God, what an awful, pegging mess. Into the box with this one. If Snapdragon gets made and is this much of a pos, I'll skip it.

 

Do you take the drill bit, stick it in the port and twist the bit around by hand a few times so that the bit will scrape away the plastic in the port and thus widen it a bit? Or do you have to use an electric drill for that? Can't imagine the latter, seems like an electric drill is difficult to manipulate under such conditions and could very easily wreck the figure.

 

I used a drill bit that was the same size as a 5mm peg. Basically if you put the bit (not with drill) in one of the other 5mm ports and it slides in with no effort yet it is snug (not loose at all) then that is the bit size to use. Next I used my Makita impact drill to carefully and slowly ( barely squeezing the trigger) drilled out just the top half of the plug. Maybe a 1/4 of the way in, no more. You dont want to route out the entire hole just like the first quarter of it.

sorry I don’t remember the drill bit size I used. I hope this helps.

 

Does anyone else have a tough time getting Spasma out of the ape-head bucket?

I don't want to scratch up the paint so I don't use my nails, and gripping the edges of the titanmaster with your fingerpads and pulling up, it's always a struggle (done it four or five times now, doesn't seem to be getting any easier)

 

I honestly can't say I have. It's a snug fit but not too tight on mine.

 

Mine is the same, but it's a small price to pay for proper tabbing and correctly sized pegs and peg holes.

 

Never saw this guy in the wild, so finally got him recently via BBTS. I like him a lot. Everything seems to work reasonably well on my copy, nothing too loose or too tight. 5mm fitment does seem all over the place with him, though. Gun holds fine in his hands, and like, half the ports on him (not necessarily symmetrically either. Pegs solid in one wing, but falls straight out of the other, for instance). Whatever, I can make it work. Shield didn't seem to plug too tightly into its vehicle mode port. Was able to get it in and out without too much effort, so as long as I don't crank it, it shouldn't break. Definitely strange that they didn't mold that on the same sprue as the wings, though.

For that tricky tab system for the gorilla chest, I feel like a lot of you have taken the wrong tact with it. I mean, yes, it does work to lock it in near the hinge, and then clip it over the chest tabs to keep everything together. But it takes a bit of force, with an audible click to clip it in near the hinge that way.

What I've instead found is that if you get the chest clips lined up first, when you hinge the cockpit back and tab it in, it draws the whole assembly back and locks both points together, similar to a suitcase latch, and the whole mechanism works smoothly with no harsh clicking or extra force.

 

Got mine today from Megalopolis.

I am pretty sure I had the G1 figure back in the day. The ape face is the most appealing thing about either figure for me.

This figure is really only acceptable if you want an updated version of the G1 toy. There is really no excuse for the lackluster design of the figure otherwise. I think I would have preferred to see a Thrilling 30 style update in which the beast and plane modes were less blocky and kibbley.

I think there is a lot of art in designing a good Transformer. Too simple a transformation and you get a Go-Bot. Too complex and you get something that is frustrating and not fun. In this case, Hasbro used the triple changer gimmick to fail on both ends.

The ape transformation has lots of twisting, folding, and pegging. The print directions are terrible bit thankfully we have a lot YouTube reviewers tp enlighten us. Everthing pegs in place firmly, but the key word is "everything." If anything is out of place, the whole thing is an unstable mess, and getting the last part to peg together without popping out something else is frustrating AF. If you have to have a complicated, frustrating transformation, the alt mode better be worth the effort. I'm not sure it is. The head is great, as I said above. A cyclopian simian with shark teeth, this could be the transformer of your nightmares. But you have some really awful kibble hanging about, and limited leg articulation. Hell, for an ape with hook hands to hang from stuff, I would have liked better arm articulation too. Again, a failure for a 2020 figure, but since this is trying to evoke the 1988 design, I will concede that it works on that level.

Conversion to plane mode is pretty much the opposite of ape mode - quick and straight forward. But the space plane is one of those "bricks with wings" designs that only works because it is evoking an old school aesthetic.

Robot mode might be the most satisfying, but the design is very late-G1 generic. I was never a big fan of many of the post-movie designs, especially in the Head/Power/Target Master years, as they seemed to lack the distinctive styles that gave the 84-85 figures their character. I do like that his headmaster gives Apeface two face options, and that his shield can function as an aerial drone in my headcannon.

Overall, a mild recommend unless the original character has meaning for you, or if you just need to have him to stand next to Snapdragon on your Horrorcon wedding cake.

