Universe Ultra-Class Onslaught Review with Images

I don't use nail polish but I use acrylic gloss sealer (for acrylic paints)...brush it on and wait a few minutes for it to dry a little then put the ball joint together or whatever you're using it on...

Picked Onslaught up today...such a great figure...he definitely looks to be the strongest of all my classic figures...same leg issues on mine that are on most but they arn't really that bad...everyone should own this TF 8/10...

I feel like I should have picked this guy up instead of Powerglide when I saw them both in stores(I've always planned on getting both but didn't have enough for both) Hopefully he'll be back at my Target again soon.

I just got Onslaught tonight, and I did a similar shield mod, with my X-acto Knife.

My first impressions out of the box:

DAMN he looks like a cool armored war machine. I could do without the needless lettering on it (lol-vague-references-monzo-lol... uh, no.) but it looks pretty solid. Except for the Cannons, which look just ridiculously puny and fall off if you look at them funny. That's totally unbecoming a vehicle this badass, so I'm already on the hunt for something appropriately Kitbashy to replace them with.

The sound effect box is misleading as well. The single siren "BLAWP!" is a little confusing. Fortunately, I'm already at work on a mod that will cause the front Spotlight to light up as long as the button is held down, so the brief siren will be much more useful in that regard.

Incidentally, the engine sound will continue (without stopping) as long as you can keep consistently rolling the tires forward....what's your record so far? Mine's about 10 seconds...

(Protip: In Bot mode, you can cheat and rhythmically press the button on his left hip to make the engine idle continuously. )

I agree, the front wheel panels fall off fare too easily, but a quick turn of the screw holding the plug in, and the situation is much improved. A little Epoxy and the situation is remedied permanently. These parts don't ever NEED to come off.

I also modified my "Action Pop-Off Shield." With an x-acto knife and a little effort, I altered the plug and the socket as such:



I hollowed out a small canal inside of the socket, and narrowed channels on either side of the shield plug (at an angle) so it would plug securely into the now grooved socket.

It doesn't stay on QUITE strongly enough to pick it up by, but it stays on tightly enough to rotate the turret or push the sound effect button without it catapulting off Onslaught's person. Might have to use some Apoxie to make a Perfect Joint later on...

Upon transforming to Robot Mode:

The leg panels really do NOT want to stay shut. It took a lot of x-acto trimming, a touch of sandpaper, and a little bit of superglue tightening to get the sockets to stay shut securely, but now they work like a dream.

And for god's sake, fold up his toes. The boxart is WRONG.

DAMN, he's one big bot. Despite the relatively compact size of his Vehicle mode, I was NOT expecting a bot this big. Like Lockdown, he's a very large robot compacted very efficiently in Alt mode. He's bigger than most Alternators, and almost as big as Movie leader Prime! I like that there isn't a lot of "hollow space," since most everything seems to fold in to form a solid body. Words can't describe how much better (and BIGGER) he looks in person, compared to photographs; and the stupid poses that he tends to be photographed in don't help much either.

His fists are a little cartoony looking, but menacing nonetheless -- A black wash on some of his plain grey parts, a little drybrushing, and he will look like one serious F-U-Up-Bot. I like the big decepticon symbol on his shoulder. Oh, and time to modify the socket again, this time on his arm, so the shield will fit correctly...ho-hum.

He sure does take a lot of work to make him presentable and functional!

Cute spring-loaded arm gun there! And the gimmick with the head lighting up is just awesome... a shame his eyes won't stay lit up unless he's ALSO making the machine-gun noises. Something I may have to remedy while I'm working on the spotlight. Should his eyes be orange, or red? Hmmm. Anyways, screw lightpiping, THIS is the way you do it.

All in all, this is what I expect from a 25$ Ultra class figure...if only the QC wasn't so unrelentingly rancid across the Classics/Universe 2.0 line. I recognize that not everyone has the tools, skills, or inclination to modify all of their toys to look and act like you'd expect them right out of the box...and people shouldn't HAVE to.

Admirable engineering, crappy quality standards.
You can do better, Hasbro; It'll be interesting to see if Takara DOES.

Peaugh, thanks for that shield mod. The shield holds on great now, I can even pick him up by it when he's wearing it on his back.

No Problem!

