Prime Mainline (RiD) Vehicon

Discussion in 'Transformers Feedback & Reviews' started by Sol Fury, Apr 7, 2012.

  1. Sol Fury

    Sol Fury The British Butcher Veteran

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    Arriving in the third wave of Transformers Prime "Robots in Disguise" Deluxes, the Vehicon is a toy which has had a lot of fans on board right from the start with his "clean" and "kibble" free robot mode that accurately recreates the look of the Decepticon troopers as seen in the Transformers Prime show. The toy does not let you down either, as it looks and feels as great in hand as the promotional pictures lead you to believe.

    [​IMG]
    Transformers Prime Vehicon Vehicle Mode

    We'll start with the mode that the Vehicon comes packaged in, his car mode. It is quite a bit smaller and more compact than the First Edition in car mode, looking a bit faster and sleeker in design. Where the First Edition version's car mode was all about "big dangerous vehicle" this mainline version is more of a "swift interceptor", though still with that boxy muscle car front end. It's cool, it gives the two toys their own identity. The car mode is a nice dark navy plastic that all but appears black to the naked eye, a good match for the look on the show.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    Transformers Prime Vehicon Vehicle Mode Gun Mounting Options

    There are two sockets to the rear of the vehicle mode for you to mount the (large) blaster cannon that the Vehicon comes with, as well as two spots on the front of the car's hood if you want to do the more show-accurate hood mounted blaster.

    Transformation on this one is amazing! It is seriously one of the cleverest ways of making a car turn into a robot to come along in the last few years, and we have seen some extremely creative choices in that time. What this one effectively does to give us a slender robot mode with minimal car parts is to have the whole roof of the car, from the spoiler to the hood, roll up and form the lower legs.

    [​IMG]
    Transformers Prime Vehicon Transformation

    It is one of the high points of an excellent toy - well worth experiencing for yourself, if you are not collecting - ask a friend if you can transform theirs.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    Transformers Prime Vehicon Robot Mode

    The Vehicon in robot mode is very impressive. From a car mode smaller than the First Edition, we get a robot mode which manages to stand shoulder to shoulder with the First Edition, and thanks to the lack of parts on the back, it manages to seem even larger. The Vehicon in robot mode has excellent poseability, aided by the fact there are minimal parts hanging around to catch on one another and impede the movement of the parts. The Vehicon can strike a whole bunch of great poses - chances are anything you see them do in the show, you can do with the toys here.

    There are a few flaws in the poseability though. The elbows are a uniquely designed set of a swivel, a ball joint and a hinge, which give a good range of movement but takes a bit of getting used to, and can look weird in a few poses. There is no waist rotation, and no technical reason why it should be omitted, so it was probably left out to reduce costs. The head is also a little weird, since it sits at a slight angle, so it does not twist in the usual sense, making it hard sometimes to pose the Vehicon simply looking to his side. These are minor complaints though, you quickly learn how to work around the oddities in the joints, and the lack of a waist is excusable considering all the other good things this toy does.

    The Vehicon's main weapon is his rather large blaster. You have three options in robot mode - you can have the blaster handheld, like a shotgun, arm mounted, like in the show, or shoulder mounted using the same sockets as in vehicle mode. There's a nice selection of different display options there. The arm mounted look is particularly good, thanks to how the part fits with the arm.


    Overall, the Vehicon is a great example of all the good things that are being done with Transformers toys right now. It has a clever transformation, a very clean and uncluttered robot mode, plenty of poseability, and very few serious drawbacks to knock the toy on. Just about the only downside is that he's the shortpacked toy in the assortment! Hopefully Hasbro can correct this with a revision case tout suite.

    Check out more pictures in the gallery!

    Transformers Prime Vehicon Gallery
     
    Last edited: Apr 8, 2012
  2. [Wing_Saber-X]

    [Wing_Saber-X] Takara Fanboy Collector

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    great review!
     
  3. Burnout

    Burnout Rogue Mercenary

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    Man that is pretty slick. On a side note i really hate the way the new board set up is. it has a very off putting feel to it.
     
  4. 2ndSndWve

    2ndSndWve Hen... Shin!

