, though, I was blown away at how good he is.

 

I actually went the Boldforms route with the CW limbs and PE KO hands that were made from the Bruticus mold. There aren't too many options out there unfortunately for Menasor, but this is the one that suits me the best so far.

I guess it depends on what you are looking for.

1. If articulation and ease of pose-ability is your concern and you like the look of Intimidator, then I would say go for that.

2. If you are more concerned with a G1 aesthetics, size, and don't care as much about pose-ability or stability, then you might want to look into the CW set with PE upgrades or the Boldforms Lonewolf with CW limbs.

3. If you are considering the CW Menasor without PE upgrades, just watch Bobbyskullface's review on that one.

For me, I didn't go with the FP because I heard of some QC issues with Dragstrips windshield breaking. Also, I wanted more of a G1 aesthetic, and I thought Intimidator looked more like a stylized anime version. I may have gone with the complete PE set except I don't like that face they used. I think he looks like he is in constant agony over something (possibly constipation). Otherwise, that would have definitely been a viable option for me.

As far as Lonewolf goes, I like the look of him best out of the options available right now. Just know that there are several problems with him as well. The parts that makeup Motormaster's cab can hang off of his thighs and get in the way during posing. They can be removed, but I don't like to do that since I try to keep parts forming down to a minimum. Over time the connector ports for the arms looses there strength. When I first got him, they were too hard to get off. Now, they may pop off if you do some aggressive posing. They are not bad by any means, but not as good as before. The front waist part tends to pop off, so I suggest a bit of future in the connector holes which will fix that. The biggest problem is the looseness of the joint right below the waist. This along with the weak joints of the CW limbs (not Lonewolf's problem) make posing him difficult.

All that being said, I actually like him a lot because of the G1 look and the fact that you can get some decent poses out of him if you are careful. I have heard reviewers call him "garbage" (Granted the version the reviewer got was garbage), but the one I got was decent. Honestly, I understand why people would not like Lonewolf, but considering all the crap out there that gets praise heaped on them, I'm surprised so many people hate this thing so much. He is by no means the definitive Menasor, but he's definitely not "garbage". I hope somebody else tackles a G1 Menasor soon. Transformission's Menasor looks really nice, but I want a G1 Menasor, not IDW. I hope this helped in your decision making.

BTW: I did some repainting of the crotch piece and Menasor's face to fit my tastes. The actual Lonewolf looks a little different.

 

I couldn't afford Intimidator and Diesel's transformation scares me anyway (that one waist tab breaking, christ) so I went the CW+Third party route. I collected:

CW Menasor (Brake Neck instead of Offroad)
PE Hands+Feet
PE Torso
Nonnef hip ratchets
Nonnef shoulder locks
Renderform Motormaster Rifle





I will say I'm very satisfied with how it all came together, although he can't really hold the rifle up with just one hand since the hands always wind up falling out of the arm from the weight. (I tried pledging Drag-Strip's hand/foot port, it wound up splitting it, now it's worse off) Motormaster is also overloaded with 3P parts now so he's a bit clunky, still it works.

Not to say I wouldn't replace it though. I REALLY want a G1-accurate Motormaster because I'm a fan of his transformation (as impossible as it is). I was ready to invest in Bold Forms' Lone Wolf, but every single video review I see on him convinces me not to spend money on him

 

I also went Boldforms + CW limbs + PE Hands/Feet.

For me, this is the best option in CHUG scale right now.

I have the FP Menasor too, and it looks pretty good, but the transform is way too difficult to be called "fun", and you are right, it is a bit undersized for me.

This has a nice scale for your collection, and while the Motormaster is far from perfect, it is the ONLY Motormaster in that scale that has the Geewunny feel that I prefer. I can overlook his flaws because his torso mode is very good, and his truck mode looks the part too.

 

I love how Intimidator scales with the chug figures. Here they are in alt mode with CW Ultra Magnus.

