PCC 2-Pack Review: Sledge w/Throttler

Discussion in 'Transformers Feedback & Reviews' started by TimToyGeek, Aug 8, 2010.

  1. TimToyGeek

    TimToyGeek Well-Known Member

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    Here's my second of the three new PCC Commander 2-pack reviews, Sledge w/Throttler.

    When I first saw Sledge, my thoughts were 'another backhoe?' maybe evoking bad memories of Car Robots Grimlock (or Build Hurricane? forget the exact name) or numerous other poorly executed TF Backhoes. For some reason, it's a vehicle that doesn't always get executed as a TF all that well. But when I saw Sledge in the package in robot mode, he looked good, with arms that were in proportion and actual hands rather than scoops for hands, and I liked the minicon/drill idea, so I picked him up.

    Sledge comes packaged in robot mode, and the first impression is a solid badass construction 'bot, mainly safety yellow, black and some decepticon purple with silver accents. He's got a hefty sawblade in the center of his chest, the hardpoint that is at the top of his vehicle mode cabin is just to the right of the saw, off center. The sawblade spins a bit, but there's no gimmick to spin it. That's okay, though, this isn't Starriors.

    The PCC combiner pegs are at the top of his shoulders sticking up, but they kind of look like smokestacks, so they aren't too bad looking. The arms have lots of nice jointing, including tricky shoulders that allow for some nice range of motion. You can unfold the steam shovel scoops and give him 'brute mode' arms without losing too much movement, or turn one of the arms around to make use of the hardpoint on the end of the shovel scoop for driller bot mode. He does have hands as well, so you can fit him for a sidearm if you wish. The head is interesting, he has 'blinders' on each side of his face, which I figured correctly had something to do with his second face mode - all you do is close the blinders and turn the head around for his larger 'armor up' head mode.

    The face mold is another good one, he looks angry and slightly constipated. The blinders make him look like he's got protective gear on. The second head has faceguards on each side (the blinders when they close open these on the other side) and the face is very reminiscent of classic Soundwave and/or the original Decepticon symbol. I can see that head becoming very popular for Soundwave kitbashes.

    There are purple Decepticon symbols on each forearm shield. The legs are the standard-by-now tread legs, ending in bulldozer scoop feet, with the PCC leg pegs forming heel spurs. The legs have a bit of springloaded feature where the middle of the tread pops out to form the knee, and allow for good range of motion. There are the usual thigh swivels, and ankle swivels due to torso mode.

    Transformation to backhoe mode is a bit tricky, but nice. The legs fold under and peg in to form the vehicle treads, with a nice amount of clearance for the heel PCC pegs. The treads spring back into place once you transform them and roll fine on the bogey wheels. The scoops end up in front. The torso flips around so that the saw is also on the front right in the center of, and in between, the scoops. It's worth noting that the saw has its own hinge for poseability in vehicle mode, so it's like a jumbo chop saw.

    The side panels unsnap and swing back and then the arms transform together into the backhoe - here's where that tricky rotating shoulder bit comes into play - the PCC pegs don't change position, but there are yellow bits that rotate on the upper arm so that the arms come together nicely for backhoe mode. The arms and scoop peg together firmly, and there is a nice range of motion for the backhoe, so it can actually scoop (a refreshing change of pace from the usual backhoe TF).

    You end up with hardpoints on the scoop bottom and the cab top, the scoop bottom one is clearly meant for Throttler in his drill mode, you can pose it so that the drill is pointing forward or even mostly vertically down.

    Torso mode is pretty good - there are some extra hinges in the legs that get used, and the scoops wind up covering the leg connections well as extra armor. The rotating 90 degree shoulder panels put the PCC arm connectors out, while the arms fold up to put the scoop halves on the shoulders as armor. The cab unfolds a bit, and the saw pushes back into the chest on its hinge so that the chest hardpoint gets centered for the chest armor. I don't see how it connects to anything too well, though. Not bad for a torso mode.

    Throttler is another misnomer, he should be named Drillbit or Abcess or something to have to do with drilling, not a throttler. He comes in robot mode, with long lower legs, pointy kneecaps, and funny looking arms and a cyclopean peg head. Yes, his head is a peg. Why do these guys even have pegs? I mean, it's a nice feature but it's not used for much.

    He transforms into a big translucent purple drill bit with a little bit of a base with the hole in the center. The drill looks great with sculpted details. His base even turns! I can see a lot of fun being had with this little guy. I'm tempted to buy another one so I can paint him red and have a minicon that transforms into a strawberry.

