Post by mechajol on Sept 24, 2012 17:04:37 GMT 8
Ah, Kreo... Hasbro's answer to the brick wars...
Really, with all these weird Lego wannabes sprouting everywhere, and what with the popularity of the errr, "brickification" of other franchises, it was only a matter of time before Hasbro jumped on the bandwagon.
But Kreo was not the first attempt. There were the Built to Rule kits from a few years back. And honestly, I never cared for them. I confess that I did attempt to build robots with my Lego way, way back, but really, official Transformers Lego-like products? Pass.
And then Kreo came along. What piqued my interest was the fact that they included good-looking headsculpt and of course, the minifigures. But they only came in sets. And given my finite budget, I can only patronize Transformers that do not need assembly.
However, I started fancying them Lego minifigures. And that fascination extended to bootleg Lego kits.
And then came these. Kreo Microchangers. Blindbagged and 100p cheaper than Lego minifigures. And they looked cool. How can I resist. Scratch that. How can anyone resist?
Last Saturday, I discovered that these are now available locally. I was only planning on getting Galvatron, I swear. But without knowing the codes, I had to feel the bags just as anyone who collects Lego minifigures would do. d**n, it's hard to feel for specific parts. This is because while each character has a specific unique item which you should look for, they also have extra parts for the "alt mode." And for some reason all the pieces are packed tightly together despite the size of the bag. Persistence prevailed and I finally felt what could only be Galvatron's cannon. Then, I went back to an earlier bag, and felt Sunstorm's wings.
Upon opening the package, I learned that an inner bag exists. A smaller transparent bag that keeps them pieces packed tightly. No wonder it was difficult to feel for specific parts. Anyways, to make a long story short, I got all six of them. Well, got the first three during the weekend, left them at the GF's house because she really liked them, and got the other three this lunchtime.
So yeah, here's part 1 of the Kreo review. Yes, 3 characters in one review. I figured these guys are small and should fit in one post, right? But before I start, I'd like to point out that codes for specific characters exist on the net. So no more need to mash blind bags.
Ok? Alright. Kreo Crankstart, Waspinator, and Scorponok!
I was only planning on getting Galvatron and Scorponok and then, well, everything just went out of hand.
I'll start with Crankstart first.
Crankstart is based on the movie scout class toy. The black and yellow dune buggy who is a repaint of movie Beachcomber, and now, GDO exclusive Sandstorm.
The helmet piece is said to be Hound's, while the smokestacks on the arms are obviously Optimus's. Here, Crankstart is shown with his extra pieces which will be utilized in his "buggy mode." He also comes with a clear purple pistol which actually looks like old Scramble City combiner pistols. Seriosuly, if these pistols worked with my old Constructicons, it would be awesome.
Now, look again. Crankstart reminds me of Dragstrip.
Remove the armor piece and the body tampo is revealed - design cues from the movie scout class toy.
Next, the articulation.
I used to believe that the Lego minifigure articulation is good enough as it is. Some bootlegs who tampered with this design just did not pull it off. But here, Hasbro actually did a good job making these little guys poseable. Arms are mounted on shoulder ball joints, the waist can also turn, and the legs have a whole lot of range of motion.
And here's buggy mode. Or should I say "I tripped and can't get up" mode.
Basically, Crankstart falls flat on his face, grabs a pair of wheels, and... Well, just lies there. The wheels don't roll.
But it's okay. Really. You don't buy these guys for the altmode. You buy these guys because they're cute small robots and you can pass them off as Botcon cosplayers in your Legotown.
To tell the truth, of the six characters, Crankstart is the least of my priorities. I did not plan on getting him, but did just for the sake of completion.
And I'm glad I picked him up. I really like his robot mode. Simple, almost kibble-free, and... Well, he looks like a default Kreo Transformer. He just looks good.
Plastic Quality is not as good as Lego's, though. Lego always has this glossy sheen to its surface. Kreo tends to be flat. And some sprues are present. Stress marks also tend to appear. This will be more evident later.
So, Crankstart. 3 out of 4.
Oops.
