Transformers 4: Age of Extinction Acquisitions!

TF4 toys are finally here! After following TF news for half a year and getting sneak peaks from various events, they are finally released in stores!

As some of you might know, the toyline was officially launched yesterday in Singapore and they still had a ton of stock left when I went in earlier this afternoon. Despite my overwhelming displeasure and negativity at the thought of simplified transformations, I still purchased quite a number of them from the first and second waves, namely:

Voyager Grimlock
Deluxe Slug
Deluxe Slash
Deluxe Strafe
Deluxe Scorn
Deluxe Drift

I’ll have to see the movie first before I decide on getting Hound, Crosshairs and Bumblebee. The leader classes are no-nos for me due to their prohibitive prices and poor compromises in robot mode and dino mode for Optimus and Grimlock respectively. Voyager Galvatron is a Joke and I do not like the cheats and clean look (as opposed to rusted) on Evasion Mode OP.

So far, I’ve only opened up Drift to play with. For a quick review: Plastic quality’s good, paint app’s average. Until I actually see him transform in the movie, I can’t say for sure how accurate he is, though I doubt that the hood will hang off his butt. Nice that the front of the car is his actual chest (unlike Evasion OP). Swords are rather hard plastic, which his a nice change from the soft plastic weapons we’ve been getting. Articulation wise, it’s not too bad, thighs are limited due to the design of the armor, nice that the shoulder pads are separate from his actual arms. Though one fatal flaw, in my opinion, is the lack of a wrist swivel as that is crucial for a sword wielding toy. Overall, not bad, but I hope that there will be a more advanced version of him later on, possibly a Human Alliance.

…and this is something I’ve always wanted to do since seeing the early designs of Drift:

Lastly, Different people look for different things with regard to Transformers figures. Personally speaking, accuracy, articulation and complexity of transformation are my three biggest requirements when deciding which figures to buy. One of the things I love to do is analyze the engineering and a good, complex transformation will increase the playability and longevity of the toy for me. That is why to this day, I am still playing with my leader ROTF Prime half a decade later.

Excited for the movie? Will you guys be picking up any of the toys? What do you look for in a Transformer?