    The armor mode is kind of nothing special, but there are lots of ways you can half-transform the drill halves to make the minicon into effective armor. He's super poseable and fun. I just noticed, too, that he has a four legged walker tank mode - just unpeg the drill and pose each arm and leg so that the drill base, which looks like a cab, points forward. His head can stand in for a tank cannon.

    Apologies for the subpar pictures, but here are some that I took.

    DSCN0840 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

    Brute Arms:

    DSCN0841 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

    Drillbit attached:

    DSCN0842 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

    Vehicle:

    DSCN0844 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

    DSCN0845 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

    DSCN0847 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

    Purple strawberry mode:

    DSCN0839 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

    Minicon robot mode:

    DSCN0837 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

    Torso mode:

    DSCN0834 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

    Torso w/drones and armor:

    DSCN0833 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

    Thanks

    Tim
    "toy geek"
     
  2. Toxicon

    Toxicon Banned

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    Can't wait to find this guy. Great review. :D 
     
  3. Tiller

    Tiller I don't know nothin'

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    Thanks man. You're like the only person who has even mentioned these guys. Please do Leadfoot next!

    Also, use the camera flash and find a nice steady base like a box to take photos so they don't end up blurred so much with motion!
     
  4. Lumpy

    Lumpy Taylor Swift Action Master Super Mod

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    sweet! can't wait to find the new stuff... and yeah, you should check out the thread that SydneyY posted about how to take sweet photos... i'll try to find the link for you...
     
  5. Mechafire

    Mechafire Shadow Broker Moderator News Staff

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    This is probably my most anticipated PCC. Thanks for the review. :thumb 
     
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2010
  6. Lumpy

    Lumpy Taylor Swift Action Master Super Mod

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  7. TimToyGeek

    TimToyGeek Well-Known Member

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    Leadfoot's next up, I'll try to get him reviewed tonight or tomorrow.

    I'll work on the photo skills, normally my camera's fine, but for some reason the photos don't come out great on these. I'll look over the tips to see if I can improve these.

    A note on the Sledge review - I said previously that the chest hardpoint can fold open so that it is centered, but doesn't seem to lock onto anything, I did find that there is a slanted tab that holds the chest peg in place. It doesn't lie flat, it's a shallow V shape, but the effect is that the chest peg is centered and solid.

    So far I'm liking this guy a lot, tons of poseability and playability.

    Tim
    "toy geek"
     
  8. ExVeeBrawn

    ExVeeBrawn You Are Out of Range

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    That's not motion blur, it's the camera's auto focus. Flickr tells me what model camera you used. The specs for it says the normal mode's focus range starts at 50cm - almost two feet. You should switch to macro mode which is supposed to let the camera focus at a lot closer range. You'll fill up the frame more and probably have clearer photos. Also bumping up the shutter speed to 1/60 or 1/80 would make it fast enough to compensate for any mild hand-wobble.
     
  9. ORIO

    ORIO Team Sentinel Prime Moderator News Staff

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    Timtoygeek thanks for the review and pics! But in the future I would totally recommend posting the img code or uploading your pics instead of linking :) 

    I got lucky today and found this guy and took some pics in my lightbox. I hope you don't mind TTG :) 

    With Combaticons
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    [​IMG]

    w/ Combaticons and Chesticon
    [​IMG]

    w/ Aerialbots ...this... this just looks awful :p 
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    w/ Rallybots
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    Got some more pics but they need to be brightened up still. Will post tomorrow
     
  10. xanthax

    xanthax choppaface

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    This guy looks great. Thanks for the review/pics!
     
  11. payres

    payres Well-Known Member

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    My thoughts on Throttler:

    Power Core Combiner Mini-Con Throttler

    Throttler is a purple Mini-con robot that's supplied with the Power Core Combiner commander Sledge, who's a yellow excavator. Throttler is a clear purple Mini-con who has a black head and upper limbs and a painted silver face. There's a Mini-con port dead centre on his chest,and if you look closely from the top you'll see that his head is a Mini-con post which will allow you to have some fun. I've already mounted Chainclaw, Icepick's Mini-con on it in weapons mode to give Throttler a missile launcher head :)  There's some nice moulded detail on the toy including the hands inside the parts that form the arms. The lower legs are at something of an angle and point forward when going from foot to knee and gives him pointed knee caps. His articulation is tip top, with ball joints at the elbows, shoulders & hip, a thigh swivel and bending knee. These last two joints could have been combined if Hasbro had given him ball jointed knees too.