Okay, next is Waspinator.
I was never familiar with BW Waspinator because I never followed Beast Wars. What I do know of him is that he's some sort of comic relief.
And then there's Animated Waspinator.
I'm not really sure which of the Waspinators became the basis for this toy. What I know is that, just like Crankstart, I was not planning on getting this guy. He looks kinda boring. I mean, look at him.
All green like a plastic toy soldier. But I noticed his alt mode. And thought, this guy's not so bad...
Waspinator's helmet is a reused Jazz piece. If you look closely, it does not even cover his eyes well.
He also gets this cool-looking backpack kibble with purple translucent wings which totally look like repurposed flippers.
What also urged me to get Waspinator is because of his face. Everyone looks serious but Waspinator seems like a fun-loving YOLO-kinda guy. He's wacky, he's crazy, he's fun. Sorta like Animated Blitzwing's crazy personality. Remove his Jazz helmet, and his true face is revealed.
Remove his chest armor and his body tampo, a drawing of an insect head, surfaces.
And now that Waspinator is naked, might as well go swimming with those purple wings/flippers!
Waspinator's altmode is... SPOILER ALERT... a wasp!
And you might be surprised to know that, just like Crankstart and all the others in this wave, Waspinator is a partsformer.
However, unlike Crankstart's lazy "transformation" (or partsformation) Waspinator's altmode entails a lot more interaction and building. The striped yellow insect abdomen is also not bad. Jazz's helmet also starts to resemble an insect head because of those horns.
Earlier, I mentioned something about stress marks, and here's one.
And to think that those fists came connected to the sleeves already. Both hands have them, and so far I noticed this also on Spinister's arms.
Also, as of this writing, I noticed that both Waspinator and Crankstart have loose shoulder joints. Scorponok and the three others in the wave have tighter joints that hold poses better. This is not a major issue. Floor polish can remedy this. I'm more concerned with the stress marks.
That said, Waspinator gets 3.5 out of 5.
Finally, for this review, Scorponok.
Look at those pincers. Yes, look at it. Scorponok is probably the best character in this wave.
The G1 color scheme really works well with the Kreo proportions and... Well, giant translucent purple pincers!
And as if that's not enough, he has a slaggin' scorpion tail- with articulation!
Scorponok has extra parts that enable him to transform into a scorpion. And for this wave, this is the best altmode. Most KReo altmodes are contrived, but this one... This one is a very convincing scorpion!
To be honest, I'm happy enough to leave the other Kreons in their robot mode, but only Scorponok will give you a dilemma.
Articulation in both modes? Why yes, Scorponok delivers!
Seriously, you can probably freak out your color-blind sister with this thing!
And here he is compared with Waspinator two innocent-
Ratchet: BUGS!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! I HATE BUGS!!!! KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!
>sigh<
Anyways, there are two problems with Scorponok. First, yes, stress marks again.
See, instead of connected fists, you have to attach these gray barrel-like pieces to the arm. No matter how careful you are, you get stress marks on the gray plastic.
Second issue is that when attached, the left arm holds unto the gray barrel pretty well. The right arm however, is loose. The barrel slides off easily and I had to tighten the connection with a scrap of paper.
Oh wait, one last thing. Remove Scorponok's chest armor and you get to see his body tampo reminiscent of his old G1 torso.
Scorponok gets 4 out of 5.
Next time, (or tonight if the GF allows it) we'll be reviewing the other half of this wave - Galvatron, Spinister, and Sunstorm.
Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with these figures. I was not expecting to be bowled over by more Lego wannabes. I mean, this kind of toys have been pretty common to the point of being a cliche- you have the Kubrix, those oversized bear bricks, etc.
And I do recommend that you guys pick them up. If you went crazy with Robot Heroes, you'd probably enjoy these more.
It's cheap and it's fun.
But I still think that Hasbro should improve on their quality.
Bonus:
Before you guys ask me where I got the Optimus truck, here it is. It's a cheap bootleg I picked up from Market Market. It's made by Star Diamond - which is a very good knockoff Lego brand. Hell, their plastic quality surpasses Kreo. Seriously.
