The Combiner Wars Devastator Review

If you know Transformers, you know the Constructicons. Almost as important as Soundwave's special ops group in the original cartoon, they were definitely some of the more useful of Megatron's troops. If they weren't building his latest doomsday weapon, they were combing into one, Devastator. The first true combiner in the franchise. Nevertheless, this was an acquisition I felt somewhat conflicted about. On the one hand, its an official 18-inch/45cm Devastator. On the other, the individual robot modes weren't looking that good. On the one foot, there was the unreleased Takara version which addresses some of my robot mode concerns. On the other foot, it didn't resolve all of them, and it looked like maybe there would be stability issues. So, I decided that if I was to make this big silly purchase, it would only be if I sold a monumental amount of stuff on the Auto Assembly Fansales Table. At least that way I could pretend I was being a responsible adult about it, instead of a child wanting a big new toy right now. Said miracle happened, and here we are, in this review. Is this a good set? Should you early adopt the Hasbro, or wait for the Takara version? Was I driven insane by the dealer's room? Read on, as I try to answer at least two of these questions.

General Commentary

With all six Constructicons coming in the same box, which places Devastator front and centre, I'm going to address some of the generalisations that can be made here. The first impression you are likely to have is: overwhelming green and purple, but that's traditional. A likely second thought is that there's some cost cutting going on, which is fair. Four members feature clip on wheels, only two have completely satisfactory articulation, and there's a general feeling of hollowness to each member. I am reminded of some the more kid-oriented releases we've had lately; they aren't that simple, but they don't necessarily resemble the rest of Combiner Wars. Your next thought is that the set is extremely G1, in both a cartoon and a toy sense. Note: not G1 as you remember it, not as Masterpiece makes it look, how it actually was. The individual robot modes are extremely reminiscent of G1 toys in design and proportions, but also have very cartoon-oriented, excellent, head sculpts. Then there's the little details that surprise you. While there's a “its a toy, not a collectable” vibe going on here, each has ankle tilts and all have a hexagonal figure stand port. The combination? Well, we'll come back to that, but its worth the wait. Unfortunately, like seemingly every major Generations release these days, the set has been associated with a few Quality Control problems. I seem to have got off lightly with a few tolerance issues in joints, most notably involving Devastator's right wrist and Hook's foot popping off, but there have been reports of breakages in Scrapper and especially Mixmaster. Take care of Mixmaster's waist/ankle tilt, as overusing it causes damage often enough to be noted in the wiki.

Hook

Tending towards mediocre, Hook is a fairly typical Constructicon with many of their shared flaws, but he grows on you. While not lacking in detail, his vehicle mode is a bit secondary to whole business. There's the now infamous clip-on wheels these toys share, made worse by minimal ground clearance, and his combiner role is very obvious. Play value in that form is less than ideal; the crane can move up and down, but not rotate and collapse. There's also a case of Visible Head Syndrome, and while there are worse altmodes in Combiner Wars(1), its the weakest in the set. When you transform him, things start to pick up, as there's honestly clever engineering in the lower legs, and the robot is more functional. Hook does have odd elbows and hollow legs, but its definitely the better form. The head sculpt is fantastic, the overall appearance G1 cartoon via G1 toy, lots more paint apps come in(2), and articulation is solid if restricted in the arms. Total joint count comes in at 21 points, mainly of the universal variety, plus its possible to have the crane function as a third leg. A shame about the way his left foot keeps popping off though. He's definitely simplistic for a modern Voyager, but positives are there.

Long Haul

The team member making by far the most sacrifices for the combined form, Long Haul is the weakest Constructicon as an individual. The vehicle mode is nicely big, but ground clearance is minimal, while the bed is both fixed in position and has robot bits poking out. Changing modes only reveals large gaps in the bed. A dumper action would have been brilliant, because this is a properly big vehicle, not Tonka Truck big, but edging that way. Its hard for me to describe the robot form without making jokes. Not only is articulation badly compromised in the arms, the proportions are pretty terrible. The guy has clearly ate ALL THE PIES, in despair at his role in the combiner. Long Haul can be effectively described as Devastator's boardshorts with rudimentary robot and vehicle modes. He's there to be hips and knees, he does it damn well, see below, but he's not so good at other stuff. That said, he's not without merit. The robot form has a very nice head sculpt, is colourful, has a certain sumo wrestler charm, and can carry every single combiner accessory in either form without issue, which is useful as the vehicle modes here often don't. He also has 16 joints, again mostly big, LOUD, ratchets, and surprisingly retains the stand port and ankle tilts. His manifest flaws however would be a lot more tolerable in a Legend or similarly tiny toy, here its just obnoxious.