 

Prelude: Apeface and his buddy Snapdragon were the Horrorcons in G1, a subgroup of two guys who are triple changers and Headmasters and... horrible, probably? It was never really specified what exactly differentiates a Horrorcon from others, but after over 30 years we are now seeing them again. Apeface returns in Siege, with his mate Snapdragon due to follow in Earthrise. Let’s see how the one with the face of an ape fares in his newest incarnation.

Robot Mode: Looking back at the original G1 Apeface, the figure had one major problem: a huge backpack (or ass-pack, rather) consisting of the ape mode arms and jet nose. Siege Apeface still has a backpack, the jet nose, but it’s an actual backpack this time and a good deal smaller. The big arms of Apeface’s beast mode are cleverly integrated into his robot mode legs, so he already makes for a much learner, better proportioned figure than his predecessor.

Something that originally put me off this figure a bit is that a large portion of him is made from milky white plastic. Also, the entire figure kind of feels… rubbery, I’d say is the best way to describe it. The parts feel soft and bendy at first. But after handling him for a while, one realizes that everything is well-made despite the somewhat funny feeling and all the parts tab together well (though not necessarily straight out of the box, keep that in mind). Apeface is very nicely articulated, no problems here, including tilting ankles. No waist swivel, but I can live with that.

Sadly Hasbro went a bit overboard here with the dreaded battle damage deco. Apeface’s lower legs, shoulders, and the jet nose behind his head are positively covered in it. Might really have to look into somehow washing that off. In terms of weapons Apeface comes with a black rifle and a wing shield, which he can tab into his shoulder or forearm. The weapons are the same he carried in his G1 incarnation, basically, so no complaints here.

Overall I like Apeface’s robot mode a lot. Battle damage detailing aside, there is nothing really to complain about here, once you get used to his somewhat strange feel. So thumbs up and let’s move on.

Alternate Modes: As a triple changer Apeface has two different alternate modes. One of them is – big surprise – a robotic ape. The transformation basically consists of turning the robot upside down, the shoulders become the ape legs, the legs become the ape arms. The jet nose remains on the back, but unfolds the lower part of the ape’s head. The upper part of said head is formed by Spasma (see below). Not sure why they didn’t go the same route as in G1 and have the Headmaster become the entire ape head, but it works this way, too. Inserting Spasma takes a bit of fiddling, but it’s not a problem. The resulting robot ape may not look particularly realistic, but he does give a great impression of a robot monster and looks pretty cool. Articulation is good, if not great, and overall I like this mode.

Second is the jet mode, which actually isn’t that different from the ape mode. Basically the ape lies down on its stomach, tucks in the arms and legs, flips the jet nose forward, and folds out the wings, done. The wing shield from the robot mode (which can be plugged into the ape’s lower back in that mode) hides a cockpit for Spasma to sit in and the rifle is mounted underneath the jet’s nose. It might not be the most aerodynamic jet ever (basically it’s a box with wings), but it looks sufficiently jet like to be easily recognizable and works fine as a science fiction style aircraft.

Both the jet and the ape mode are much better at hiding the robot arms than the G1 toy ever was, by the way. So overall I like both of Apeface’s alternate modes just fine. They manage to both look like what they’re supposed to be and everything holds together well. Nicely done.

Partner: Apeface comes with Headmaster / Titan Master Spasma, who becomes his head in robot mode and, well, part of his head in beast mode. Spasma is pretty much a standard Titan Master except for having the robot face on the back of his legs instead of his back.

Remarks: Apeface appeared in the G1 cartoon finale “The Rebirth”, but only as another guy in the crowd. He had a slightly larger role in the Marvel Comics, where he most famously had his arm bitten off by Rampage, only to then use said arm as a club to bash Rampage’s head in. He also appeared in the Japanese Headmaster cartoon. None of this appearances were particularly prolific, though.

Apeface is one of those toys that, upon first taking him out of the box, you are kind of disappointed, but the more you play with him, the better he gets. I was a bit turned off at first by his milky white plastic, the somewhat bendy feel of some of his parts, but after transforming him back and forth two or three times, I ended up really liking him. He is not perfect, but a vast improvement over the original G1 figure and does end up with three decent modes overall. So bottom line: A good, easily recommended figure. Just be aware that he needs a certain warming up period.

Rating: B


Source: Transformers-Universe.com!

 

Well, Apeface was one of the few Siege figures that I was skipping, but then I found it at 5$, I figured that at that price, no matter how bad he might be (as from reviews, images, etc. I truly felt that he was not a very good figure, but as he did lots of love from fans, I decided to give it a chance).

After about 3-4 transformation and a few hours fiddling with him, I felt that my preconceived notions were quite wrong, he was not a bad figure after all, he was an horrible one.

