I picked him up at the store. Took one look at it, then I put it back on the shelf. (sorry for those expecting a real review. true story!)
Usually, new Alternators are sold out instantly on the clubstore but Rollbar and Ricochet have been on the site for a few days.
Ricochet stinks on toast, but Rollbar actually has a pretty decent look to him. I was thinking of sculpting up a Huffer head, and adding some purplish blue detail to him. He really is more orange than red, which helps him stand out a bit from the rest of the Alts. Huffer would make more sense to me as a character in the Alt line, than friggin' Rollbar.
Rollbar is just a 'meh'. I guess if you collect Alts more for the idea and the number like I do or if the jeep mold's your favorite go for it, otherwise skip. Rollbar is my least favorite Alt knocking Ravage up one spot. It's not that ANY Alts are bad per se, it's just that a straight up repaint is bad enough, but when that repaint is a sub-par character like Rollbar...blah.
I know I'm in the minority, but Roll bar looks like a G1 Sandstorm homage to me. I I likey the Sandstorm! Now if only I could make it turn into a helicopter too... -LB
Get an extra Cybertron Evac, remove the rotor assembly, glue it to Rollbar's roof frame, and Ta-DAAAAAA!!!
I saw Rollbar in Wal-Mart this evening and passed on him. The jeep mold is one of my favorites in some ways, but whereas the straight repaint worked for me when it comes to Ricochet, it's just not as interesting for Rollbar. I was trying to be an Alternator completist, but having missed Wheeljack and Swerve, that doesn't look like it's going to happen. Still might pick him up sometime, but just wasn't inspired to get him this evening.
*smacks head* And here I was waiting for a good deal on Ebay... yeah, there is the Hasbro website, isn't there!
Every time I look at Rollbar, I just say to myself "I am going to wait until you're on clearance ." But really, I already have Hound and Swindle. He's just freakin' Swindle coated with a different color and really no new paint apps.
Mine is misassembled. The waist was put on backwards, meaning it won't snap shut and the legs are backwards. That, and it looks like crap. F
Man its a good thing I decided to pass on this one. Was thinking about picking it up just to complete my Alt collection but after reading these responses I think I'll pass.
Other than making sure my ALT collection is complete, and the fact that he's orange and has a vanity plate, I would've passed on him... Same with Ricochet...
I haven't been able to find him or Ricochet. But one day I shall own these just to complete my alt collection. Also the straight repaints I shall keep mib as I've done with Sunstreaker since I've seen it all before.
I found one of these at Target today, they have actually been selling well for some reason, I told myself I wouldn't buy one, but since I have all the Alternators but him, I went ahead and picked one up. My GOD did Hasbro have a surplus of gold paint or what???? He wouldn't have looked all that bad in ‘bot mode had it not been for all the freaking gold paint, even if it was tan colored like his seats it would have looked better, that and the fact that his visor is painted, PAINTED when it's made of clear plastic (I took him apart and checked). Why did they do this? Would it have cost that much to mold in in translucent blue or yellow or something. Then there are the missing paint apps on the front grill, where Hound and Swindle had the radiator slats painted black, his are unpainted, and it looks incredibly cheap, this is going to have to be the first thing I fix. Shame on you Hasbro, if you were going to do a straight re-paint of this mold you should have at least put some effort into it. Rollbar is easily the worst alternator EVER. It's a damn good thing that even a bad Alt is a good toy....
Forgot to mention, mine has a hair plastered into the paint on his face... I AM NOT KIDDING (luckily it looks like a straight hair and not a curly one...)
Well, up until today I'd only seen Rollbar once, at Wal-Mart. I passed on buying him, then changed my mind but no more Rollbar. Someone else had bought him. Ran across him tonight at Target and went ahead and picked him up. - G1 Rollbar is the only Throttlebot I own, apart from a sealed Wideload. So I have a soft spot for the character, and it's nice to have the update, even if the resemblance is limited to the name and vehicle mode. A remolded head that looks like Rollbar's would have been nice. It's odd-looking, and I'd enjoy seeing how a reinterpretation of it would turn out. - Ok, straight repaint. I think out of the two previous Jeeps, Hound and Swindle, that I liked Swindle better. Rollbar is a repaint of Swindle with the bigger tires and chrome guard on front, so that's a plus. - On the bottom of the box, the photograph of the robot mode has the hood slightly open. - Other packaging notes - I try to save even the new fishbowl package, so I slice through three of the four sides with an xacto knife. On Rollbar, he still wouldn't come out. Turns out that there was a twisty holding him down. Had to get some scissors and cut it to avoid tearing the box. - Colors are wrong for Rollbar, but if they were correct we'd have two green Jeeps, so I can understand the change. Orange adds a little variety to the vehicles in the line. I think that the gold, black and orange all work well together. - the license plate halves aren't even! Sloppy. - more qc issues - the tabs that connect the pelvis to the waist don't fit together properly. Possibly because the gold paint makes the holes too small. edit - scraped just a bit of gold paint from either side of the slots with my xacto. Now the tabs lock properly. Just a case of paint being a shade too thick. Bottom line: I'd prefer a remolded head, but I liked the two previous jeeps, and I'm happy I bought Rollbar. It's a good mold all around, and I won't ding it for being the third use. The colors are decent, and add some variety to the Alternators line. I'd give it a B+/A-
