Ok, this just made me more confused. According to the video I watched recently, the size difference between those two is MUCH different. Am I missing something? This screenshot has the oversized one on the left and the original Voyager on the right...
There are three KO oversized hounds currently on the market. The first was released by weijang and is a simple upscale with diescast, that is available in both blue and green (8" tall). The second was made by kubainbao and is much larger than the first, scaling with m-01 commander and including an upsized dr.wu add on. The third, the one this thread is based on, is a heavily modified version 2.0 of the first. The above pic has the KBB version on the far left, the regular hasbro release on the far right, and the weijang V2.0 in the center. The magazine scans display both of weijangs version, which are the same height at just about 8 inches to the top of the head.
Phew, just finished translating the whole thing. Here it is, again, courtesy of NeoPSX and Cheem: View attachment 27637992 Weijiang/Black Apple Hound Revised Ever since creation of Weijiang/Black Apple's first mass-produced custom figure in the M01 Optimus Prime, although there were issues with regards to the lack of detail at such a large scale, the figure was still well-received by many collector. In the midst of all this anticipation, Weijiang/Black Apple's second figure, Hound, finally arrived after delays from a lengthy production/revision cycle. Alas, numerous breakages were reported on the first batch of Hound, and even a few cases of DOA, and an outcry of negative reviews ensued. Fortunately, Weijiang responded promptly by promising to issue replacements, and returning to work on a revised version. After having handled the revised figure for about half a month, I've decided to write a review and continue the tradition of comparisons and scrutiny too see how this revised Hound holds up. Starting with the packaging, the overall style is consistent with the M01 flat-nose Optimus Prime. The front shows an illustration by the artist Black Apple, it’s just a shame the figure can’t actually pull off the pose… The back of the box not only gives us pictures of the figure in bot mode and alt mode, but also highlights the various features on this figure. New accessories include the metallic dogtag, an AK rife, metallic grenade. The weapons can combine much like the original, but it’s a shame the new AK rifle can’t be attached as a part of this… On the sides of the box, we see a fully-armed up hound viewed from the front, side, and back, as well as the removable helmet feature to recreate the movie model. View attachment 27637993 The back of the manual is a full-page poster of Hound looking very imposing! The instructions give very clear illustrations about various the details in the transformations. Taking out the figure, we have a very stocky recreation of AOE Hound. After all the modifications Black Apple has made to the official figure, M02 more accurately reproduces the original movie model both in terms of the sculpt and the colour. The following detailed comparison pictures will show just which areas have been improved… As this is an oversized figure, so the original Voyager class figure is not suitable for direct comparison shots, hence the original Weijiang OS Hound will be used for comparisons. It's clear to see that M02 has made many changes to the details, and the overall proportions look much stockier, and this is before even arming him up... View attachment 27637994 The All-important Head Sculpt Weijiang/Black Apple have done it, it’s really a complete victory over the original. The newly molded head sculpt by Black Apple is extremely life-like, all the details are fantastic, and the removable helmet is icing on top of the cake. A slight nitpick would be the loose fit of the bullet in his mouth, it might be better off glued in permanently. The collar area has also been bulked up, filling in some emptiness on the original. The additional armatures for the back panels almost conceal the front of the vehicle completely. Great job! Transformable Body Armour This is yet another great feature on the M02 Hound. However, the part outlined in red has been partially cut out for transformation purposes, resulting in some gaps on either side of the chest. On the back, due to the changes made to the transformation of the rear car panels, the back looks a lot more filled in, improving on the original. If it’s still too gappy for your liking, you can get him to carry his gun using the port outlined in red. View attachment 27637995 The Twisted Rubber Arms that Everyone Complained About M02 has addressed this issue by making a new mold for the forearm section. The hand also has some added articulation, and the missiles on the upper arm also saw improvements in the sculpt and the paint application… However, although the forearms don’t appear twisted anymore, it’s not much of an improvement. Although the original looked twisted, but the chain of bullets looked very three-dimensional and had a great sense of depth. M02’s arms look flat in contrast, moreover, the double-jointed elbow was removed, a real shame… Awe-inspiring Tire Transformation This change might put off many collectors who like to play with their figures. The swinging armatures and breaking the tire in half may be confusing initially, but once you understand the principal of the transformation, you’ll find it actually quite makes sense, and it should be fluid after the first time…however, if you’re impatient and apply excessive force in the wrong ways, it’s easy to break the armature, hence why such design would never make it onto an official figure… On the plus side, due to this change, the lower leg is completely rotated, allow the gun to end up on the outside, much like the movie model. The gap where the tires used to be is also cleverly covered by a panel. However, hollow parts on the leg have not been filled in, and the reverse