He feels like he was at the bottom of the Combiner Wars molds and that they sneaked it in the Siege line as otherwise he wouldn't have sold without giving fans a possibility of the quality of Siege figures.

At 5$, I feel like I was ripped off.

This is easily one of the worse figures I've ever purchased in my life. It just feels very cheap, the transformation is quite bad, with parts that just don't lock together very easily or very well.

It lacks articulation, and that's even including bad ball-joints. No waist rotation. The gaps for the hands are terrible for a voyager figure. Seriously, compared the the Seekers, Optimus, Megatron and every other Voyager of the series, it's like it doesn't belong at all, it's not in the same class at all... Hell, even the legend class G1 modernized versions of the scouts (Seaspray, Cosmo, Beachcomber, and others) all outdoes it, let alone most Generation figures.

All the modes are basically a box with pieces sticking out, none look good, each one has a LOT of kibble.

I'm also aware of flaws that could results with parts breaking, so I am careful with it, especially that wing/shield piece, and another really bad thing... the gun only holds in the robot's hands, ALL the other 5mm ports are too large and the gun doesn't stay in any of them at all and I've just finished doing the floor polish fix on all of them.

And lastly, I'm also not a fan of the gorilla face. Heck, another thing: the robot barely stand up without falling due the the feet being a terrible sculpt.

I know many loved it and hopefully I didn't offend anyone, but I have to guess that this love is more for the nostalgia than the quality and have blinders for it... I know that I do complain regularly about quality with Hasbro (so many figures are great but lacks that one thing or two that would be very simple to do, but Hasbro simply doesn't do them), but for this figure is just bad.

If this figure would have been the first Siege figure I would have gotten, I think that I would have seriously hesitated and would have feared getting any other Siege figure.

Heck, it's not just the worse figure of Siege, but it's worse than just about every Titan Return, Combiner War, and previous series for as far as I can think... looking at all the figures I have in my office, quality wise, Gen30 Jetfire, or Roadbuster are probably some of the worst ones for the plastic, weakpoints and quality, and even they are stellar compared, aside for the plastic being cheaper than Apeface.

Well, all I can say is that I have it... cost me 5$, and I now have a figure that I can use as a benchmark for bad figures.

 

I completely understand your opinions on being disappointed on Apeface. However I love the awkward little b*stard!

I'm probably one of a few people who has no attachment, connection or knowledge of Apeface (being a 90's kid introduced to Transformers through Beast Wars) but I absolutely love this figure, yes there are better designed figures out there. Would I have wanted more articulation, wrist swivels, waist swivels etc. yes, but a lot of figures in Siege I wish had better articulation (really wish Soundwave and Megatron had wrist swivels, as with some of the deluxe figures) I just find it a cool design, he looks imposing stood on my shelf slightly taller than my Titans Return deluxe Decepticon headmasters.

Getting Apeface made me go back and read up on him, in turn making me appreciate the figure even more.

The only parts of the figure I didn't like were "problems" I've had with almost every Siege figure, and they were easily fixed; The battle damage had to go, a couple of joints had to be tightened. In fact, your mile may vary, but my Apeface's joints were mostly tighter than most of the other figures I have gotten from Siege, I only had to tighten up his gorilla arms, but even they weren't the worst I've come across.

I gave him the TR Headmaster and he stands proudly on my shelf waiting for Snapdragon to come along!

 

I'm happy you like it, I understand that not all figures can be everyone's cup of tea... and I agree that wrist articulation should be a default for all figures now, including proper closing panels for the arms.

In a way, I'm kinda glad to have it as a background figure, I still fell that 5$ for it is more than he's truly worth. But I also believe that they aren't going to make another version of this character for a very long time. I fell even worse for ER Starscream to be honest, and I wouldn't even get that one for 5$, and I really expect a better version of the seekers within the next few years.

And I really do look forward to Snapdragon, as that figure looks great! (and somehow, I'm seeing a lot of hate for it, oddly enough)

 

Didn't pay much attention to him when he came out but with Snapdragon coming I decided to pick this up and I think he's great. I read people complaining about the soft white plastic, but I like it (in fact it's one of the things I thought looked great on Siege Sideswipe). I only wish the rear cockpit was more visible in atleast one mode; it's just hidden away now. I'm not familiar with this character at all though, so it's probabely accurate. Speaking of that, when I was transforming him into jet mode and manipulated the wings I wondered why they were reversed; figured you had to partsform them...'oh wait, no...hmm, maybe I have a faulty copy' (no I seriously thought that). Odd design. edit: Ok, I just looked it up and no yeah, that G1 wing design is not very well implemented here.

