Generations FOC Minion 2-Packs: Rumble/Ravage & Frenzy/Ratbat

Discussion in 'Transformers Feedback & Reviews' started by Starscream Gaga, Nov 9, 2012.

  1. jametron

    jametron Halfway to Heaven, under horsepower of my own…

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    Wow, the birds (and bat) look good enough to purchase. Ravage is... eh. Frenzy and Rumble however are awful looking :( 
     
  2. Bountyan

    Bountyan Well-Known Member

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    Ratbat is my favorite one. The birds and Ravage are ok. The human like ones look dumb.
     
  3. Anguirus

    Anguirus Well-Known Member

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    Agreed. Someone got greedy. If these are considered one Legends apiece, fine, sell them individually so I don't get stuck with Frenzy cause I want Ratbat. The double-packing only made sense in the first place because they are such stripped-down figures.

    I think a bit of harsh judgment is fair at their pricepoint. This starts to push this whole idea from "how neat Hasbro, thanks" to "Seriously?"

    I guess due to my own questionable judgment I'll end up with Soundblaster, Buzzsaw, Frenzy, and Ratbat at the end of the day. I could easily have wound up impulse-buying all the minions at the first pricepoint. Now I have to save money to get Blaster and all his minions because, let's face it, we are stuck with whatever they decide to bowl us in the Blaster-minion department, and I'm a sucker for G1 Season 3 references. :p 
     
  4. Raiju

    Raiju Navel Shocker Veteran

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    Nice review. A bit disappointing with these overall from an engineering and aesthetics standpoint. I think I made a good call in passing on the majority of the FoC toyline after being disappointed by Shockwave (and dropped my order for G2 Dudicus). Grimlock, Starscream and Kickback are the only molds that interest me at this point.
     
  5. CyrDraconis

    CyrDraconis Well-Known Member

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    I'm still undecided on Soundwave/blaster/Blaster, but I think I've been convinced that at least one set of minions is worth my while. Too bad I want Ravage and Ratbat the most!
     
  6. KowBot

    KowBot Well-Known Member

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    Fakebusker's versions are way better. Pass.
     
  7. Starscream Gaga

    Starscream Gaga Protoformed This Way

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    They're also a fraction of the price, made for mass release and designed around a gimmick, as well as bring official.
    In the end though, the Masterpieces floor everything else.
     
  8. iconbot

    iconbot Well-Known Member

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    I love them all. Awesome things.
     
  9. Soundwinder

    Soundwinder I wind sounds!

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    So... yeah.

    Got Rumble and Ravage. Since Buzzsaw will come with Soundblaster, I'll have every mold.

    They're... yeah. I was surprised how hindered they are by the Autotransform gimmick. A LOT of what would normally be articulation on any other figure got sacrificed. Ravage has shoulder and neck joints, but they're worthless because of the springs. Rumble has hip spread and knees, but again, springs.

    Ravage is also surprisingly hard to get into disc mode. Things have to be done in a specific order. It seems like he suffers the most from the auto-transform, especially since he doesn't even feel like he's transformed when its done (his legs and tail need to be unfolded so he just looks like... half a cat). Also the large piece on his back looks like it should be able to stay down to keep his profile slim but... can't. I would've also like 3mm holes somewhere on Ravage.

    Rumble isn't without his charm, actually. I like the way the little guy looks. I like that he can hold weapons, and like I said, he looks pretty okay.

    The disc modes... are discs. What do you want me to say? I REALLY like that they come with cases, though.

    In the end, neither of them are as good as their G1 incarnations, or as good as the 3rd Party versions (or Device Label versions, in Ravage's case. I would say I like Ravage better than his Universe incarnation, though).

    I'll update once I get Soundblaster if he really improves these guys, but as-is, I'd say these are not worth getting for the price unless you're a huge cassetticon fan. I got mine 40% off and... I AM a huge Cassetticon fan. I don't regret it, but I still can't really recommend them. They're pretty bad Legends figures, honestly.
     
  10. Pimpimus Prime

    Pimpimus Prime (┌∩┐(◣_◢)┌∩┐) TFW2005 Supporter

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    I opened Rumble and Ravage last night and I gotta say I'm less than impressed. My oldest son has a bunch of Bakugans so I know what a good, auto transforming gimmick should look like and this is not it. Ravage is definitely the worse of the two. I think his back half is supposed to extend all of the way out and push the legs part way down but the spring mechanism is not strong enough on mine. And then you're only half done with the transformation.
     
  11. solarstorm

    solarstorm Well-Known Member

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    I received Soundwave and two sets of Ratbat/Frenzy (ordered on my smartphone - some kind of mixup).

    A few things I'd like to note that seem to have been ignored by people in general.

    1) There is more articulation on Rumble/Frenzy than just the arms being vertical. The arms can swing out to the side/back. The legs can swing out. The knees can bend.