side of the tires also lack in detail, which is a bit of a shame… View attachment 27637996 M02 Comes Fully-Loaded Aside from the 8 weapons in the original figure, there is also a newly added AK Rifle as seen in the movie, albeit relatively small compared to the movie model. It also includes not one, but two accurately re-sculpted daggers that are nicely painted. M02’s Gatling gun also has a lengthened handle to facilitate storage in vehicle mode, and an additional tab to peg into the back of the figure. Since the AK rifle is a late addition, the colour scheme is not consistent with rest of the weapons. After comparing all the details, it’s now time to get Hound armoured up. Almost all the weapons can be mounted, with the exception of the AK Rifle. Although the handle has an additional tab to plug into the hole on the right side of his back, the connection is very loose, so might as well just hold it in his hands… The necklace is mounted by inserting the clip into the ports on either side of the collar. Due to obstruction from the armatures on either side, it’s not the easiest thing to install, and requires a bit of patience… View attachment 27637997 Compared to the fantastic detailing, the articulation is not quite as good, especially at the hips. It’s so tight that I really fear I might break it. View attachment 27637998 In alt mode, there was an empty slot in the weapon mounts on the original figure, M02’s AK rifle fills this void perfectly. However, as mentioned before, the rifle’s paint apps are not consistent with all the other weaponry… All in all, M02 Black Apple Hound has made many improvements over the original, from the vastly superior head sculpt and removable helmet that stay true to the movie, to the transformable body armor that stores away in alt mode. The unique tire transformation is also mind-blowing, and the newly-added AK rifle is another plus. The revised version further addresses various parts that were prone to breaking. However, the articulation does leave something to be desired, and personally I still feel it’s better suited in a static museum pose. The exquisite paint apps and sculpting allow the figure to fit in well with the DMK line, and it is well worth owning for any movie fan. View attachment 27637999 To sum up, most of the articulation on this figure are in the arms. The movie-accurate belly precludes the cross-arm pose, the leg articulation is also hindered by the belly and the extremely tight hip joint. Due to the transformation of the feet, it doesn’t stay completely in contact with the ground. Guess you can’t have your cake and eat it… After talking about the bot mode details, let’s talk transformations. In the past few weeks, I must’ve transformed this no less than 20 - 30 times. There’s no need to worry about the armatures over the shoulder after the change in plastic, provided, of course, it’s transformed properly. Other parts like the armatures on the tires on the leg are also fine. Although the transformation is slightly awkward, at least we don’t have to worry about the joint breaking. Continuing onto the alt mode… View attachment 27638000 There isn’t much difference in alt mode, it’s pretty much all about paint apps and looks…M02 Black Apple Hound is colourful just like Weijiang advertised, the matte finish on the paint apps are great, but since the front of the car is diecast, there are colour discrepancies compared to the body. The tires are painted well. Although the fold-up transformation doesn’t affect how well the tires roll, it still doesn’t look great. Again, this is another trade-off, and it is in the eye of the beholder… The fully-armed up alt mode is what Hound is all about, and M02’s beautiful paint work has taken this to another level. The folding joint on the handle of the Gatling gun greatly improves the proportions here. The pistols on the calves must be removed for transformation purposes, luckily Black Apple has added 2 holes underneath the cab section, which not only solves the storage problem, but also nicely fills in the cab.
Ah, ok. That definitely clears things up, thank you. I didn't realize there was a KBB version that large.
Wow super work, thanks so much @alex1984 I just edited the original pics with your translation for a better visualization
This is the pic I've wanted to see but don't get. Maybe it's hound being mostly green but it just seems they should have applied way more paint apps to make him look more inline with the detail of AOE Optimus. Is it just me or does Hound still look really budget in this pic?
It's the white background. He's actually several different shades of green, and from what I've seen has a TON of paint. A super bright background like that just makes it all blurr together.
It's the matt paint. He has a ton of paint apps but the dull green look blends them all together. Also agh I love this guy but I really wish he was in scale with the OS WJ Optimus.
It's a limiting scale. I don't think he'll go with much besides the AOE leaders. I hated the scale of those things. They were too small to go with previous leaders and didn't really go with anything else. Their AOE leader Prime and this guy both would be ideal at the same size as the old leaders.
Hold up, HOLD UP!!! Hound is scaled specifically to the old leaders. He's actually slightly too big for AOE prime. M-01 is the one out of scale, he's huge. The only thing he even remotely scales with are human alliance figures. For a comprehensive list of figure heights at the 1/35 scale RotF leader prime set (and that current masterpieces are in robot mode), see my list from earlier in the thread. Also, just got a shipping notice for this guy, can't wait!!! Will post a review when I get him.
Thanks for pointing that out. I was able to check out a Ben's Collectibles review. Looks like this one is the better one but if you are using the amazing M-01 to drive your bayformers collection you either have to go KBB or wait until WeiJiang does one at that scale.