This guy totally impressed me in person even more than I thought he would. Probably my favorite TF toy since the first batch of Classics, for sure. He's not perfect of course, but all the little quibble almost don't matter. He just looks amazing to me. Totally happy with the purchase.

If I get back into reviewing TFs on Youtube I'll probably start with him.

So what sounds does he have and is his head basically always looking down?

He makes a machine gun sound, a useless beep, and some kinda engine noise, his head always looks down and is not on a ball joint, but his eyes light up. His legs do not stay together at all, which pretty much ruins the toy. He's ok, but not as great as everyone is making him out to be. I'd only give him a 7/10.

Very nice review, thank you!

Onslaught is something.

Pros:
* Large and intimidating in both modes
* Electronic gimmicks are fun to "beatbox" with.

Cons:
* It's a little difficult to line all parts back up when transforming back to vehicle mode.
* Robot mode is largely dull and bulky/boxy to me. Reminds me of certain G2 toys in that regard.

Summary: A lot of people really like this guy, and I want to like it too, but something about it doesn't quite do it for me. I think it may be the large size to accommodate the electronic gimmicks package. Something tells me I might like it more if it was a Voyager or even a Deluxe.

On my figure, his left leg was pretty fudged up, but it didn't take much to remedy it...just a little carving with an X-acto knife. I chose to take an X-acto knife and sandpaper to the protruding parts on the back of the wheel panel preventing it from laying flush.

If you give him a sort of Pat Lee "Crotch Thrusting" pose, then he's looking directly ahead... I like the light gimmick, and looking at the way they implemented the light-up eyes,there's no reason it couldn't have been a ball joint. Maybe that will be a project for the future...

I took my Onslaught apart to do some modifications to him, and amazingly almost ALL of the electronics are contained within the turret. the Chest has the battery pack, and the circuit board is screwed onto the back of that. The head LED is just slightly above that, shining onto a mirrored panel inside the head, and there are a ton of wires all wound up, which go into the turret for all the lights, speaker, and switch.

I'm not sure how to document it except with a video, but I swapped around a few wires and added some stuff, so now his "eyeshield" lights up Orange, and he has a Yellow LED inside his Spotlight. Both the Spotlight and the Eyes stay on as long as the button is held down, so I actually sort of have a use for that brief siren yelp... since the siren shuts off, but the eyes and spotlight stay on...

I've heard a rather surprising amount of hate on this figure and now that I have him and I really can't quite figure out why that is. I'm a little more understanding with the Powerglide haters, but this I don't get.

Perhaps for scale sake, a voyager figure might have been a little better, but I think this is just fine. He's just a little bigger, and more intimidating in his bot mode.

I think in this case, since Hasbro wasn't going to roll out a new line of updated combiner teams they decided to do the leaders in a more larger and imposing way of their own to compensate a bit.

As updates go, Onslaught hits the nail right on the head I think. Other than the leg/cage issue I can't really find much fault in him. Big, mean looking, and very well articulated. Plastic is solid and the paint all looks fine so I really don't see anything to not like.

It's mostly the leg issue that people are complaining about, for good reason. For some people, myself included, the legs don't hold together at all and just fall apart when you try to pose him. That's just unacceptable. I haven't had time to try any of the fixes yet, but I will.

It also bugs me that his head is looking toward the ground for no apparent reason.

That said, he's still a great toy and he looks really cool. I think most people agree on that, but it's just that the leg thing is like finding a bit of poo on your ice cream.

He'd be a 9/10 if it wasn't for his leg not holding together. I've removed the wheel that is in the way, but his legs still do not seem to hold together very well. A very minor flaw that totally kills this figure. Also they could have hidden his knee joints a little better.

Overall, he's a pretty menacing figure, but as Feralstorm mentioned, he kinda loses points (on mine anyways) for not being so tight in vehicle mode, since the panels don't exactly remain aligned/fit securely into the tabs (noticeably the front tabs/foot). The leg issue didn't really occur to me until I started messing around with him in different poses, but doesn't really bug me when he's in static positions. I also had problems with his shield in alt mode, but I guess I'll try out Peaugh's method.

In general, very much recommended even with the minor (sometimes annoying) flaws.

Got him this morning...the leg issue really sucks, but I like his size. Makes him fit in better with Alternators than classics IMO.

Good figure, and a lot better in person than photo.