    The transformation requires such movements. The autotransform means that the poses won't hold for display (springs), but it doesn't mean that there is no movement. A kid having play fights could get Rumble/Frenzy to fight like martial artists with the articulation provided. This is collector bitching - and most toys aren't designed for shelf displays.

    Ratbat really sucks though. He's the same as Laserbeak. If it weren't for the springs, you could have him sit up and look like a bat/more G1. I might de-spring my spare Ratbat so it can look like the character, as opposed to a bird with a bat's head.

    2) The autotransform works well - when hit decently. If I shoot them out of Soundwave or drop them lightly, they will transform partially or sit. If I put it down or shoot it out of Soundwave with some force, the toy will spring open perfectly. The trigger is not sensitive, it requires a solid landing. Ratbat and Laserbeak transform AND flip over to land on their stomach/underside. Frenzy transforms, but lays on his back and the feet need to be flipped out from the leg for him to stand.

    The transformation is on par with Bakugan and Zoobles - both of which sell for similar prices. Auto transforming toys aren't cheap.
     
  12. Soundwinder

    Soundwinder I wind sounds!

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    ... no, spring-loaded articulation doesn't really count as posability. Yes, we're looking at this as collectors... but... we are collectors.

    And even as a kid, I wouldn't care for this kind of useless articulation. It's like getting a figure with joints that are so floppy they can't even hold a position.
     
  13. Feralstorm

    Feralstorm Good Morning, Weather Hackers! TFW2005 Supporter

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    For me, the best discs are the birds/bats, as their relative simplicity makes them fully automatic and fun to play with (I like to drop 'em on the buttons and have them pop up) Rumble/Frenzy are next, as you need to do some of the work yourself (kind of "Activators"-like in that regard) but what they do, they do well. Last would be Ravage. He looks like a mess in either mode, and the auto-transform doesn't work well, at least on mine, and is a pain to reset.
     
  14. xMostWanted559x

    xMostWanted559x Well-Known Member

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    Can u guys put laserbeak and ratbat on him somehow
     
  15. solarstorm

    solarstorm Well-Known Member

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    Collectors who buy toys made for 6 year olds. Always keep that in mind, man. This isn't a MP figure or something 3rd party.

    I love the new Soundwave and minions and will be gutting my Perfect Effect Rumble/Frenzy for the guns and piledrivers. I'm going to mod Disk Frenzy and Rumble to mount the PE piledrivers. The PE winged pistols already fit in the hands of the disc bots without mods.

    -

    Just out of curiosity, if this wouldn't be meaningful articulation for your six-year old self, how old are you? Did you actually grow up with G1? Where figures like Chop Shop, Flywheels, etc... couldn't even point a gun forward and guys like Runamuck/Runabout had NO arm movement? I'd think your six year old self would have dropped Transformers entirely if he was this picky.
     
  16. CrockAlley

    CrockAlley Gween donkey! Mine!

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    On that same note, should we not praise good toys that were made for 6-year olds? RTS and the 2010 Generations were great. 2012 Genrations suck. They gave us good toys, then they gave us bad toys. Don't expect us not to notice.

    Anyway, I picked up Rumble/Ravage. This set suuucks. I hate Ravage. His arched back means his head is always looking down, and there's that gap in the middle of his body. His body has no shape, no form. And I don't like his backward-bending legs. I didn't really mind until I looked at the artwork on the front of the card that shows him leaping. Then I got sad. The spring gimmick ruined these figures. The act of transforming them into disks is fun, but that's about it. Seriously, the 28 year old toy is better than this, which, btw, was also made for 6 year olds.
     
  17. B'Bantor

    B'Bantor Extra like OMG

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    Picked up Soundwave and all these guys tonight. I'm pleased with all of them except Ravage who will remain inside Soundwave's Pizza Oven, while Classics Ravage that was packaged with Hound will remain on my shelves. F & R are admittedly craptacular yet fun little companions to Soundwave. Laserbeak & Ratbat are my favorite of the discs I'm trying to get a clear rubberband around Ratbat in an attempt to get him to sit upright.

    *The clear purple disc cases make for a nice stack of Energon cubes I think this was intentional.
     
  18. Bumblebee765

    Bumblebee765 Wrecker

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    These look pretty nice! If I ever get around to getting Soundwave or Soundblaster I'll have to pick these guys up too! Thanks for the review! :thumb 
     
  19. vorox4251

    vorox4251 Something less weeb-y now

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  20. Soundwinder

    Soundwinder I wind sounds!

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    Those weren't good toys then, and a figure NOT being an improvement over the worst ones back then is not a good thing. Granted, plenty of G1 figures I've loved had nothing but shoulder articulation, but I rather like to think that toy engineering should be improving and articulation as a whole is better than G1.

    Even compared to the G1 Cassettes, their articulation is bad. Rumble/Frenzy had knees, elbows, thigh and bicep swivels. Ravage... was super-articulated for a G1 figure.

    They're okay for what they are but... don't make excuses for the flaws that they do have.