Future is a varnish. It puts a clear layer over the surfaces that are sprayed on. It's like in models where you put water slides over then the varnish over. It helps to protect everything under the varnish layer. So if you're willing to put a varnish layer over it then it could probably prevent or reduce peeling. These are foil stickers so they won't ruin paper based stickers or anything. Just be aware that the surfaces covered by Future is going to have a different look to it's finish, so unless you future the entire figure you'll have parts on the figure looking noticeably different than the rest.

 

Ooh. That would work better for models rather than action figures, I fear. Also sounds like a lot of work considering the number of stickers on this set.

 

I did this to the stickers on my TR Octone. The results were a bit hit or miss. Some stickers seem well protected, but others still peel at the edges. It seems to be that if the sticker butts up against a panel edge or hinge, no amount of Future will keep it perfectly "sealed." I reapplied several layers to those trouble-spots, and it didn't make a difference. Unfortunately, if the stickers worry you, your best bet is to just leave them off. Other than the wing stickers for Divebomb, the rest seem mostly small details that, speaking only for myself, might not be missed.

 

Tiger dude had a pretty weak shoulder ratchet in arm mode, it would barely stay up. Had to open it and shim the spring to add some tension. Otherwise a killer set!

 

I wonder how long until Perfect Effect, Shapeways, Dr Wu, or DMA make the individual swords, Predaking’s Sword, etc

 

I think a proper upgrade kit should include a replacement lower body for Rampage. The way his current legs work you can't peg his legs together when they're extended because his hips are too wide, and this sucks because Predaking's really fucking cool with double-jointed elbows.

It's not impossible to mod his legs so they can go together when they're extended, but the space is so tight that it's hard to do.

 

Got mine on Saturday from Amazon (never got a shipping email), so that was a surprise. He's about what I expected based on the pics. As per usual, fantastic face sculpts. I do wish they went for the more anime colored faces than toy, but I can live with them. In general I think he is an OK toy and he's priced a little bit high.

Interestingly my nephew (10) was over and he's into Transformers. He's played with my original G1 Predaking quite a bit so I asked his opinion between the two. He thought the individual G1 figures were much better than the new one, but he liked the POTP combined mode over G1. He said the POTP felt cheaper, but in his defense, I have the metal Predaking. He didn't think any of the animals on the POTP looked as good as the G1 version, and he thought the back kibble on Headstrong and Tantrum was "dumb". Kinda found it interesting to see what Hasbro's target audience thoughts were between the two. I was actually a little surprised he preferred the G1 figures over the POTP.

 

I can see it. As much as I covet posability as an adult collector, I think back to being a kid and posability was something I never thought about with TFs. Heck, other than being annoyed that they couldn't sit properly, even my Star Wars figures and He-Mans were fine without articulation. Having them look right and feel fun was much more important to me.

 

Gah! Bird-guy has two left arms! It doesn't impact two of the three modes, but it sure is annoying. If anyone finds themselves with two right arms, let me know.

 

So after picking mine up yesterday morning and finally collecting myself, here we go:

He's freaking awesome. I can't express that enough. Sure, there are some things I would have liked to have seen, like a giant freaking sword, but none of them really take away from how awesome Predaking and his individual bots are. I'm going to go in order of most favorite to least favorite. Let's break it down:

Divebomb: He's the bee's knees! The bot mode, the bird mode, the gigantic wings of doom, double blasters, the articulation...he's got it all!

Razorclaw: The #1 Predacon is my #2. He's good, but just not as impressive as Divebomb. Probably because he lacks the gigantic wings of doom. Bot mode is great, beast mode is ok, and torso mode is cool. I know it's the gimmick for the line, but I really could have done without the whole Onyx Prime thing. I'd much rather have a giant sword.

Tantrum/Headstrong: Yeah, they're equal. The beast modes are cool, robot modes are gigantic, and the leg modes are also gigantic. While I'm not a fan of the huge backpack/undercarriage, it's so instrumental in combined mode, I don't know how else they would have pulled it off. I just love the fact that they're both absolute tanks in bot mode.

Rampage: Sadly Rampage is last on the list. His bot mode is ok, but the lack of articulation in the beast head is a huge downer. That and on my copy, the legs don't close all of the way in arm mode, which means that the hand is somewhat loose. Argh. However, at least he comes with his own weapon! Too bad it doubles as his tail.

So I covered the individual bots, but man their combined mode...it's insane! Also insane is the engineering that went into the combined mode, and the whole set in general. Simple stuff like the beast arms on Rampage pegging in to the backside of his bot mode arm, or the wings pegging in to ports on Divebomb and Rampage. Everything, save for Razorclaw's beast mode legs, pegs in properly and securely, or at least has somewhere it's supposed to peg in. I cannot recommend this set enough, even without a giant sword. I'm sure a 3rd party company already has something in the works.

 

DNA just posted their inevitable upgrade set today. Spiked clawed hands, a spine/waist gap filler, new individual feathered wings for Divebomb, and individual sword weapons that combine into big sword. I need him so bad.

 

Not really sure if I need upgrades for this set. I'm happy with what I have.

 

The upgrads kit's combining sword reminds me of Cloud's Buster sword from Advent Children.

 

Out of curiosity, how are Divebomb's feet attached? Are they swappable?

It just seems to me like something got flipped in the design phase there, because those flat, wedge-like "heels" look like they were meant to be his robot toes.

I could be entirely wrong on that, though. I'm not sure if there's enough room for his waist to twist completely around for that to work, and I also don't know if the bird toes make for enough heel support for him to stand with that massive wing pack on his back.

 

No, the flat heels are meant to be heels. He is very back heavy, and without the heels he would topple over. With them as heels, he's rock solid.

 

Yeah, I thought that was potentially the case. It's just something you can't quite tell from just the photos, especially since most aren't taken from a full-on side view.