Siege springer

Discussion in 'Transformers Feedback & Reviews' started by Rumble02, Jun 22, 2019.

  1. richacm220

    richacm220 Well-Known Member

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    Same thing happened to mine. Do what he said.
     
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  2. Lothar Hex

    Lothar Hex Perverted Sociopath™

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    Yeah I think that was it. Cheers guys.
     
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  3. Chainlink

    Chainlink No real than you are

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    Got this guy and now that I've had the time to mess with him, he's pretty great. Solid, fun, clean. All around a great toy.

    I don't want to just mirror all the praise he's gotten in the thread, so I want to focus on the biggest question I had: how does he compare to T30 Springer?
    I'm a big fan of that figure, and I do think he's one of the best Transformers to be produced. So when a new Springer was announced, I had no idea how they'd top him. And now that I have both... I can't really compare the two. T30 is just cool all around, but Siege has a clean aesthetic and straightforward transformation. All around fun. I hate to sound wishy-washy, but there is no clear-cut winner here.

    I will say, I do think T30 wins out in the alt mode department. The car and helicopter are very distinct from each other and look great on their own. Sure, Siege may be more G1 accurate, and that's great, but... The helicopter is still just a car with the bits smushed around, sorry. I can't see it otherwise.
    Conversely, Siege has better legs. He just does. Don't deny.

    In the end... I think I may have to hand it to Siege. He's just super fun. Solid, a joy to mess with, and looks great to boot. Certainly do not regret picking this guy up.
     
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  4. ultramagnus1

    ultramagnus1 Well-Known Member

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    Just preordered him from bbts as i got sick of waiting for my lcs to get him in.

    Cant wait. I think theres a place for both this and idw springer in your collection.
     
  5. Lothar Hex

    Lothar Hex Perverted Sociopath™

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    So originally, I was going to do another comparison review like my Optimus Prime, comparing this new Siege Springer toy to his previous generations counterpart…but honestly, that’s a bit unfair to the new guy. To me, thrilling 30 Springer beats it in pretty much every category except one. Looking like the G1 toy version.

    So while I will be occasionally referring to Thrilling 30 dude, I’m going to try and assess Siege Springer on his own merits.

    [​IMG]

    Anyway, so Springer gets only his third toy where he is actually a triple changer, and it hearkens back to his routes and is based on the original toy, which I had as a kid. This was my main drive in getting one. He was one of the few complete Transformers I had and I was fascinated by the triple changer concept…even if he was probably the worst example of its problems. I mean his car and helicopter modes were distinguished by one being longer than the other and having a sword attached to it or not.

    [​IMG]

    Speaking of which, Siege Springer manages to have far more articulation than the G1 toy or the T30 voyager (just). He’s gotten pretty much everything we’ve come to expect from the Siege guys and can do all the poses…to a point.

    While the rest of him can hold a pose fine, his ankle tilts are a bit hit and miss. They’re the main piece of articulation that the T30 guy did not have and it’s nice to have them, but these ankles seem to have a lot of trouble holding him up, even in a basic standing pose. You can balance him on them, but don’t be surprised if he tips forwards or backwards once or twice until you find the sweet spot.

    [​IMG]

    Accessories wise he comes with some nice guns, two swords…and a thingy. Describe as a “turret” by the instructions, it’s the bit you shove the swords in to become the helicopter rotors. This is dumb and there must have been a way to do this better, even if you wanted to have two swords rather than the T30 guy’s brilliant splitting sword. He’s covered in ports so the guns have places to go, and there are even some tabs that you can (loosely) put the swords on his back, but this has nowhere to really hide it without it being a bit daft. Doesn’t help that the backpack doesn’t really tab in anywhere either so it can flop off and hang off his arse like some kind of heavily armed remora fish. That said you can have him going with duels words which is always fun.