On my Classics Onslaught, I did a little tweaking, modding, and soldering, to alter the way the lights work. I made three minor changes:

- Changed the "head" light LED to Orange instead of Red, so it matches his G1/Cartoon/Comic coloration, and rewired it so it stays on as long as the button is pressed.

- Added a yellow LED Inside of the "searchlight" on the front of the turret, which also stays on as long as the button is held down.

- Painted the inside of the "Lightbar" with Clear Red Tamiya.

Functionally, the whole apparatus looks like nothing has been changed, and still retains full range of motion and whatnot. Just augmented slightly.

It's kinda hard to demonstrate it without a video, so here is a little youtube I whipped up:

Onslaught Light Mod Video Demonstration

I LOVE Onslaught. I've never had a major hang-up on gimmicks or articulation, so leaving him posed statically to keep his legs in order isn't a problem for me. I took the batteries out (as I do with almost all my electronic TFs), so in a month or so I'll probably forget what the electronics did anyway.

For me, a figure scores well simply if it stands on its own, has decent proportions, and fits together tightly in both modes. Onslaught is a solid figure minus the leg issue...and the "toes" on mine are loose so they flop down if I pick him up. But since it's mostly about looks for me, Onslaught is an easy 9.5...only because what is important to a lot of people just doesn't bug me that much.

I really like these big, armored miltary vehicles. The Cybertron Defense team, Onslaught, TF:A Ultra Magnus and (even though I don't have him yet) and even, to a lesser degree, the Bruticus Maximus combiners are some of my favorites. I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting. I can't wait to get a better look at TF:A Swindle...he might be a new favorite, too.

Got Onslaught today. I like it pretty well, but the legs are kinda a mess... And I'd have really preferred if the gun (on his arm, not the turret) were removable. The color of the fists kinda bothers me, too, but it isn't that bad. I have a few other complaints, but it's still a good figure.

Onslaught is growing on me.

His pegs on his legs have actually IMPROVED since I have transformed him a few times.

As for the shield staying on in alt mode, I did a modification using my Dremel. I took the shield and reversed hexagonal shaped section that presses the button in alt mode so that it folds the opposite way. Next, I took my Dremel and drilled a hole in the back of the turret that matches the size of the raised "notch" on that hexagonal section. So now when the shield is on in alt mode, I fold the hexagonal section back behind the turret and push the "notch" into the hole I drilled. It works pretty nicely. I can post pics if anybody is interested.

I had the problem too about the legs not holding together when in tank mode. To solve it, make sure that the black double-tab thing on the battery cover fits into the respective slot on the leg cage. Sorry I can't take a picture, but if you don't lock it in that way, it won't stay closed at all.

My only real gripe with the figure at this point is the gun barrels. Mine don't stay on through transformation, but i'm hesitant about gluing them because I'd much rather find a sturdier replacement.

Dude - video tutorial please! That would be freaking awesome! Did you have to solder anything to do it though?

The Return of the King?

Onslaught is Awesum, doods

wow, i must be lucky-no leg issues on mine! ^_^
q

Just got him. Legs on mine are fine, actually takes some force to separate them. Looks completely badass, I like this figure.

i got mine today and his legs are fine as well... maybe its the wave 2 batches? (I got mine at the same store that silverbolt was first sighted at!) Really a great figure, can't wait to find powerglide and silverbolt!

Nice reviews (Onslaught + Powerglide) Draven!

And I agree generally with all the points and the ratings.

P.S. Onslaught rocks

It took practically every fix in this thread, plus a couple more I tried out, just to get this figure partway up to code.

First, I scored both the shield peg and its slot with an X-acto. It's not as good as Peaugh's method I guess; the shield can wiggle from side to side a bit, but I can still lift him up by the shield now (for several seconds anyway).

On to the left leg. Tried cutting a notch into the cage where it meets the tire. Didn't work. Tried cutting ANOTHER notch where I thought the cage might still be meeting the tire. Didn't work. Tried scoring both the peg on the front of the leg and its corresponding slot on the cage. Didn't work. Got angry. Tried shaving down the protruding edge of the wheel panel that meets the battery door, not even knowing if that would affect the stability of his vehicle mode or not. DIDN'T. WORK. It's definitely gotten better than it was, but there is still nothing holding this toy's leg together besides wishful thinking.

What frustrates me most of all is that THIS TOY WOULD BE SO AWESOME IF IT WEREN'T SO FUCKED.

