It's nice. It's neck and neck with Scorponok, but I'd rate Scorponok a tad higher. Teletraan (as he's called in Netflix) is always displayed in robot mode for me (frankly, it's easier to display him that way rather than the giant orange chonk that is Ark mode). I'm all for introducing original characters into the lore. The Fossilizers have been great. Seeing all the Weaponizers finally become distinct characters in their own right has been a treat. Ironworks and Airwave were awesome. New is good. I want more brand-new characters in addition to reworking what we already have. Windblade is a good example of this. She may have her faults, but I'd rather have new characters than not.
I will admit he is the blandest Titan in robot mode, but ship mode looks good. As I keep my figures in box I can't speak for articulation or gaps, but with the extra figure and display options My vote is yes it's worth it.
Why would the extra figure matter if you're never gonna open it? Do you buy 2 of each and open 1 up? This is an expensive hobby. Mad props if you can afford to do that.
I only buy 2 of a few figures. Springer was the last I believe. I was speaking more on the side of those who do open and enjoy the figures that way. To them I think it would be worth it to have the extra figure. For me it doesn't really matter but still think it's a cool idea.
After having the Ark in hand and now on display with the rest of the collection I can say that it was WORTH IT. It's one of the largest items in this collection and it's about the size of my collection's Holy Grail the Gi Joe Defiant Shuttle. So thanks to everyone who shared their photos of the Ark to help me decide on getting it.
I'm so happy I ordered the RX78, Zaku, and Char's Zaku to put with my TFs now. Thank you. Hard to find crossover pictures.
IMHO No, it's not... This is the longest review I've ever made and all due to me pointing out the issues I have with this figure
My copy arrived from Entertainment Earth a little while ago. I want to start by saying that how it's designed to stay together in alt mode is terrible. The toy is too large/heavy/cumbersome to rely on those types of friction connections to connect a staggering amount of the ship to the rear legs in alt mode. Swing out clips (similar to those on 01 Studio's Cell's plant mode) would have prevented every single connection issue in alt mode. Based on my copy, the next largest issue is how it was packaged. It wasn't tied down at all, it just relies on friction from the cardboard packer that the boosters slide into and the cardboard packer that the nosecone slides into. That allows a lot of parts to bow/flex/etc. which brings us to the issue of warping. The feet tab into place with a rather loud "click" for alt mode but my copy as shipped without them fully in place which resulted in the top half of the legs in alt mode being flush and the bottom half of the legs in alt mode being splayed out from the entire time it was packaged until I unboxed it (along with the natural first instinct to try and force that area to be flush after unboxing). The right arm (your left if face to face) also wasn't transformed correctly (it was rotated at the shoulder instead of flat) which probably exacerbated the issues that I have on that side. Let's move onto the connection issues I have on my copy (starting at the boosters and working up towards the front of the ship): Obviously the rear of the ship doesn't want to stay pegged in (which isn't shocking since a single small round peg is supposed to counteract literally everything else). Folding the feet all the way into position helped since the feet are no longer hitting each other like they were) but, it's never going to stay connected without something stronger forcing it to do so. I currently have one of the clear bands wrapped around it to see if that will adjust anything over time. The tower/spire is a solid connection but, I can't believe they thought it was a good idea to allow that much pressure on such a cheap feeling thin/flimsy piece of plastic (but I guess at least it's not rigid nor as thin as KBW Cheetor). The tower/spire should be substantially thicker and ultimately, I think this will be a point of failure. The zigzag section in front of the tower/spire works well (since the undercarriage/bottom side is completely different from the top) but, it can be awkward during transformation because legs just typically come apart rather than do this side first. The tabs that are supposed to hold the forearms to the legs in alt mode are terrible. It's even worse that a dark grey painted area on them extends out and under the legs on the top as a friction area because, it's a poor connection and that paint is going to take a lot of damage. They might as well have done tabs on both sides considering that the leg plastic has to be flexed anyway. None of this is strong enough to support the amount of mass it's required to support. The right side (if viewed from the top with the boosters towards you) doesn't have any noticeable issues. The left side (if viewed from the top with the boosters towards you) loves to pop out (especially if you touch the alt mode at all). Based on what I can see, this looks like it's because the waist rotation doesn't allow anything above it to sit level with anything below it unless it's rotated 180° (which you can't do for alt mode). It's not off by much but, it's off enough to cause an issue because there isn't really any non-tension slack like there is when the waist is rotated 180°. Doing a few 360° rotations helped the alignment some but, not enough. I will probably take it apart later to see if I can set the gear/teeth/notch/bumper differently. That brings us to the final connection point, the hinged dark grey panel that is attached to the cockpit. It has no connection points on the side at all and those would have helped considerably. It's just notched to allow tabs from the forearms to fit (what even is this?). The only actual connection point, is the small dark grey tabs on the dark grey section that are supposed to tab into the zigzag section of the legs. This does work but it only works if everything else is lined up 100% flawlessly and it's a somewhat firm connection. However, it pops loose whenever it wants too because it simply can't support the tension that is constantly trying to separate those areas. Everything else is fine (other than the flimsy attachment of those two small panels that flip near the shoulders but friction is better than a pin Longevity: None of these connection points are going to age well. For clarity I'm not saying they are going to break (other than the tower/spire potentially breaking). I'm saying they are going to get absurdly worse over time because, they aren't capable of supporting what they have to from the start. Plastic quality: The Ark feels incredibly cheap compared to Earthrise Scorponok. Granted, I can't see the inside of Earthrise Scorponok's panels but it doesn't feel super thin and extremely waffled. The plastic texture is fine on The Ark. In person though, this really looks/feels like an upscaled and reworked pitch for Cyberverse that didn't make the cut. Toys in this price range with 15+ stamped on the box as the age range should have thick plastic instead of hollowing out every single piece to cut corners. Teletran is just as bad as The Ark is but at least that is somewhat understandable considering the alt mode. The ratchets are obscenely strong (specifically the hip front/rear lateral raise) for how thin/light the plastic is. I can't think of any other toy where I have to make sure the hip side lateral isn't angled before I move the hips in a rear/front lateral motion. Any other position feels like it puts tension somewhere it shouldn't and it feels like the leg is going to snap off at the thigh swivel.