    [​IMG]

    Transformation to both modes is one the one hand, really fun, and on the other, terrifying. No matter which mode you go to there’s a lot of lining up tabs, and hoping said tabs don’t break because some of those fuckers are tight. In fact, when going to helicopter form you kinda have to try and line up everything as well as possible and just squeeze it all together and pray something doesn’t break.

    [​IMG]

    Chopper mode is my favourite for a lot of reasons. It looks great. If a flying box can look “great” everything fits together well and there’s a place for every one of his accessories to go. Hell, there’s even grooves on this wings/weapon mounts to allow the gun that has weapon tabs for the swords to sit flush (which I’m not sure if I did in the photo above but can;t be bothered taking it again if I haven’t). I mean yes I prefer the Thrilling 30 design which looks more like an actual helicopter (if you squint) but this is a really good modernised version of the G1 design.

    [​IMG]

    Joking aside, this is actually a pretty good Cybertronian car mode for Springer and there are more steps to get to this than you think. The legs pretty much flip horizontal and fold in and themselves and you reposition the shoulder and flip and push the weapon mounts in to make it more compact while moving the front wheels further forward. Works far better than the original did of convincing me that this is a third mode and not something the designers pulled out of their arse. Unfortunately, the weapon storage is just plain daft There are tabs for the swords and plenty of gun ports, yes. But there’s nowhere for the marine radar on it, or you stick the weapons together to form…well, take a look.

    [​IMG]

    Yeah, it ain’t great. I mean yes the Thrilling 30 guy had a similar thing with its friction missile launcher, but it didn’t spin freely and somehow looked far more cohesive than it should have done. You can improve the look of this by removing the spinning section and just plug it in with the rear guns 5mm peg. Though it means you’ve still got nowhere to put the rotor assembly, which is a big no-no. What can I say? Bad weapon storage is a turn off for me.

    Overall, Siege Springer is a good toy but has some issues that might put some people off getting him. I can see arguments for not bothering with him if you prefer the Thrilling 30 version, but this one has plenty more positives than negatives, alongside the fact he is far closer to the G1 original. If I can have 20 plus G1 looking Megatrons sharing a shelf, I can have two Springers next to each other.

    [​IMG]
     
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  6. SPLIT LIP

    SPLIT LIP Be strong enough to be gentle

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    This Springer actually does what the show did and position the fenders ahead of the hood in car mode. I don’t know why, but that jazz’s me up so much.

    Also, for the big ridiculous rail gun thing, you don’t have to use the rotor peg. There’s room enough to use the gun’s peg without the rotor getting the way. I mean, realistically the nature of Siege weapons means you can do whatever you want.
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2019
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  7. Toonstrack

    Toonstrack #BringBackBoxBios

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    Got this figure a couple weeks ago. First transformation was scary, everything was pretty tight. Ya know they are often tight the first time.... XD

    (No lie said that joke to my mom whilst I was opening it, might be the most vulgar thing Ive said to her)

    Ok ok ok moving on, Im I love the figure. All the parts and everything click together nicely and the theee modes are great. Really no complaints although Id like light piping.
     
  8. Ravage101

    Ravage101 Well-Known Member

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    The cool thing about Siege Springer is how you can make your own weapon set ups. It’s the only voyager Siege figure that has this capability. The bayonet setup goes back to what you could do with T30 Springer. There is a lot of options with this figure right out of the box. To me, best voyager of the line.
     
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  9. Seeaich

    Seeaich Inaction Master

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    My only complaint would be over the gun and rotor bit, I wish they'd braved more assymetrical pistols that formed a long gun that looked more like his G1 toy rifle, or at least if this one wasn't so long combined but instead stubbier and taller pistols forming a less gangly, more substantial rifle, with a proper spin lock on the rotor part to prevent flapping gun syndrome.
    I'm thankful at least one peg fit in the thing without spinning though!
     
  10. DrTraveler

    DrTraveler Wheeljack, Wheeljack, Wheeljack

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    Good review, and it calls out the positives (that is a nice couple of alt modes) and the negatives (those ankles and that weapon set up).