Must disagree with that. Rollbar definitely isn't the high point of the line, but isn't nearly as bad as Smokescreen, Wheeljack or Optimus Prime (listed in order from worst to...least worst). Anywho, my review of Alt Rollbar. No pictures right now, but a few when I get around to posting it in the Articles section: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Rollbar Note This figure is a repaint of the Alternators figure Swindle, which was a repaint and slight remold of the previous release Hound. As such, this review will only cover the differences between Rollbar and the previous releases; more information about the mold can be found in Hound and Swindle’s reviews. Vehicle Mode In vehicle form, Rollbar is a Jeep Wrangler and does not appear to have any mold differences from Swindle. The main colour of the vehicle is a muted orange and black is used for detailing on the wheel wells, bumpers, running boards, gas tank cap, undercarriage, roll cage, spare tire compartment and “Jeep Wrangler” and “Sport” lettering that appears on each side of the vehicle. However, some black paint applications that were present on Hound and Swindle, such as the door handles and front grille, are absent from this release. White is used for the “Jeep” lettering on the front bumper and spare tire compartment while the exhaust pipes are silver. The headlights are clear plastic on a silver background, with an orange background and clear plastic making up the taillights and front turn signals. Red paint applications are also used on the rear lights for brake indicators and an extra light above the spare tire. The front license plate is a small Autobot symbol on a white background, while the rear vanity plate consists of “ROLLBAR” in black lettering on the backdrop of a Colorado state license plate. Along with Ricochet, Rollbar is the first Alternator to come with a particular state on the license plate, rather than just a plain white background. I think the state tags are a nice touch, as they add a bit of extra character and realism to the figures. The more recent release, Optimus Prime, doesn’t have a state tag, but hopefully it’s something that will reappear on future Alternators. A light grayish-brown is used for the seats and dashboard of the cab interior while the steering wheel, central console and insides of the doors are black. The grayish-brown is a nice colour choice for the cab, as it is still a realistic colour for the seats and works well with the orange on the vehicle exterior. In addition, the molding detail on the dashboard is a lot more visible on the grayish-brown background and the sculpting intricacies there stand out better than on the previous releases. Opening the hood reveals a metallic gold engine block (my copy of the toy has some minor paint chipping in this area). One improvement to this figure over Hound and Swindle is that the engine colour extends down onto the robot arms, making it look like everything beneath the hood is part of the motor. In the case of Hound and Swindle, the engine was simply a silver panel on a black background and didn’t look quite as realistic. In general, I like Rollbar’s aesthetic in this form. As a repaint, it’s not a dramatic departure from Swindle, but this isn’t really a mold that has room for a lot of aesthetic flexibility. I would have liked to have seen all of the paint details that were on Swindle included in this release, but their removal doesn’t take away a lot from the figure. As far as connection to the G1 character Rollbar…other than the alternate mode, there doesn’t appear to be any link between the two figures as they do not share any colours or design influences. Perhaps Rollbar was chosen as a name for the repaint of Alternators Swindle since modern repaints of G1 Swindle have frequently been named Rollbar. Rollbar does not appear to have any articulation differences from Swindle or Hound in this mode. The wheels roll just as well as the previous releases and the suspension is equally effective, while the doors and hood open the same. 8/10 Robot Mode Transformation to, and articulation in, robot mode are the same as for Hound and Swindle. One difference I have noticed is that significant force is required to clip Rollbar’s waist halves together during transformation to robot mode and to separate them during transformation back to vehicle mode. Another is that Rollbar’s hip ball joints are a lot tighter than both of the previous releases of this mold. The clips involved seem solid enough, but this may be a future breakage issue. In this mode, orange is still dominant, but there is more black and the gold that was hidden in vehicle mode is fully revealed. Orange appears on the shins, torso and backpack kibble while the feet, thighs, upper hips, and hands are black. There is also some black detailing on the shoulder pads and three black stripes on each lower arm. The arms are gold, save for the hands and the aforementioned black detailing, and the lower half of the hips are also gold. Black is also the main colour of the helmet and the face is silver with gold eye visor. There do not appear to be any molding changes in this mode either, nor is there any resculpting on the head. While the repaint worked fine in vehicle mode, I don’t think the palette is quite as effective in this form. The orange and black are broken up enough to keep most areas of the figure from looking too plain and the layout is good enough that Rollbar doesn’t end up a Halloween decoration. However, as much as I like metallic gold paint on figures, it just doesn’t work with the orange. The arms look nice on their own, especially with the black detailing, but they stand out far too much from the remainder of the body. Although I did like the effect of all-gold arms on the engine in vehicle mode, I think black arms with gold detailing would have worked better with this form. The shins could also use some black paint to break up the orange, as these larger areas of pure bright orange draw the eye away from the center of the figure’s body. Finally, the lack of black paint applications on the vehicle doors has a negative impact on this mode, as the ‘wings’ behind the arms end up looking plain and cheap. These issues don’t make Rollbar a terrible redeco, but it’s just not as impressive as Hound and Swindle. As in vehicle mode, there aren’t any true connections between this figure and the G1 namesake. Like the previous releases of this mold, Rollbar comes with a small pistol stored in the spare tire compartment in either mode. Rollbar’s pistol is black and it would have been nice to see a different colour used to differentiate this weapon from Swindle’s gun. There are no differences in the stability or function of the pistol or the ability of the figure to hold it in the hands. 6/10 Overall Although I like this mold a lot, Rollbar is the weakest version so far. The vehicle form looks fine and retains the function seen in Hound and Swindle, but the few missing paint applications are a small notch against it. Despite the improved hip joints, the robot mode aesthetic has a number of minor flaws that keep the toy from looking as nice as either of the prior releases. The lack of any connection to the G1 namesake, while not something that bothers me, may be a concern for some. I’d recommend Rollbar to those who don’t have any previous version of this mold, but anyone who has Hound or Swindle and isn’t a completist can safely skip this release. 7/10 ----------------------------------------------------------- As a final note, I added some repro Decepticon symbols to this figure after finishing the review to bring my Alt 'Con faction a little closer to the Autobot numbers.
Good review Scantron. For those who skipped Rollbar because he's just a repaint, take a second look. It's not a bad color scheme.