    To convert Throttler into armour mode, fold the lower legs back 180 degrees at the knees so the lower legs cover the upper ones. Point each leg diagonally out to the sides then turn the Mini-con over and round so it's back is facing you and it's head points down. Fold the arms up so they now run diagonally under the underside of the legs. Pin onto Sledge (or any of the other commander figures) using the chest mounted Mini-con port with the larger robot's head looking out through the V formed by the legs.

    This is probably the best of the Mini-con armour modes that I've seen so far, really works for me giving the impression of being some sort of jagged electrical bolt mounted on the larger robot.

    To transform into weapons mode, fold the lower legs back 180 degrees at the knees so the lower legs cover the upper ones. Twist each leg round at the thigh swivel so that what was the open front of the folded up leg now faces inwards. Fold both legs back at the hip and bring them together - there's a small tab at the bottom which has a slot it fits in to to hold both parts loosely together. Fold each arm back and slide the tab on each arm into the slot on the flat surface of each leg.

    What you get out the end is a clear purple drill. And it's the work of genius: a multi faceted cone that looks convincing as what it's meant to be. Any robot with a 5mm peg hole hand can hold Throttler as a hand weapon but since the back of the drill is the robot's chest complete with Mini-con port he can be mounted on any decent facing Mini-con peg. There's one on Sledge's shovel that allows Sledge to use him in vehicle mode as a drill attachment. Our old friend and favourite Armada toy Hoist was to hand when I opened Sledge and Throttler and quickly appropriated Throttler to peg onto the Minicon port on the inside of his fist. And of course any of the Power Core Commanders can attach him to their chest port to use him as a chest mounted drill. It was at this point I tried to turn Throttler figuring that if he's a drill he might as well go round when mounted on a Mini-Con post. Turns out the post fitted a bit tightly but Throttler still turned thanks to a pivot mounted between the chest and the rest of the body. So while the chest stayed still the rest of the toy, now the drill, span.

    Overall: What a superb Minicon! Looks good in a robot mode which is full of articulation, is a decent armour mode and while, compared to some of the earlier Power Core Minicons, he only has one weapons mode is a good one that works, has some functioning articulation and is appropriate to the toy it's initially packed with. Superb stuff. Longarm is feeling that his "Best Minicon" status is threatened!

    I fully expect a repaint to show up later packed with a different toy.
     
  12. payres

    payres Well-Known Member

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    Power Core Combiner Sledge

    Power Core Combiner Sledge is an excavator. He isn't the first Sledge to be a construction vehicle: The Micromaster, Energon & Classics toys with the same name have all been Decepticon Construction vehicles. His main colour is a dull yellow with black used for the tracks and most of the excavator arm and some patches of a dark purple. One end of the vehicle has a pair of shovels with a narrow gap between them through which can be lowered a spinning buzzsaw. Or should be lowered.... the buzzsaw mounting is attached to the stiffest joint I've ever seen on a transformer. At the same end of the vehicle, but off to one side is the driver's cab complete with a black Minicon post in the roof. On the other end of the vehicle is it's Excavator arm which bends at the base, mid point and at the end where it's connected to the shovel which this time points towards the toy. I've always thought the shovel on Energon Steamhammer looks odd facing away from the vehicle. There's another Minicon post mounted on the back of the shovel which allows you to attach Throttler's drill mode. Two of the Power Core connector cubes can be found at this end of the vehicle with the other two forming part of the suspension between the tracks and the rest of the vehicle.

    Transform: Split the shovel bucket and arm in two down the middle and fold each half out to the sides via a joint mid way down the vehicle. Fold the tracks back behind the vehicle to form the legs and fold the shovels up to form the feet. Fold the cab to one side, then fold the buzz saw forward and down into the body bringing the head up out of the vehicle. Fold the cab back over then clip the crane arms onto the side of the vehicle to form the robot arms. Stand with the top of the vehicle facing forward. Rotate the arms at the bicep joint so that the yellow panel behind the shoulder is rotated round to the side of it. Fold the end halves of the shovel arm up pinning them to the elbow. The elbow is then turned 90 degrees to each side so that the shovel sits beside or covers each shoulder.