Really, with all these weird Lego wannabes sprouting everywhere, and what with the popularity of the errr, "brickification" of other franchises, it was only a matter of time before Hasbro jumped on the bandwagon.
But Kreo was not the first attempt. There were the Built to Rule kits from a few years back. And honestly, I never cared for them. I confess that I did attempt to build robots with my Lego way, way back, but really, official Transformers Lego-like products? Pass.
And then Kreo came along. What piqued my interest was the fact that they included good-looking headsculpt and of course, the minifigures. But they only came in sets. And given my finite budget, I can only patronize Transformers that do not need assembly.
However, I started fancying them Lego minifigures. And that fascination extended to bootleg Lego kits.
And then came these. Kreo Microchangers. Blindbagged and 100p cheaper than Lego minifigures. And they looked cool. How can I resist. Scratch that. How can anyone resist?
Last Saturday, I discovered that these are now available locally. I was only planning on getting Galvatron, I swear. But without knowing the codes, I had to feel the bags just as anyone who collects Lego minifigures would do. d**n, it's hard to feel for specific parts. This is because while each character has a specific unique item which you should look for, they also have extra parts for the "alt mode." And for some reason all the pieces are packed tightly together despite the size of the bag. Persistence prevailed and I finally felt what could only be Galvatron's cannon. Then, I went back to an earlier bag, and felt Sunstorm's wings.
Upon opening the package, I learned that an inner bag exists. A smaller transparent bag that keeps them pieces packed tightly. No wonder it was difficult to feel for specific parts. Anyways, to make a long story short, I got all six of them. Well, got the first three during the weekend, left them at the GF's house because she really liked them, and got the other three this lunchtime.
So yeah, here's part 1 of the Kreo review. Yes, 3 characters in one review. I figured these guys are small and should fit in one post, right? But before I start, I'd like to point out that codes for specific characters exist on the net. So no more need to mash blind bags.
Ok? Alright. Kreo Crankstart, Waspinator, and Scorponok!
I was only planning on getting Galvatron and Scorponok and then, well, everything just went out of hand.
I'll start with Crankstart first.
Crankstart is based on the movie scout class toy. The black and yellow dune buggy who is a repaint of movie Beachcomber, and now, GDO exclusive Sandstorm.
The helmet piece is said to be Hound's, while the smokestacks on the arms are obviously Optimus's. Here, Crankstart is shown with his extra pieces which will be utilized in his "buggy mode." He also comes with a clear purple pistol which actually looks like old Scramble City combiner pistols. Seriosuly, if these pistols worked with my old Constructicons, it would be awesome.
Now, look again. Crankstart reminds me of Dragstrip.
Remove the armor piece and the body tampo is revealed - design cues from the movie scout class toy.
Next, the articulation.
I used to believe that the Lego minifigure articulation is good enough as it is. Some bootlegs who tampered with this design just did not pull it off. But here, Hasbro actually did a good job making these little guys poseable. Arms are mounted on shoulder ball joints, the waist can also turn, and the legs have a whole lot of range of motion.
And here's buggy mode. Or should I say "I tripped and can't get up" mode.
Basically, Crankstart falls flat on his face, grabs a pair of wheels, and... Well, just lies there. The wheels don't roll.
But it's okay. Really. You don't buy these guys for the altmode. You buy these guys because they're cute small robots and you can pass them off as Botcon cosplayers in your Legotown.
To tell the truth, of the six characters, Crankstart is the least of my priorities. I did not plan on getting him, but did just for the sake of completion.
And I'm glad I picked him up. I really like his robot mode. Simple, almost kibble-free, and... Well, he looks like a default Kreo Transformer. He just looks good.
Plastic Quality is not as good as Lego's, though. Lego always has this glossy sheen to its surface. Kreo tends to be flat. And some sprues are present. Stress marks also tend to appear. This will be more evident later.
So, Crankstart. 3 out of 4.
Oops.
Okay, next is Waspinator.
I was never familiar with BW Waspinator because I never followed Beast Wars. What I do know of him is that he's some sort of comic relief.
