Voyager-class Decepticon Mixmaster
Review by EVA_Unit_4A
Like a lot of the new ‘bots in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, there is little-or-no character development for Mixmaster. Additionally, there is very little off-screen info about him beyond Hasbro’s bio… which is more-or-less based on his original G1 counterpart, and says he’s a chemical expert & weapons manufacturer for the Decepticons. (Okay. With a cast of dozens of bots, at least a few had to get the short end of the stick in character development in a $200million movie… right?) There’s also conflict in the movie about his very existence. During the battle of Egypt, two Decepticon cement trucks are seen- one fighting against N.E.S.T. who is then cut in half & decapitated by late-comer Jetfire… and an identical one which forms the head and neck of the massive Devastator at the exact same time! Both have the same decoration(s), but like many Transformers before, some share body shapes and are often used as filler on-screen. The one that forms Devastator’s head is only seen in vehicle mode, and the other fighting N.E.S.T. is only shown in robot & attack modes. (This leads Trans-fans to assume that one of them can only form Devastator’s head without an associated robot mode, and the other form robot mode but does not combine with other Constructicons.) (Man- Bayformers can suck a lot sometimes, huh…?)
Vehicle Mode
The side-view mirrors, left-side ladder, and concrete slush funnel are the only parts in vehicle mode made of PVC; all others are ABS. (The three-fingered hands are also the only parts in Robot/Attack Mode made of PVC.) The cement drum cannot turn due to how he transforms. (The open upper-side of the drum is the swing-out joints for his shoulders.) However, the rear discharge chute has two joints and can be repositioned just like on a real cement mixer truck.
All six ABS wheels turn.
The main gimmick for all of the fully-transformable figures from the 2007 “Transformers” toy line was Automorph Technology™: as one part of the toy was being moved, another section would activate and move by itself via internal gears, springs, and levers. (Usually this applied only going in one direction for transformation but not the other.) For the 2009 “Transformers- Revenge of the Fallen” toy line, the Automorph feature has been replaced with Mech Alive, which is not involved in transforming the toys. Rather it is a gimmick that functions only in robot mode to better imitate, in some fashion, the intricate movements and mechanics of the immensely-more complex CGI character(s). Some figures are being reissued from the 2007 line since no significant changes were made to the character in that time-span, and will still include their original Automorph feature, but not the newer Mech Alive feature because they were manufactured two years previously. Since this is a brand new toy which was not released in 2007, the “Transformers- Revenge of the Fallen” Voyager-class Decepticon Mixmaster has the Mech Alive feature, but not an Automorph Technology feature.
Transformations from Vehicle Mode to Robot Mode to Attack Mode
Robot Mode
The head features light-piping (purple), but it is not very clear even when a light shines directly on it.
The cannon on his back cannot be hidden like it is in the movie, and so it always sticks up like this above his head. Likewise, the shell of the cab cannot be collapsed down anymore than is shown.
Attack Mode
In the movie, Mixmaster does indeed have this alt mode… which makes him the first triple-changer seen in the so-called Bayformers movie(s). (This assumes, of course, that he can’t also merge into a Devastator-like combo, in which case he would instead be the first quad-changer.)
[Mixmaster's last/only words: "Listen up!"]
Now, here’s the thing: Hasbro designates this as an official “mode”, but in the movie-proper, he simply does a hand-stand, some minor stuff along his back shifts around and the triple-barrel cannon flips into firing position. But because the toy cannot recreate this (I’ve tried as well, and it’s just too top-/back-heavy), they had to make-do with what is available. Hence, this toy’s Attack Mode isn’t really all that close to what is seen in the movie, even though the relative position of the limbs is roughly the same.