 

Nice, nice. All looking good chums. Here's where the pendulum's swinging at present:

I'm not really buying the look of CW limbs with 3P attachments/tweaks. It makes Menasor look a bit flimsy to me, and the current aesthetic of my combiners is that they're pretty swoll. I also don't think he'd be the right size... I need one at least as tall as TFC Hercules (at the head).

I'm so picky.

Got to say, I'm a bit of a TFC fanboy, with Hercules and Prometheus as well as Uranos. I wish they'd do a Menasor, that'd be sweet. No way of knowing when they would do it though!

So I think right now I am leaning towards TFM. If only because scale is impossible to get right with a collection, but bigger is definitely better for a combiner.

But I'm keen to hear more ideas!

 

I'm probably going to be going down the TFM route. Mostly b/c I like the motormaster. Picked up the first car but haven't opened it yet. Didn't look too impressive in the pictures - but figure I'd give them a shot since I really liked the Gravity Builder stuff...

 

I just picked up Fansproject Menasor. It seems really complex with a lot of parts that can break(are broken, since I bought it used). I picked mine up for $155 shipped! At the price ~$200 for one in good shape, I think its worth looking at

That being said, he looks awesome combined. I picked up another tube of 5-second fix, fixed the pegs that attach the white lambo to the leg, fixed that glass on the Yellow car.

Also, I would like to say 5 second fix is MUCH better than superglue. Though it is expensive at $10.

 

With respect, I genuinely don't understand anyone who suggests CW Menasor, especially if you're suggesting it with 3P add-ons and most especially if you're suggesting it with Lone Wolf. I mean, by itself it's crap but it's cheap crap. If you're going to invest in fixes, you might as well just buy a 3P Menasor, and by most account Lone Wolf was awful. I don't see how an awful toy is supposed to make an awful combiner less awful. Intimidator is better than CW Menasor in every way possible. I'm far more likely to overlook the slightly too-small cars and tricky Motormaster transformation on Intimidator than I am to overlook the fact that CW Menasor doesn't just suck compared to 3P, he sucks compared to the other CW combiners.

That said, OP already said he has Warbotron, Uranos, Hercules, and Prometheus. So I think it's safe to say that while OP is looking for something CHUG-ish, he doesn't necessarily mean a Voyager torso and Deluxe limbs. TFM's Menasor should scale quite nicely with his other combiners.

And seriously, rubadubspawn, open Disorder! I wasn't super excited for him either, but after I got him in hand he's become one of my favorite 3P figures (in a collection of mostly 3P combiners). Seriously, I loved Intimidator, but TFM's Wildrider blows FP's out of the water.





Later tonight I'll try to take a more actiony pic with a Uranos guy and a Warbotron guy.

 

Someone asked me why I bought my 3P-upgraded CW Menasor when it would have been just as expensive to buy FP's Intimidator complete.

CW Menasor is easier to deal with if a part breaks, as was the case with the first Motormaster I bought when his right leg broke trying to pledge it up.

 

I think I'm sold on TFM, after seeing those images. Please do upload with the Uranos/Warbotron team!

But I'm still open to more suggestions. I'm a sucker for combiners so if there are any people would recommend for the future, I'm all ears.

 

MP carbot size = voyager scale. There really is no such thing as "MP size" as these size variations and names have been around before MP.

Also, depends on your collection. I have a LARGE (voyager and up) scale CHUG/IDW collection (as well as a MP and legends collection).

I do *not* collect classics scale/size - stuff like most of the CombinerWars sizes (deluxes) or anything smaller than that. All the stuff in my large chug collection scales beautifully with one another.

That said, you should go with TFM's IDW Menasor.

If your collection is strictly small scale/mostly deluxes, consider going with the FansProject set. Probably pretty cheap now.

P.S: I'm also a big fan of Uranos (don't understand the hate for him - he's my favorite combiner ever). I have the Wings of Uranos upgrade set, the SXS head and EchoTF's shapeways parts.