And then there's Animated Waspinator.
I'm not really sure which of the Waspinators became the basis for this toy. What I know is that, just like Crankstart, I was not planning on getting this guy. He looks kinda boring. I mean, look at him.
All green like a plastic toy soldier. But I noticed his alt mode. And thought, this guy's not so bad...
Waspinator's helmet is a reused Jazz piece. If you look closely, it does not even cover his eyes well.
He also gets this cool-looking backpack kibble with purple translucent wings which totally look like repurposed flippers.
What also urged me to get Waspinator is because of his face. Everyone looks serious but Waspinator seems like a fun-loving YOLO-kinda guy. He's wacky, he's crazy, he's fun. Sorta like Animated Blitzwing's crazy personality. Remove his Jazz helmet, and his true face is revealed.
Remove his chest armor and his body tampo, a drawing of an insect head, surfaces.
And now that Waspinator is naked, might as well go swimming with those purple wings/flippers!
Waspinator's altmode is... SPOILER ALERT... a wasp!
And you might be surprised to know that, just like Crankstart and all the others in this wave, Waspinator is a partsformer.
However, unlike Crankstart's lazy "transformation" (or partsformation) Waspinator's altmode entails a lot more interaction and building. The striped yellow insect abdomen is also not bad. Jazz's helmet also starts to resemble an insect head because of those horns.
Earlier, I mentioned something about stress marks, and here's one.
And to think that those fists came connected to the sleeves already. Both hands have them, and so far I noticed this also on Spinister's arms.
Also, as of this writing, I noticed that both Waspinator and Crankstart have loose shoulder joints. Scorponok and the three others in the wave have tighter joints that hold poses better. This is not a major issue. Floor polish can remedy this. I'm more concerned with the stress marks.
That said, Waspinator gets 3.5 out of 5.
Finally, for this review, Scorponok.
Look at those pincers. Yes, look at it. Scorponok is probably the best character in this wave.
The G1 color scheme really works well with the Kreo proportions and... Well, giant translucent purple pincers!
And as if that's not enough, he has a slaggin' scorpion tail- with articulation!
Scorponok has extra parts that enable him to transform into a scorpion. And for this wave, this is the best altmode. Most KReo altmodes are contrived, but this one... This one is a very convincing scorpion!
To be honest, I'm happy enough to leave the other Kreons in their robot mode, but only Scorponok will give you a dilemma.
Articulation in both modes? Why yes, Scorponok delivers!
Seriously, you can probably freak out your color-blind sister with this thing!
And here he is compared with Waspinator two innocent-
Ratchet: BUGS!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! I HATE BUGS!!!! KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!
>sigh<
Anyways, there are two problems with Scorponok. First, yes, stress marks again.
See, instead of connected fists, you have to attach these gray barrel-like pieces to the arm. No matter how careful you are, you get stress marks on the gray plastic.
Second issue is that when attached, the left arm holds unto the gray barrel pretty well. The right arm however, is loose. The barrel slides off easily and I had to tighten the connection with a scrap of paper.
Oh wait, one last thing. Remove Scorponok's chest armor and you get to see his body tampo reminiscent of his old G1 torso.
Scorponok gets 4 out of 5.
Next time, (or tonight if the GF allows it) we'll be reviewing the other half of this wave - Galvatron, Spinister, and Sunstorm.
Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with these figures. I was not expecting to be bowled over by more Lego wannabes. I mean, this kind of toys have been pretty common to the point of being a cliche- you have the Kubrix, those oversized bear bricks, etc.
And I do recommend that you guys pick them up. If you went crazy with Robot Heroes, you'd probably enjoy these more.
It's cheap and it's fun.
But I still think that Hasbro should improve on their quality.
Bonus:
Before you guys ask me where I got the Optimus truck, here it is. It's a cheap bootleg I picked up from Market Market. It's made by Star Diamond - which is a very good knockoff Lego brand. Hell, their plastic quality surpasses Kreo. Seriously.
Part 2 of the review will probably posted late this week. 
