Huh. Mine must be tight. I was afraid to force anything. But if you're sure there's ankle tilt I'll look again when I get home. I'm assuming its at the ankles.  

 

Lol. Yeah. A little lower. More like right at the feet. I think page 7 of this thread has some pics.

I will agree that I am disappointed the hands aren't articulated. That's something that both Skyfire and Rodimus had, so I feel Menasor should've as well if not Motormaster.

 

I like my large bots to have fully articulated hands that could be used to grab smaller bots. And to better convey the scale, I like an ab crunch and neck tilt to look down on the little bots. Cyber Metroplex at least gets this right (though I still want better hands).

 

I don’t have UW Computron. You thinking of someone else?

 

It was worth a shot.

 

Thanks! That was actually what I was trying to go for. I unironically love the G1 toy's base mode.

 

Lol random. I did have maketoys quantron back in the day. That set was so awesome. But combining and de-combining them took like an hour.

 

Menasor seems...excited to be able to fully combine with his turret parts.

 

Oh my God.  

 

Just went to a must buy transformable gun dick for the win.

 

OH MY EYES

 

That might be the first double barreled dick I've ever seen

 

He is now TRUELY a Masterpiece!

 

What never seen a snake hemipenis before?  

 

That reminds me of Thunderclash/MW Optimus’ base mode!

 

He's actively seeking someone to combine with. 

 

Or a shark’s claspers?

 

For my next installment in reviewing this set, I turn my attention to Motormaster's vehicle mode.

Like many of you, when I first saw the truncated trailer for this set, I was mildy taken aback. Instead of the almost double-trailer of the original, we now have something shorter in length, and higher in...um height. It looked odd, but I knew that engineering these toys often takes compromises to deliver in other aspects (ie Menasor).

In-hand, with its heft, it doesnt feel so dissapointing. In fact, its sort of impressive in how they managed a scaleable version of this guy and managed to still Menasor in a way that feels satisfactory. Naysayers will bemoan the "partsforming" aspect when building the gestault mode, but to me whether it changes seamlessly with a series of fluid steps, or you have to dissasemble something to make something still merits a Transformer IMO.



That being said, the trailer is not without its issues. The kickstand doesnt lock in standing position, so it can potentially collapse on itself. The rear tire panels don't lock either, causing a collapse that creates an imbalance. Nothing super frustrating, but baffling that some sort of snap locks were not engineered on either of these issues.
Having handled the cab mode, I can say it fares better, with a few exceptions. A model accurate truck, its like night and day from Combiner Wars take.
The purple pops against the primary charcoal body. Its actually a truck...that looks like a truck, as opposed to the ghastly Kingdom Ultra Magnus. Here, we get symmetry and windows! No fists hanging out! Even the rear section looks like a real life vehicle! Nice!

In this mode, I always think of the Knight Rider episode where Michael Knight's double drove that sinister mack truck. He looks sinister, like some possesed demon semi.
and now on to my minor gripes:

An annoying issue is the roof panels that are supposed to snap in their designated peg holes. The left one on mine pops out when you handle it.Again, maybe Im very happy I get a proper Motormaster, but its minor. Another problem comes when transforming Motormaster back into truck mode. The tucked in front wheels require either long nails or a handy spoon to get them out, as they lock in pretty good. It irks me whenever a transformer requires something other than ypur own hands to change it.

Motormaster does lool good with fellow teammate Dragstrip. His bright yellow gives a nice contrast to MM's dark dominance.

Bring on the rest!

 

My last review for Motormaster until I can complete Menasor, will focus on what I call his "Road Block Gunner Station".


Look, I think playsets are cool, and I can always appreciate an alternate "base" mode. Like most people, this is a decent afterthought. It might look cooler once we have all the Stunticons using it as a barricade outpost; something to which they can ambush oncoming Autobots on the road.


The trailer breaks into 3 main components which you must break down to Menasor's body parts and reattach into a splayed out way.
The result feels...unfinished? I feel like it ould be cool if there were two more smaller canons that could utilize the combiner ports on both ends, really pushing the "battlestation" aspect.

But no, we get a double barreled cannon, which actually is best utilized in this mode. Its too big for Motormaster and makes you realize how much we miss Menasor's Cyclone gun from the original day when he weilds it. Here, it works nicely.
The odd panel that is in MM's face might have worked if there were some sort of effort to make it look more like a targeting viewfinder. Maybe Toyhax can create some sort of screen sticker to put there, giving it some functionality.

The side towers dont really offer much neither. Its not like Dragstrip can use them for cover, so its just kind of goofy.

However, just the other day I saw LoserBroadside's fanmode and it immediately reminded me of tge original toy's base mode. I thought I'd try it out, with a slight mod to the front ramps:
Gotta say I like this better. I mean, it still lacks functionality, but feels closer to the G1 mode.
"Now I'm king of the Gunner Stations, Priiiime! Har har Haaar!"

If you wanna do a Thrilling 30 Metroplex ir Prime Wars basemode homage, you can spread 'em for another variation.


Despite its silly aspects, it was fun exploring this mode. Can't say I'll display it ever, but its nice to know its there.

Final Thoughts:
In terms of what we should expect from a Commander Class, Motormaster delivers. Tons of play value and display options. The only other CC I own are Jetfire and Rodimus Prime, and I would place this above both. Jetfire earns #2 for his size and fireblast and armor accessories , while RP comes in last, because I feel we could have gotten the same character with a less complex transformation and his trailer could have been packed in like ER Prime and sold for a cheaper price point. Its still a great figure, but in terms of saying "money well spent", Motormaster feels earned. Great robot and vehicle modes, a fun if ridiculous gun station mode and whats shaping up to be am awesome Menasor!

Until next review!