The three versions of the kit became available in HK today. I bought the one for Bludgeon.

The official promo pic shows best what the kit comes with:



Let's start with a comparison with the Head Robots kit from a while back. The rightmost head comes from the HR kit and is customized with a bit of paint.



The kit comes with two different helmets and two heads of the same mold but with different paint schemes. One head is painted with metallic colors and the other with flat colors. 2 helmets x 4 faces (well, if we count different paint schemes) = 8 head configurations.



And even better news, the heads and helmets are compatible with the HR head and helmet. You just have to cut the peg on the HR head a bit for a better fit. So with the HR kit, that's 3 helmets x 6 faces = 18 head configs, BOOM.



The PA-02 heads and helmets are made of pliable, rubbery plastic, unlike the hard plastic on the HR kit. It makes the former easier to install, although unfortunately this also results in a looser connection with the neck. Also, the skull faces are in dire need of a wash.

The katana from PA-02 is bigger, more detailed, and heftier--I think it has a bit of die cast. The hilt of the katana can be compressed for tank mode.





Now some bad news. The kit does not come with instructions. I struggled to figure out how the big rifle can be mounted on the shoulder. When I finally figured it out, the found that the peg was to thick for the thin slot on the shoulder. The peg broke when I forced it in. If you're getting this kit, make sure to file/sand the slot or peg for a smoother insertion.



I already asked my retailer for a replacement. No response yet.

Overall, I think the kit is a worthy upgrade to the HR kit, and a must buy for those who just have plain-vanilla versions of the Bludgeon mold. It's a good-looking kit and provides tons of options and playability.

 

  SWEET! I'll have to tracked this down...

 

FINALLY!

Were the kits for Overlord and Megatron available as well?

 

i wonder whats the price for this..headrobots already set me back a lil bit for this figure..

 

Yes, all three kits were already available.

This one and the G2 Megatron kits cost $30, and the Overlord kit $35.

 

Hi, thanks for the review. I have a question about the heads. You said that the heads and helmets are made of pliable, rubbery plastic... How pliable/rubbery are they? Are they easy to squeeze? Would that affect their paint? Are they like those rubbery Kre-o robot heads? Thanks again.

 

My set arrived yesterday, lovely bit of kit. The large railgun fitted snugly on my Bludgeon but I would re-iterate Archieboy's recommendation of caution, it is a very thin piece.

 

I am really tempted to pick up the g2 megs version of this since I can get said g2 megs figure super cheap. I absolutely love that cannon they've made and the swords are pretty cool too.

 

I was aware of this and just by trying to see how the fit was *ONCE*, without much effort at all, the damn peg broke. For as solid as the rest of the gun feels, this part of the gun is molded extremely poorly. Looking at what broke off, there's barely any plastic holding this peg to the shoulder mechanism.

I'm not even sure sanding it down will help, because the flat part that slides into the shoulder slot isn't the problem. Its where that flat part connects to the rest of the gun. Its way too thin. You're going to have problems with even a little snugness.

I'm pretty ticked about this. This wasn't the best way to attach this very heavy piece.

Edit: Ok, I'm a bit more angry about this. That part that connects to the rest of the gun? There's a thick strip of plastic going across the shoulder mechanism *until* it gets to the connection point where it's pretty much paper thin. At a glance it looks thick like the rest of the plastic in alignment, but at that point its essentially a "U". there's a little bit of plastic on the outsides with a huge gap of missing plastic inbetween. It's no surprise this broke.

Edit Edit: Yep. Take a look at that.

 

Just got my set.... It looks nice.... but that's as far as my praise goes.

Noggins - they are indeed loose. So much so in fact that they just come right off during transformation. The tail on the black helmet just get's in the damn way of everything and that sucks because that's the one I like. The crest on my red helmet is glued on crooked so it looks dumb. Was it really too much effort to design something that I could put on securely like the original head? Shit, I'm already in there taking screws out....

Swordies - The long sword is great. No issues there but the short sword... I put it in the sheath and went to pull it out a moment later and the handle pulled right off. It's not glued and it barely has a notch to catch the handle. I had to break out the pliers to get the blade out. Hello superglue!

Pew Pews - : No instructions means I have no fucking idea where this shit goes and the pics I've seen are of no help. I've not even a tiny clue... and after reading the previous posts I think I'm better off. This works out I guess because I was just planning on giving these things to some other guys anyway.

Overall I am disappointed with this set. If you're cool with blowing the cash on this set for the weapons then you'll make out alright but the heads I do not recommend. As for me, I'm going to end up butchering these heads so that I can actually have one that has a solid joint.

Fuck this kit in the ass and fuck PE.

 

I am thinking about buying one kit, but the reviews so far are not very informative and there are many reports of parts breaking (even one saying that the long sword's handle broke). So, which parts actually have diecast and where? I was under the impression that the swords were fully diecast, but it seems that is not the case. Same about the heads and guns: are they solid plastic, rubbery plastic or diecast?

I am getting less and less excited about this set...

 

The heads being loose doesn't at all bother me but that's me and I can see why it would bug others.

Nothing's broken or has threatened to break on mine. The sword blades are diecast, the tip of the large gun barrel is as well, along with the crests of the helmets.

Sword handles are solid plastic.

The faces and helmets are are a slightly pliable plastic.

On attaching the cannon I went in (hello!) towards the shoulder at an angle then straightened it up and slid it fully in (Jesus..) which worked a dream.

That it didn't come with instructions is a total ballache. The shoulder cannon needed something better than the pictures posted by PE online. There's a knack to it and folk need more than guesswork and luck.

 

So..... PE vs HR... which do you guys recommend?

 

This is a cool set, and a great review. I'm going to be getting the Perfect Effect PA-02 Add On Kit for ROTF Voyager Bludgeon, and I'm going to divide the kit between Bludgeon, GDO Megatron, and Banzaitron.

 

Owning both, I prefer the look and feel of PE a hell of a lot more over HeadRobots.

The swords are painted metal and more detailed. The head sculpts and helmets too outshine their counterpart. You get a mix of display options with the helmets and faces. Honking great cannon and a really nice rifle too.

It's not without issues. There are no instructions and as a result people have broke the tab attaching the cannon to the shoulder. The heads fit on with just friction and you need to be aware of that when posing them but you do get more for your money here.

 

Thanks a lot for all the information. It kept my interest, but I am still thinking... PE seems to be hit or miss, not easy to trust in terms of quality...

 

It's a niche product and the market for it probably bought the HeadRobots set when that came out so opinions are few and far between right now. We're're always gonna gravitate towards the negative though, it's understandable. It's how it works, sadly.

That cannon will break at the tab if not installed correctly, and that's to do with lack of direction as opposed to a fault with the piece. It's still inexcusable though.

I personally feel that this is the better upgrade. I didn't break it, but can see why people did. The lack of instructions, however simple the process might be is asking for trouble and takes the shine off some serious sculpting and paintwork.

PE have come on in leaps and bounds QC wise with their larger figures. The difference between Warden and the fragile Motobots is huge, but their smaller figures I have always admired.

All this needed was clear instructions.

 

What is your impression about the swords? As I pointed before, someone broke the long sword's handle. Are the swords that fragile? I am careful, but I like to "play" with the figures a lot (e.g., posing them). For me, they are not just display pieces, so I would be attaching/removing the swords a lot.

 

Thankfully, I got a replacement for the giant rifle from my retailer.

I agree with Jonny's views, the set is pretty cool-looking but it has its flaws. And I'm not reattaching the rifle any time soon.

Che, I haven't had any problems with the swords so far. And I've had the big one in a two-handed wield almost the entire time.