    I still think T30 is the superior figure, but even with the bum ankles this one has grown on me. T30 lives on my nightstand, Siege lives at my office. It’s a good trade off.
     
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  11. Metalwario64

    Metalwario64 City Commander

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    Mine's ankles are perfect... And I much prefer it to the T30 Springer, because I can actually get his vehicle modes to tab together, and I like his proportions much more.

    Now, with T30 Jetfire, I like the Siege one more as cartoon Skyfire, but I like the sleeker proportions and visor head of the T30 one more for toy Jetfire, so that's a case where the old one still has some merit in my collection.
     
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  12. DrTraveler

    DrTraveler Wheeljack, Wheeljack, Wheeljack

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    I think there’s a lot of variation on the ankles. It’s been mentioned as a weak point for a lot of the people on this thread, and others have indicated solid ankles. That means we have some real variance or QC issues.

    For mine, Siege Springer needs to have moved his center of mass forward to be stable either through leaning or carrying weapons (an old balance trick for back heavy figures). The rest of my joints are solid and he can hold any arm or leg pose I want. But if he has even a slight backward tilt the ankles give and he topples.
     
  13. Metalwario64

    Metalwario64 City Commander

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    Can't the people who have loose ankles just tighten the pins with Future like everyone else does for every other figure? They look like the same capped pins as the hips on T30 Blitzwing, and it tightened those up quite well.
     
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  14. richacm220

    richacm220 Well-Known Member

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    Mine had the loose ankle problem. I put some Future in the ankle pin joints and all is well now.
     
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  15. Unclejoe420

    Unclejoe420 Well-Known Member

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    I seem to be having the same slight issue that @Lothar Hex was having with car mode, but I pressed on the hips/crotch bit, and it clicked into place; hopefully that will have fixed it. I also might sand down his belt buckle a lil, as the paint on it seems a touch too thick. Aside from these minor hiccups, he is one gorgeous bugger!!
     
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  16. Ravage101

    Ravage101 Well-Known Member

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    I think I have mentioned this before but the instructions were incorrect about the placement of the super rail gun. It was never ment to be placed in that silly spindly way.

    This dude right here got it right:
    upload_2019-9-4_19-35-35.png
     
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  17. Ravage101

    Ravage101 Well-Known Member

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    I’ve tried multiple times and still cant get that to work. It’s okay. I have long accepted the rotor technique that is posted around here somewhere. Works just fine, even with only one sword.
     
  18. DrTraveler

    DrTraveler Wheeljack, Wheeljack, Wheeljack

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    It’s fair game to criticize a figure for needing work out of the box. And I’d bet it’s a longer term problem. The ankle tilt has support on the forward end, but not at all on the backside.
     
  19. Chainlink

    Chainlink No real than you are

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    Luckily, my ankles are fine. Could be tighter, but he's not collapsing under his own weight. Definitely appears to be a ymmv sort of issue.
     
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  20. Metalwario64

    Metalwario64 City Commander

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    I see people saying the T30 is the better figure just because of it. Joint tolerance problems have been more common lately, but while annoying, they're super easy to fix. Siege Megatron has a super floppy hip joint but I don't see nearly as many complaints about that and people saying they like CW leader or Classics versions more just because of that.

    I vastly prefer the Siege figure over the T30 one simply for the fact that I can actually transform it without fighting parts like the tight door panels on the T30 and the sides of the doors that never, ever want to peg in to place. To me those are much bigger and non-fixable problems compared to loose ankle joint that's fixed with Future polish. I honestly never understood the love that figure received from day 1. It was super highly rated, so it ended up being my second Transformer figure back in 2014. Those aforementioned problems I had never went away through the years, so I just gave up on Transforming it. As it happens, transforming Transformers is a big deal to me, because that's the gimmick of the franchise. If the process is frustrating, that's way more important of an issue to me than a joint in just the robot mode being loose and easily fixed.
     
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