I'd say yes. I was on the fence for a while as I don't really do made up characters. In the end I bought it as retail therapy due to a bereavement and I think he's great. The robot mode is bland in pictures, it's one of those things you have to see in person and it's a great looking robot. The ship is awesome for some reason it looks huge, bigger than the other titans and I think it's because it's the first titan that has a proper vehicle mode as opposed to a city both in conclusion I love it, pictures don't do it justice. Its one of those things you have to get in hand.
It has the same issue that so many large transformers have: it feels like it is going to fall apart under its own weight. I fiddled around with a friend's and eesh. Only way I'll get it is if I can get it at a steep discount
I'm looking at my ark toy in spaceship mode, and it looks more like Cyberverse than Generations to me.
Sorry to revive an old ass tread. But I have an opportunity to get this for $85 after gift cards and coupons, plus my secret gift for xmas from wife was $80ish but I didn't like it so refunded and I got cash instead. So basically I can get the Ark for free. Yet I'm still on the fence, mostly due to the size. I can only keep my transformers in my small ass office room. I guess my question is, do you think $85 is worth it for the Ark?
I don't think he's worth the full price, but you can grab him for about $100. I don't know if it is a consequence of him being designed during the pandemic (with the supply shortages and cost increases), but the corner cutting is the worst I've seen in any Titan (I am only missing the Metroplex and Maximus molds). 3P upgrades help a lot. I actually adore the Mainframe/Computron inner bot, and am quite fond of the robot mode design, its just that in hand I can tell how it could have been so much better than it is.
The Nemesis is almost certainly being released this year. Once it's officially announced, you won't see The Ark anywhere near that price again. So, (1) does being able to get a matching Nemesis matter to you? And (2) will the existence of the Nemesis increase your FOMO?
*In Arnold voice* Yes! Dew it! Buy it now! Stop reading this comment and go buy it before Nemesis raises the cost too high! Get to the shop cart! Buy it now! Gyaugh! *Normal voice* But seriously, it's a fun figure. Not "full price" fun but definitely "$85 discount price" fun. I'd argue "$120 discount price" fun but I'm weird. I'd definitely recommend the DNA upgrades as well.
Since my original post, when the Black Friday sale came and it was at around the 100$ CAD I debated for a moment with the idea and it came down to a main single thing... Will we even get another Ark of this size, regardless of the robot mode that ends up not scaling with anything at all? Also: The kit for the massive gaps and better hands wasn't that much and still easy to find at this point. So I went ahead and just said screw it. My take, the robot mode is limited, hell the head only turns, the hand are claws, and just doesn't work with anything, including other Titans. It comes down that honestly, the scale for it stands alone. But as the Ark itself, once those horrible gaps are filled, it's a great looking ship, but again, it will not scale with anything. Plastic wise, I do not find it feeling as cheap like many stated, not really different from Metroplex, but it can be fiddly to hold as there are lots of panels that you can catch and pop off when grabbing it. So now that I did get it, and paid more than I wanted really, considering that he absolutely needs that kit to feel complete, it's a give and take... I don't buy anything if I feel like I'll regret it, and I did like the Ark mode, the ship did have it's appeal and again, I don't believe that we'll see another Ark for a long time if even, considering that once a Titan is gone, very few have been re-issued... Omega was and isn't being re-released again (and/or a blue version), not even sure (can't remember) if any others were, but I don't believe that the Ark would or will be. Once gone from easy availability, just like the others, I expect that it will shot up in price like crazy, and the kits will do the same as they dry up. So is it worth it? Only you know how much your interest might be. As far as plastic quality, I'm good with it, as far as it's design, it comes back to the cut corners and the need for the kit. My standard operating view is "will I regret not having it later on when the price shoots up or if it becomes very hard to find"... I did like the Ark mode, wanted an decent Ark, and when the only Ark I have is the Titanium one (or the small movie playset one but it's not the same), I just said screw it because I could afford it. It's very far from perfect and lots of things I don't like (everything that should have been done better) but it does look very good in general (with the kit of course).
Thanks guys. Pulled the trigger couple of days ago. My first Titan. Haven't opened him up yet cuz literally no display space. But looking forward to it. I got it from Walmart for $132 with tax and shipping, from a 3rd party seller. Real cost to me was $25 since Christmas cash, giftcard and my credit card had 5% cash back. Basically I was like F it. Can't pass it up for $25. My wife might bitch since she hasn't seen it yet. I snuck into my mancave. But she got me something for Christmas for $85 but I didn't like it. She returned it and gave me the cash and told me to get something I'd like LOL. Btw, which upgrade kit fills the leg gaps in ship mode?
Get the DNA Designs kit. Really easy to install, color match is solid. More posable hands, leg fillers, and a gap filler for the little command tower in the back of the ship