    Sledge's robot mode mainly uses the same colours as the vehicle: the legs are black, formed from the treads, as are the centre of the chest, the head and shoulders. We get a little more purple in this mode one the forearms and hands. The shovel halves and their arms have ended up alongside the robot's arms. These can then be folded down to cover the forearms and folded round so the act as shovel hands. His articulation includes bending ankles & knees, thigh swivel, universal hip, ball jointed head & shoulders, bicep swivel & ball jointed elbow. His head is reminiscent of Robots in Disguise Megatron with a pair of panels folded out to each side. The ball joint for Sledge's head is quite small and the head can pop off easily especially when you're trying to bend the joint that's attached to the buzz-saw's mounting. One of the Power Core combination cubes is mounted on each shoulder while the remaining two each form a heel spur. He's got two Mini-con hard posts in this mode, one on the end of the shovel, the other on the cab mounted on the right of the chest. Attaching Throttler in drill mode to this chest peg does result in something a little suggestive (Nipple drill mode!). Fortunately the buzz-saw in the chest can be folded back a bit and the cab folded out to form a slightly arched panel over the chest with a Mini-con post in the centre, which is a much better configuration for mounting Throttler's impressive chest armour. Sledge's hands are useless for holding Throttler by his post. In my opinion *any* toy with a Mini-con should have 5mm peg hole hands but Hasbro doesn't share this view. However there is a 5mm peg hole under each wrist that allows Throttler (or another Minicon) to be mounted under the hand.

    Like all the other Power Core Commanders, Sledge has the ability to covert to a torso mode and combine with drone limbs. Start by folding the control cab out across the chest. Close the flaps over the face on the head and turn the head 180 degree to reveal the newly exposed combined mode head complete with visor, face plate and horns. It's one of the few combined mode heads that looks small enough to be used with the smaller individual robot. The shoulder and the Power Core connectors cube on each side are mounted on a piece that rotates round a diagonal cut joint. Turn this to swap the position of the Power Core connector cube and the arms. Rotate the arms so they point backwards and then fold the shovels forward to cover the smaller robot's shoulders. Raise the upper leg diagonally to the side. Turn at the thigh so the silver side of the vehicle tread faces forwards. Straighten the knee at the usual knee joint and then fold down at a second knee bellow the first. Fold the shovel out to the sides, fold the Power Core connector cube down and then rotate the entire bottom of the foot so the shovel faces out the front. From this point attach drone limbs of your choice: I'm using the Combaticons because I only have the wave 1 5-packs and I don't like the Aerialbots ! We get an industrial looking robot with turning shoulders, albeit ones that sometimes cause the cut joints to move, universal hips , bending knees and a swivel bellow the knee.

    Overall: Decent robot and vehicle mode, OK torso mode albeit with one where the arms could be a little further from the body to allow decent clearance from the legs. Factor in a superb Mini-con and you're onto a winner.

    I would have placed money on Sledge being recoloured green and being made the centre of the new Steamhammer & Constructicons 5-pack but it appears as if Steamhammer is an all new mould. Nevertheless I expect to see Sledge in Constructicon Green at some stage as a repaint and I look forward to trying either version with the Constructicon drones as limbs.
     
  13. Squallte

    Squallte Summoner of Shiva

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    AWESOME COMBINER HEAD!!!!! Love the viking horns on him.

    Mini-con looks awesome as well!!!

    So it looks like all the 2-pack PCCs are designed so that the regular and combined mode heads can be switched out well keeping the same chest so the mini-con can be attached as a shield in either bot mode. Where as the 5-pack figure doesn't have the mini-con plug and has a different transformation so you can't have the combined mode head on the regular bot mode. Is that the case with this guy or am I wrong???
     
  14. ORIO

    ORIO Team Sentinel Prime Moderator News Staff

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    More pics :) 

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  15. Agent Adam

    Agent Adam Well-Known Member

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    I picked up this wave today, and Sledge is definitely the best of the three.
     
  16. Gilgamesh

    Gilgamesh Mostly Harmless

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    He is one mean MOFO. Can he get a drill arm?
     
  17. TimToyGeek

    TimToyGeek Well-Known Member

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    You can give Sledge a drill arm two different ways - you can either use the little peg holes on the bottom of the forearms to hold Throttler by his peg, which is very nice looking, or you can rotate the arm assembly around at the elbow and use the scoop hardpoint to hold Throttler by his peg hole. You lose the elbow articulation in that version, but it looks more like a 'drill arm' and less like an underslung drill-weapon.

    I agree - this guy is the best of the three new molds, and Throttler is the best of the three new minicons.

    Tim
    "toy geek"
     
  18. amethysted

    amethysted Well-Known Member

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    Decent. I'll pick one up...
     
  19. xanthax

    xanthax choppaface

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    Picked this guy up tonight. He's really cool. Not sure about the drill hanging on to the shoulder, but like mentioned above, the viking horns are awesome.
     
  20. Ray Kremer

    Ray Kremer Well-Known Member

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    Who the hell do you think I am?