So, several days ago, I received quite a surprise in the mail - a package containing a production sample of Fans Toys' Sever! I'm not sure how many hands this particular copy passed through before it reached me, but it was certainly a pleasant surprise. Before taking a look at it myself, I turned it over to my good friend Weirdwolf at TFTalk.net/TFYLP for a little photography to be done.

And of course you can secure yours with a preorder at capturedprey.com! In the interests of full (and obvious) disclosure I am the owner of Captured Prey. I know that means that some folks will assume any product review I do is going to be biased. Since I take pride in being open and honest as much as possible, I will endeavor to avoid that and honestly mention any noteworthy flaws in an item during a review or when answering any questions. How much you trust my ability to do so, of course, is your call.

Please keep in mind that this IS a production sample, and I'll be passing my thoughts on to Fans Toys, so there may be minor changes . The final figure will include a second robot mode face, as the others had, as well as red and blue eye options for both dinosaur and robot modes. I won't be able to comment on those parts here, as they are not present with the sample.



Right off the bat, this figure is hefty. If you've bought Scoria and Soar, you know what I mean. Overall, the figure is about the same size as Scoria, and he's built to scale well with MP-09 as Rodimus Prime, MP-10 and all the figures that followed, and of course other releases like FT-03 Quake Wave and KFC's Transistor. There are some good sized chunks of die-cast metal in here, and they are right where they need to be for stability and sturdiness. Much like Scoria, the robot toes are die-cast, along with the dino-mode front feet, which places a lot of the weight in the bottom of the foot and leg, making his robot mode very stable in a wide range of poses.

The chrome finish on various parts is gorgeous. The same kind of rich gold color found on the prior two, the finish is smooth and clean everywhere I look. There are a couple of very small chips around the edges of the rear dino-mode feet, but I doubt this is due to a serious flaw. More likely, this is due to prior handling and the obvious fact that when you place something on a surface, a bit of wear is just going to happen. I don't see how Fans Toys can really prevent it in the long run.

Like the prior figures, the paint apps are by no means excessive, but have been applied where they are needed, without skimping to save money. The lower torso and some detail areas on the chest feature a darker metallic red color, again much like Scoria, which gives a subtle contrast. Additional detailing can be found on the sides of the robot legs, picking out wiring and other details nicely. And of course the chest hatch and areas on the legs are picked out in the same style as MP-08 Grimlock, with back-painting of clear parts giving a sense of depth and some extra detail.



Looking at the robot mode articulation, it's exactly what we expect from Fans Toys by now. The shoulders can lift all the way to the side on sturdy ratchets, and rotate forward and back on separate ratchets. Indeed, the shoulders can lift up and to the sides fully, avoiding the limitation seen in Scoria. The bicep features a swivel, and the elbows use a double-hinge to provide a full ninety degrees of bend. The wrist can be tilted slightly up or down and rotated completely, and each finger features two articulations at the knuckles, with a ball-joint base on the single-piece thumb. The waist swivels just above the hips, with hinged side armor on the front, back and side of each hip to allow full leg movement. Each hip features a very snug front-back ratchet and a side to side hinge joint with plenty of tension to let it hold some very challenging poses. Moving on down, we find nice, tight thigh swivels, solid knee ratchets, and the expected tilting feet, which move both sideways and forward to support dynamic poses. Topping it off, the head features a swivel at the base of the neck, and a forward/back tilt at the base of the head, with a very respectable range of angles in both directions. As a bonus, due to the way the tail is hinged for movement in dino-mode, you can either have the tail halves out to the sides in a classic position, or fold them in for a more compact look!

Like the prior pair and many Masterpiece figures, the transformation retains the basics of the original toy, while adding some nice improvements. The front dino legs and head fold up inside the shins for a clean design on the leg, and the rear dino legs do some nice panel rotation that covers the chrome on the forearms for the robot mode. The transformation is intuitive enough, as both Weirdwolf and I were able to work it out without instructions. I'd still recommend making your first round of transformations with instructions, of course, to make sure you learn about any areas where caution may need to be exercised.



Moving on to the dino-mode articulation, we have no big surprises, but a nice arrangement. The front dino legs are fully chromed, with a limited ball-joint at the hip, and hinged knees and ankles, with an extra ankle tilt allowing some sideways motion. The rear legs feature the same shoulder articulation as the robot arms, and the robot elbows become the knees, with simple hinges on the feet. The tail features a nice touch, with mechanical-looking discs on each half interlocking to provide movement at two points, letting the tail flex to either side pretty nicely. In a nice touch, the tail spikes are sharp, but not painfully so unless you're going to grind your skin on them intentionally. I don't recommend that, but hey, if that's how you enjoy your toys, you go right ahead! Finally, the dino head can turn a bit to the left and right, and features an opening jaw with its own ratchet mechanism. This means that if you put a flame effect or a small enemy robot in there and close the mouth, it should be very secure.

Finally, looking at the features, the alternate face mechanism is beautifully executed. The front of the forehead, along with the face and eyes, can simply be pulled from the head without tools or removing any screws, letting the face be swapped out quickly and easily. The tabs on the weapon hilts do not snap into the palms tightly, however, this may be intentional, as the fingers and thumb grip the weapons very securely. As such, it may be that the tabs are not meant to be a primary way of securing the weapons in the hands, but rather an extra point of contact to help stabilize them and make sure they are held properly and tightly.

Wrapping it up, it seems clear that Fans Toys is planning to continue their reputation for overall quality, and it looks like they are continuing to work on eliminating in advance the minor issues that might show up.

 

Somehow I missed this post until now, Sidecutter. Thanks for the review and the pictures. Very nice.

 

Thanks very much for the review!
Ahem.. You can send this along to me anytime, and I will do a video.  

 

Late to the fans toy party

Great review!
I am not a fan of the dinobots period. But I am starting to become a fan of fans toy. From looking at reviews and pictures of their figures...I am going to call it art. I am going get on the fans toy train shortly...Great review and thanks

 

Thanks for the review... I was curious as to any differences between this and the test-samples, but it doesn't seem to have any real differences (aside from maybe chrome color, or the new headsculpt).

 

This figure is pure sex. Pure fan service LoVE! Thanks for the detailed review and beautiful pictures sidecutter .... very nice