The problem isn't really with the cage part. The real culprit is the fact that due to the protrusion on the back of the calf (which holds the gearbox for the engine sound effect,) the flap with the front tire on it cannot lay flat against it. Trimming the cage attempts to remedy the symptom by relieving some of the pressure on the cage, but it doesn't fix the problem of the flap not physically being able to lay flat due to the hump. It can't lay flat, so it continues to push outward, which is more than the tiny pegs can handle...and the legs pop open.

A guaranteed, 100% fix I suggest, if you've got any sandpaper or files and don't mind a little behind-the-scenes wholesale butchery of your figures, is to simply remove the offending struts so that the flap will lay flat against the inner back of the leg. As such:



Once you remove those raised struts (which serve no purpose, structural, decorative or otherwise,) it will lay flat without any difficulty whatsoever. Parts folded over without pushing outward against the cage = cage that stays shut without issue. Problem solved.

And for bonus SnG, you can give the little pegs that hold the cage into the ankle a little coating of super glue to tighten their connection into the pair of holes on the ankles...

Damn I guess i got really lucky, just got this guy today and not one single problem what so ever. Legs lock perfectly. Rolling sound gimmick works fine. The shield on the roof is ok, only comes off if you push to hard or hit it. Maybe the second wave of deliveries caught the problems

How difficult would it be to make this Onslaught the core of a new Bruticus?

Shouldn't be too hard. the trick is using molds that give you perfectly mirrored proportions, at least for legs. I've been working on planning for this along with others for months now.

I finally found one this past weekend. First, I want to say how happy I am with the Ultra figures size for Universe. They are prominently larger then a Voyager and really stand out amongst the other classsics.

So anyways, this guy is great. Beefy, imposing, well articulated, great alt mode. Not much more I can really say besides that he was worth every penny.

Cool. I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

(Including what you're gonna use as Bruticus' head...)

I've weighed in on this figure!

YouTube - Rushed Review: Universe Onslaught

Go ahead and watch, trust me, it wont take long

OMG!!! YOU ARE OFFICIALLY MY FAVORITE VIDEO TOY REVIEWER OF ALL TIME. THAT WAS PERFECT.

I mean seriously do I need to to see every joint spun around?

More please.

That was great!

QFT!

-airfox

Wow, I can actually enjoy video reviews like that. Keep 'em coming!

I got this bad-boy today from TRU.com. I ordered him on Sunday and he got here pretty damn quick!
Onslaught is just absolutely awesome. Another excellent classic addition.

The classics line just keeps getting better and better.

Yeah, after seeing your Menasor, I can't freaking wait to see what you do with Onslaught and Silverbolt.

Lmfao. Fantastic review!

Another win for the Universe line!

Awesome alt mode, bulky but well-proportioned bot mode, and an incredibly imposing, "you-are-about-to-get-your-tail-handed-to-you" look in the stance of the shoulders and arms.

Gotta deduct points for the weird siren and the floppy shield, but they do nothing to take away from the figure as a whole. A bit more elbow arm articulation would have been nice as well, but overall I'm very happy with him.

My right "cowcatcher" (if you were sitting in the driver's seat; the left one if you're about to be run over by him) is loose, and won't stay up in vehicle mode. Any suggestions? I can't tell if it's pinned in, or if it could just pop out...

Also, I don't remember reading it in the review, but is he supposed to make the "Ch-Ch-Ch" sound when transforming him? I know you said Powerglide did, but I can't recall if Onsie does, too...

Onslaught doesn't make transforming noises, no. Just the vroom vroom driving noises, machine gun rattle, and a mournful siren blip of sadness.

Just got this guy today, and man is he badass! And as a bonus, no pop off shield or left leg cage!

Yeah, I heard that. Thanks.

Oh, and my leg cages don't have a problem staying in. Just that friggin' cowcatcher flopping around.

I guess I got lucky, too! no leg problems and his shield stays on fine in both modes. hooray for me!

that video review is hilarious!!!!

Mine was loose too. Three screws will take apart his shoulder, and you can put a few layers of anything (tape, small piece of rubber) just to make the joint tighter. Mine didn't have a pin. My shield good in bot mode, but too tight in alt mode. I think a little shaving down with an xacto knife will do the trick.

Can't wait to get this toy