OK, let’s try this again. I am very sorry about the last post I did on Metroplex. I completely understand that I should have put it in the Toy Forum and not the Feedback forum. For those of you expecting instant gratification and were annoyed that I hadn’t actually reviewed it yet I am very sorry. Anyways… Box: It is surprisingly much skinnier than I imagined. Size wise it is very comparable to last year’s Avengers Heli-carrier. When you move the box you will hear a lot shaking around in there. I was starting to get worried about the amount of assembly he would require because he sounded like a damn LEGO set! Out of the box he comes with one arm detached and, what was most surprising to me, a huge sticker sheet! And this sheet was not thrown together with half of it being taken up with single huge stickers, these are all small detail oriented decals. Biggest piece of advice when you begin assembling them: have a pair of tweezers handy, be already familiar with his transformation since in many places moving a panel or limb can make it much easier and finally take your time!! It took me the better part of two hours to get them all on. I haven’t done any this complex since some of the G1 reissues. There are several problems with the stickers, here are what I’ve found: • #28 is about a quarter of an inch too long to fit in its space. I just had to trim it down with scissors. • #31 & #77 are reversed. There’s no way you will miss it as #31 is about 10 times too large for the space the instructions call for you to put it in. • In city mode the leg stickers are diagramed very poorly so be very careful when placing them to make sure you have the correct spot Attaching the arm can really having you holding your breath. In the end it takes a really strong push to get it in and all I could do was imagine it breaking right off. In the end there were no problems. Also, be mindful of the one lone missile he comes with. It is extremely thin, ridiculously so in comparison to the overall size of the toy, and nearly got lost in one of the creases of the box. Scamper: No one could question who he is a tribute to. He is just a dressed up version of his G1 counterpart. I actually wish he was a little smaller as he ends up towering over most of my other Legends figures. He is solidly put together and I have no real complaints against him. Robot Mode: Ok, so here is the mode that I know I’ll be keeping mine in the majority of the time. Big surprise he towers over pretty much everything else in my collection. Holding both him and Fortress Maximus though you get the feeling that there is definitely more total mass in Fort Max than in Metroplex. His articulation is pretty awesome and you could potentially pose him in any way that you would like, but his knees are not particularly tight and often will bend forward on you. He is very top heavy and you will often be looking for things to lean him on to keep him upright. When pictures of Metroplex first started showing up I really did not like how it looked as if he was all leg. Now that I have him in hand I can say that it is much less noticeable, in fact I had totally forgotten about it until I started to write the review. His head is very fidgety and when transforming him back you will find yourself messing with it constantly. I was never able to get it locked in as tightly as it was right out of the box and was constantly scared of breaking it. Lights and sounds are activated by pushing down on his "bridge" on the top of his chest. It is an excellent mix of FX sounds and voice grabs from Fall of Cybertron. Just have a pair of AA batteries and a phillips head screwdriver ready if you want to hear them as batteries are not included. City Mode: It’s just him all splayed out. The chest ramp is supposed to fold down and end in one of the open leg compartments but there is no real way to do it where they line up so it always seems just a little bit off. Even though this is kind of his “peace” mode for some random reason there is a single turret formed out of his left arm for Scamper to sit in. It seems very awkwardly placed and is really the only firepower that he shows off in this mode. There are two very random red posts that form out of the left side of his chest when you unfold it. I cannot really understand what you’re supposed to do with them, they just stick straight up. It’s definitely his weakest and the least stable mode. If you don’t have a hard surface to rest him on you will have problems keeping everything level and orderly. Vehicle Mode: The wheeled aircraft carrier!! I actually liked this way more than I expected to and is definitely my preferred alt mode for him. He is very stable and rolls fairly well. His hands are not ever remotely hidden though and just seem to hang off the back. I really need to pick up some additional Legion figures to cover his deck while in this form. Final Thoughts: So he is a pretty amazing figure and one I don’t regret at all getting. If he really suffers from anything it’s that he is almost too good of homage to G1 Metroplex. In a lot of ways he is just a larger version of him utilizing modern technology and a much higher price point. If you have transformed G1 Metroplex than you probably wouldn’t even need the instruction manual to figure out Generations Metroplex.Guess this is a case of the fandom getting exactly what we always said we wanted, but then possibly being let down when you realize it’s just a rehash of something you already own. Still for me he is an 8.5 out of 10 easily. His only draw backs are the almost silly city mode and the fact that he has trouble standing due to being so top heavy. Side note I would really recommend that none of you wait to pick him up in hopes that he’ll end up on clearance or on a significant sale. A friend told me that Hasbro is not making a large quantity of them so as to assure that they sell out and if you wait then I wouldn’t be surprised if you end up paying a lot more on the secondary market.
A comic book/game shop in my area was taking preorders and said it was to be released this month. I did get my preorder in, just waiting for the call!
O M G !!! I Want it !!! Hey wait you live in my state !!! Can i come touch it ? Please ? Its big enough to hug !!!