 

Like the post above mine I was hyped for Snapdragon and found out this guy is buddies with him so I figured why not(no familiarity with these characters). I like him a LOT better than I thought I would and he might be my favorite Siege figure after soundwave.

I really REALLY like his proportions in robot mode. The thin waist big calves and wide chest always look and feel right to me. His ape mode looks great especially the faceplate and his jet mode is nice and compaxt, easily swooshable. I dig his weapon and I like the Titan Master gimmick as well.

My one complaint and this is something that is present on a lot of siege stuff, is that his joints and locking parts are tight... I mean REAL tight. Almost too much so. Its a bit of a double edged sword as his stuff all stays together extremely well but I had numerous points I felt like I could break this thing.

I dont mind the battle damage one bit, I think it adds to an otherwise conventional look a lot. I wouldve preferred a stark white plastic as opposed to the milky colored plastic we got but Ill live. Really glad I picked this guy up and Im super hyped to have Snapdragon with him soon.

 

Does any 3p alternative shield exist for Apeface? I hate his default one so much.

 

Has anyone successfully taken the silver schmutz off of Apeface? I've tried alcohol which worked on other figures and yet it does nothing on Apeface.

 

So I love the Apeface figure, but unfortunately yesterday when I got him off the shelf to transform him to ape mode his right ape mode leg snapped off, at the pinned joint, the joint just disintegrated. I tried gluing it together but I think when I try to re-insert the pin it will just disintegrate again. Think I'm gonna have to buy another one and part swap with this one as I'd done a lot of custom work (repainting legs black and got rid of all battle damage)



Luckily my local Smyths have over 15 in stock according to their site.

I removed what I could but in the end had to repaint his legs black, it was just easier overall. Had to repaint the plane cockpit too because I couldn't get the battle damage out of the cracks and detailing.

 

I'll probably end up painting mine as well. I didn't mind the battle damage until I saw a pic of Apeface next to Snapdragon who's nice and clean. Thanks!

 

Planned on getting this guy because he's fresh and it's so nice to get something that we haven't seen since the original. Also realized they already are taking preorders for SnapDragon so I had to complete the horrorcon set.

Aesthetics on this guy are great. True there aren't a lot of paint apps because Siege's thing with battle damage. The look never bothered me. The sculpting is excellent, though. As others have mentioned the details get washed out on the white parts but I'm sure an easy black wash or some pain pen touch ups would go a long way there if you really want to. Very easy fix.

Engineering is good. Not great but it's different and everything pegs together just fine. The trick is to convert him from robot mode to jet mode first. It's much easier to fold everything up into a box and sets up the trickier parts of the beast mode for you so there's a lot less fiddle. He isn't nearly as frustrating as your average Studio Series figure.

Issues the gun secures just fine in the hand but not much else so if you want to use something to tighten that up apply it to the ports rather than the gun, or else he won't be able to hold the gun any more (I don't bother myself, he only really needs the gun secure in robot mode, the rest is just storage). The shield is very tight in the alt modes while being very loose in pretty much every other peg. I haven't cracked or stressed it, though. You just have to get your fingers under and wiggle it a bit and it slides right out.

The design is retro, for better or for worse. Yeah the jet mode is a block with tiny wings and a big nose. It's goofy and it's geewunn. The ape mode looks retro and doesn't do a whole lot but it's still better than the original and looks great. The robot mode is nice and chunky with a unique design and deco. I don't think we could have gotten a better jet mode. Converting a bulky robot into a slim jet is always tricky business and even if done requires a ton of engineering that we were never going to get.

He is old school but he's articulated, the details are excellent, and he isn't another god damn seeker variation.

The melt down some people had early on over the white plastic is hilarious in retrospect and also highlights why I don't like the transformers fan community in general. People flipped out, thought it was cheap, some kind of soap plastic, assumed it would be fragile and break. And it was all the same people that neurotically scrub the battle damage paint off and complain that they aren't getting 3P paint apps on a mass release figure that costs 1/6 the price.

For reference the plastic is a highly condensed Nylon that is stronger and more flexible than normal plastic. It is used because the engineering required a certain amount of give without causing damage. It also doesn't fade like standard grade plastic. You might not like the way it looks personally or how it feels, but it is scientifically a superior material.

I can get some people not liking the alt modes being 'too retro' but he's still a big improvement on the original, it fits in well with the modern line, and it's something we haven't seen for a very long time. All high marks from me, can't wait for SnapDragon.

 

Got Apeface. He has two wrong feet. What to do, I purchased him online months ago (from a different country) and only now got him?