Mech Alive is a special feature included in almost all transformable figures from “Transformers- Revenge of the Fallen”. In robot mode, specific parts of the figure’s body can be animated beyond simply posing it- panels shift, gears spin, and in some cases there is light-and sound tied in. This brings out a new level of detail to try matching-up against the immensely-complex designs of the computer-generated characters seen in the movie. For the Voyager-class Decepticon Mixmaster toy, it has one Mech Alive feature:
- There is a tiny light-gray cylinder inside each thigh, and when his knees are twisted side-to-side, the cylinder twists in the same direction(s). This can only be viewed on the outer sides of his thighs. (A lot of people seem to miss this because it is easy to overlook, and the labeling on Mixmaster’s box incorrectly points at the truck wheels rather than his thighs!)
Additionally, there are similar dark-gray pieces inside his hollow lower arms, but these are tied to transformation joints, and so don’t move once he is completed changed. Thus, I did not add them to the list above since they are not functional in robot mode, which is the entire point of Mech Alive.
This toy does very well appearance-wise. As there are no final-CGI model images anywhere on- or off-line (grrrrr…), and he never stands still enough for scrutiny on-screen, it is difficult to determine how screen-accurate the robot mode in-particular is (surface details, general shape, coloring, etc.). But when you start moving things around, then you start to see the cracks in its presentation... This is a toy that looks good out of your hands, but then does not fare well in your hands. And I refer specifically to how it poses. For any Voyager-class toy, they are usually big enough that ball-and-socket joints cannot hold it up. There are ball-and-socket joints used, but they are limited to the drum/arm shields and discharge chute. But that’s not my problem. My problem is that it has no locking/ratcheting joints anywhere on the toy; they all swivel and use friction-only to keep their positions. Thus, it quickly wears down especially in the shoulders and ankles. Now, while the legs pose just fine, the big hassle is in posing the arms- those shields get in the way so dammed easily, and are actually rather inflexible despite their ball-and-socket joints. Additionally, the fingers all curve one direction, so posing with convincing hands is more-or-less out of the question. To its credit, though, the only Vehicle Mode kibble you have to worry about is the cab cover on his backside. Vehicle Mode is flawless, with perhaps the only disappointment being that the cement drum doesn’t spin! But, I can easily see how that would have been very difficult to accomplish given how the arms are cramped in there and need somewhere to latch on to the rest of the body. However… You get to Attack Mode, and the lack of ratcheting joints and flimsy-attached shields and top-heaviness conspire together to mercilessly wreak havoc on your patience. I spent 20 minutes double-checking the instructions, and then researching online to see if I was missing something in converting it. I learned two things: 1- the thin plastic bar that the cab attaches to is illustrated incorrectly in the instructions; and 2- it makes more sense to try and come up with your own version of the Attack Mode. I found that for all the people who reviewed the third mode, a lot of it was up to personal interpretation and depended less on what the instructions said in the end. Now, this is not the usual methodology of any Transformer: you follow the instructions which lead you to the right form, and then over time you cautiously tweak how you’d reposition a fin or a joint. But in this specific case, you go about half-way through the instructions, and then it’s up to you to decide what looks best for you. (I must confess: I did my best to get him into Attack Mode for this review according to the instructions, but I too finally caved under the stress, and came up with what felt best for me. I’m not sure who’s to blame for that: me for not having the strength to go on further, or TakaraTomy for f’ing up the design…) For all it’s worth, I’d say you can skip learning the Attack Mode and won’t lose out on anything. The difficulty in forming his other alt mode, and the lose joints for posing, seriously hamper the Voyager-class Decepticon Mixmaster, but in presentation he is still a winner. I would not, however, recommend him to the usual crowd of 4-6yrs, as his transformation is near Leader-class-difficult, and posing can be a pain at times.
Reviews of Vehicle Mode, Robot Mode, & Attack Mode
Posted 4 January, 2010 - 05:26 by EVA_Unit_4A |
Comments
18 comments postedVehicle mode looks good, attack mode looks like a jumbled mess, and the robot mode is hideous. These movie designs are a visual offense.
I would disagree with the opinion that the Bayformers bots are a visual offense, but that's not what I was covering in the review above. ;)
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CollectionDX Staff
Why do you always include so much extra text in these reviews?