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    this. i hope it's not permanent
     
  5. Wars

    Wars I ate the WHOLE plate

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    This figure is so well done. I can't wait for him to come out here! :D 
     
  6. Bountyan

    Bountyan Well-Known Member

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    I'm 99.9% sure it isn't intentional.

    Anyways, great figure. I liked this from the very beginning. Glad I didn't waste money on the first Vehicon. This one looks better and is easier/cheaper to troop build.
     
  7. rxlthunder

    rxlthunder Banned

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    Nice review :thumb . The colors on vehicle mode look so much better than on the FE.
     
  8. [Wing_Saber-X]

    [Wing_Saber-X] Takara Fanboy Collector

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    Glad I bought 4 of him! 2 Takara and 2 Hasbro. :ev: 
    come on already! cannot wait to see what shiny paint job TT's version has! :D 
     
  9. Raiju

    Raiju Navel Shocker Veteran

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    Cool photo gallery. Though I have to disagree that the RiD looks just as bigger if not bigger than the FE. RiD may be of similar height but he looks much thinner/spindlier (screen accurate) than the FE in photos, while the FE seems more "muscular" with his added bulk (not just talking about the back kibble; his chest and limb proportions appear broader than the lanky RiD). And while the RiD is more accurate in bot mode, I much prefer the look and coloration of the FE in alt mode. RiD car is decent (color is more subdued though I'm not a fan of the giant 5mm port in the back) but the FE is just sexy.

    Already have this guy on preorder on BBTS along with Knockout and Hotshot, but if I see an RiD Vehicon out in the wild somewhere I'll pick up another one too (for a total of two FEs and two RiDs). Both are very cool molds in my book, and give the Eradicons some variation (hopefully a Jeticon mold is in the works).
     
  10. Fallout

    Fallout Banned

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    oh god, i want this. i want this so much. that transformation looks amazing.
     
  11. Rikerwota

    Rikerwota Well-Known Member

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    I'm really looking forward to getting this figure - and if we get case revisions in later waves, I'll be getting multiples for sure :) 
     
  12. TFKaiser

    TFKaiser Commander

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    I'll picking up about 2 or 3 of these guys for my Decepticons in the Prime collection. Can't wait to see these in stores. Great review!
     
  13. Burnout

    Burnout Rogue Mercenary

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    i wish i had the classics nemesis prime with armor...he'd be leading legions of these suckers against lameatron (sorry i like nemmy better than megs) :D 
     
  14. Spin-Out

    Spin-Out Well-Known Member

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    I don't even KNOW how many of these guys I'd pick up.

    I want at least three :D 
     
  15. jru42287

    jru42287 Ass Möde is a way of life.

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    I don't watch the show or have any other Prime toys, but this may actually be worth picking up.
     
  16. Gojira Prime

    Gojira Prime Narf

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    Jesus Christ, this guy looks good. Hope they get reissued in future waves to I don't miss out by the time I get some cash flowing in.
     
  17. Hypershock

    Hypershock Well-Known Member

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    Yea these have pretty much cemented my rabid desire for one of these Vehicons :D 
     
  18. Robogeek28

    Robogeek28 Proud grandpa

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    This guy is an instabuy for me, I need at least 5 of him.
     
  19. Cheebs

    Cheebs Well-Known Member

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    What blows my mind is that the entire car doesn't simply form his lower legs...the entire car forms just the back half of his lower legs. And his lower legs are still somehow not fat.
     
  20. hXcpunk23

    hXcpunk23 The Chaos Bringer

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    This is a MUST buy for me.......& while I like the TFP show, I never thought I'd love the toys. I've found myself with a good chunk of them so far, except for Bumblebee (had to let BB hate die down--used to love the character, but too many damn toys of him made me turn on him--lol) & I'm also missing Cliffjumper. Planning on picking them both up soon. I started with Megatron, then Prime, then it snowballed into Wheeljack, Ratchet, & Arcee. I guess I love 'em because they seem to be a mix of all the great lines/fictions......G1/Movies/TFA....all rolled into one. Not sure if I'll collect them all, but so far, I've seen a lot of them that I like.

    As for the Vehicon here, he not only looks great, but his transformation is really well thought out. I'll definitely pick up a few of these guys (maybe a couple for customs & one to leave as-is, with minor detailing).