I'm not saying this to be mean,just constructive. People don't need to read a wall of text explaining the plot of the movie in EVERY review,most people considering buying this toy have seen the movie.
You always call them the "so-called Bayformers",you always mention your anger at the lack of CGI pictures available online,and you always point out that the repaint figures may still have Automorph features.
I can't speak for everyone here,obviously,but I just skim your reviews at this point,since it seems like I've already read it.
I do the majority of that for newcomers and casual visitors, rather than the CDX regulars. If you've seen it and know the character already, then you can just as easily skip past it; I have no problem with that whatsoever, and I don't expect any comments on the copy/pasting I do all the time in the reviews. (Same reason I say "so-called Bayformers"; people- even on CDX- may not know that term when they first come here.)
I talk to parents in toy stores, and when they ask about these toys, they really don't know anything about them. So when I point them at CDX, I want them to be able to make informed decisions based on what the content of the story is (I know a family locally that banned Power Rangers in their household for it's violent content), and what it represents beyond simply being a toy.
I've addressed this a handful of times on YouTube when asked the same thing there, and I always say:
I make all of these as if they are brand-new, rather than being weeks/months/years old. So, I intentionally don't mention upgrades and other characters/events that appear afterwords. And I've been doing that pretty much since my first years here on CDX.
I like a clean-cut, organized, easy-to-reuse format for my reviews for the consistency of reading- and, for my own sanity- writing & shooting. That way, I only have to modify the story 'n such to match relevant content, rather than just blah-ing(?) my way through it like (nameless) others do here. That's not to say others' styles don't work as well, but just that this is how I work best on CollectionDX.
As a matter of fact, my job has actually become easier now that I don't have to describe minute details that you can already see in large motionless photos! (I often had Writer's Block in dealing with some reviews, so that is a big weight off my shoulders now.)
(In fact, if you look closely at my Mixmaster videos above, you'll see that I cut a little fat off of them as well- I no longer intro myself and the toy verbally because the credits do that for me. It actually cuts out about 25 seconds from the final edits!)
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CollectionDX Staff
EVA you do a very in depth review honestly I don't even read it all most times but a good job anyway, research is always good. Personally, these ROFT are pretty poor as toys go. There flimsy, mostly poorly designed from reading your reviews and seem to mostly be a disappointment. Does this guys face reminds me of a mix of Predator & a ya jay jay... with chicken legs and orangatang arms. You do good reviews even if I hate the toy and never comment. I miss real Transformers like the Universe line & even Animated. We take the bad with the good that's what this site is about in the end.
In other words, you like the solid-armor/body plates approach to TFs of old?
Well, I do too. However, I also like the fragmented-armor look of Bayformers (though not necessarily how they so easily shrug-off pain and getting torn apart). Chaotic as they may appear, it is that constant reminder that these are- I don't know why I have to keep emphasizing this- extraterrestrial alien robots which come from a completely foreign biological mindset & ideology to us. They are supposed to look foreign to us, and- again- I really like that idea!
Be thankful though, Trans-fans, that they have (for the most part) humanoid robot forms for us to relate to! Bay's entire point in RotF was to show that they are not as constricted visually as any toy-selling franchise needs to be. And bravo to them for being so bold!
Again, I see it as this: the toys merely reflect what is made for the movie, and the movie is meant for an older audience than the one which regularly plays with toys. (I will not get into the crude humor and sex references here, so don't even bother.)
If the toys are poorly designed, it is not because of what the concept artists for the movie came up with, but the limits that Hasbro and TakaraTomy put on themselves. Blame them for the bad joints and poor articulation and irksome transformations.
Let me put it this way... Which would have been more satisfying visually to show everything that I have said above: color-coded and striking neon-bright blocks of CGI clunking about in very Super Sentai ways, what they came up with for the movies, or something else?
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CollectionDX Staff
I dislike how the Constructicons were handled in the film. Having multiples running around without even a hint of explanation is one of the laziest things in an already lazily-conceived movie. We've not bought any of the Constructicons, and won't do so unless the rumored legends class combining version makes it to US shelves. Mixmaster is one of my least favorite robot designs from the movie series, and the toy is just... ugly.
Yeah I agree with the frustration of seeing mutliples of the same Constructicon(s) running about at the same time. At least give them different coloring to imply they're different bots!
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CollectionDX Staff
You need to do your video like Thew. He's all about the brevity and thrash metal.
Like who?
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CollectionDX Staff
Oh... that's who.
I saw most of his stuff, and laughed my ass off every time. I think I disagreed with him only 3-4 times.
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CollectionDX Staff
Thew videos are indeed quite entertaining.
i just like his accent
I have mixed feelings about parents of young children using sites like these as a resource,if only because we tend to get unabashedly geeky on RARE occasions. :) I'm kind of surprised you walk up to obvious non-collectors and talk in the toy aisle. I'm not some kind of closeted toy fan living in secret shame,but I don't really need to make sure random strangers know I own hundreds of Transformers. Sometimes (allthough they're rarer and rarer) I do run into a fellow collector and shoot the s**t with them. I think the economy has gotten a lot of the local guys around here to quit collecting as much as they used to,though.
lol@Power Rangers being too violent!
My take on the movie designs is that I love how they look in the movie,but they're terrible toys. They're floppy and spindly and fiddly so they can match the movie,but what's the point since they don't really look that much like the movie anyway.
I'd rather lose movie-accuracy if it meant a better toy. Sanjeev will know what I'm talking about,it's one of his "things."
Absolutely. I gotta say, it's tough being a Transformers fan and an old-school chogokin/vinyl kaiju fan. My immediate gut instinct pulls me toward things that are visually interesting, but not necessarily too much "work" to play with. Even the older Diaclone and Microman toys were simpler to play with than a lot of modern TFs. Hell, I get more of a kick out of my Gravity Bots Prime than the Leader-class one these days...
And that's the problem: it seems that smaller modern TFs are simple and fun to mess with, but they're usually kinda ugly, flimsy, and don't make for what I'd call a "great" standalone toy. The Leader class toys and other fancy ones (MPs) are solid toys on their own, but their primary gimmick (transformation) is often too tedious for me to bother with.
Now, the movie toys in particular...I like the Leader Prime toys because the truck mode is so badass, but the rest look absolutely terrible. So you're usually left with flimsy, too complex to want to play with, and looks like crap? No thanks.
Oh, by the way, Thew ROCKS! Thanks for posting that link, Andrew. I watch peaugh for concise info and Thew for entertainment. There's no way I'm sitting through nearly 50 minutes of video review of this toy when I can get all the relevant info in a fraction of that...
And lastly, watch the swearing, kidnicky! ;)
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Sanjeev
Sorry I didn't realise I was swearing.
Gravity Bots are awesome. I've transformed my regular Optimus movie figure maybe twice in my life,yet I've transformed the Gravity Bot Optiums probably five thousand times. You just can't stop. Yes,it does look like a chubby,funny caricture of the movie character,BUT THAT'S ALL A -TOY- HAS TO BE. When given the choice between a funny looking toy of a character I can throw around without fear,or a fiddly figure I can't breathe on,I will always pick the former.
BTW,I don't know where you can get one now (eBay?) but when the first movie came out,I got a toy called Cyber Stompin Bumblebee. He's a non transformable robot figure with lights and sound (including the season 1 TF theme song) and he has a firing rocket punch!
I simply could not agree with this post more! But you probably already knew that!
And, yeah, I remember the Cyber Stompin' Bumblebee...and Prime, incidentally. I very strongly considered getting one, but once I saw them in stores, I ended up passing. Eh Well.
Gravity Bots, however, are the bomb!
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Sanjeev
Berlieve it or not, I've also contemplated getting one-or-two of the Grav Bots because I love the flawless auto-transformation simply by standing them up. I've also debated getting just a few FABs in the past.
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CollectionDX Staff