Scavenger

The first of the actually good individual Constructicons, Scavenger is a solid performer in all forms, and only makes a small compromise for the combined mode. The vehicle mode's shovel is articulated in three places, adding play value, and there's rolling wheels. There is some bleed through from the robot mode, making him less convincing from some angles when compared to the above toys, but the transformation is more involved, and so more satisfying. Said robot mode is definitely one of the nicer of the team, and the more functional. He's still got that cartoon-via-toy vibe, with a nice head sculpt as always, but the proportions come out better and the articulation is much more comprehensive. Its a classic example of how more joints isn't necessarily the same as having more posable toy; he's got a mere 11, but its mostly of the balljoint variety, so poses are more supple. He also retains the stand port and ankle tilts, and feels well-able to make use of them. However, Scavenger suffers for two things, one possible QC issue and one design issue, which spoil an other entirely satisfactory toy. My example doesn't get on well with his combiner gun, which is a touch too heavy for his balljointed shoulders and has prompted some dabs of glue from me. The vehicle mode meanwhile lacks rotation above the tracks, which is necessary for a vehicle of that type, but a casualty of the combining gimmick. All that said, play value and looks are definitely on the good side.

Bonecrusher

This dude's obvious downside is his overpowering and all-encompassing, cartoon accurate, neon green. Its the sort of thing that's a good argument against G1 accuracy, but the real issue is his pelvis, which doesn't want to stay together. Once its there however, Bonecrusher becomes the best overall Constructicon. He shares a leg design with Scavenger and a mirrored accessory, but otherwise he's completely different, and builds on that foundation. The bulldozer mode passes muster, as its kinda hard to get that wrong, but it does a far better job of obscuring the robot mode than his compatriots. Transforming to robot mode is also fun, although the process doesn't do much with Devastator's forearm. The robot mode looks good once your eyes adjust, as nice as Scavenger's, and more functional. He has an extra joint in the elbow, for a total of thirteen, doesn't have an issue with his combiner piece, and can even stow it on the back. If this articulation is insufficient, you can unpeg a few things, and fudge a waist joint. Its a shame about the pelvis and the green, but he's the high flyer of the team.

Scrapper

Like the massive Long Haul, Scrapper is making a pretty big sacrifice for the combined mode; he's all about making that distinctive foot. This means has he has fixed elbows, and slightly short arms to take Devastator's weight. Takara is adding elbows for their version, and its unknown if this will have a negative effect on the big dude's stability, but its not inconceivable that it would. This spoils an otherwise perfectly good robot mode, matching the visual standards of the best of the team, having good shoulders, and a total joint count of 19. The head is a sharp sculpt amongst sharp sculpts, but what's weird is that the stand port ends up on the underside of his right foot(3). He is however much redeemed by his altmode, which is visually good, and has play value. The shovel is jointed in two places, and I welcomie the bits of purple breaking up the green. Furthermore, he can use the wing segments to become a flying front end loader, or as big swords. I am in full support of this, and consider it a consolation prize.

Mixmaster

Gaining immediate controversy for having a new altmode, Mixmaster is actually okay, edging over Hook for the middle rankings. He is now a Front Discharge Cement Mixer, presumably for the purposes of load-bearing in the combined form, but the altmode does appear to be driving backwards. I took a moment for an image search, and they do actually look like this, but people have complained. In so far as the vehicle mode is concerned, I don't think its an issue, but the way the drum doesn't go anywhere in robot form is a big problem. These visual problems aside, Mixmaster plays out like Hook, having a similar arm design, different legs, but a stronger vehicle mode and less gaps. The truck mode takes some getting used to, with a lot of the robot on the underside, almost rubbing the ground, but it is striking and you don't feel its missing an obvious play feature. His transformation is the good kind of simple, and allows for Mixmaster's characteristic hood. The robot mode has a colourful chestplate, and 19 points of articulation. Sadly, Mixmaster has been the high profile subject of breakage reports in his waist. That said, as with Hook, he grows on you.

Combination

As mentioned, the Constructicons don't confirm to the Combiner Wars standards, and while it would have been great if they had, the engineering is completely incompatible. Devastator is achieved by a varied section of clips, pegs and tabs, the end result being pleasingly robust connections. The joining of Hook and Long Haul were an initial stumbling block for me, but once I got the hang of it, I had no complaints. Perhaps the most notable thing about the whole business is the chest wing, which obscures a big gap, and forms a key securing point for four members of the team. Its also not intended that you swap limbs around, because there are no universal connectors and each has a specific place. This includes Scavenger and Bonecrusher, whom do look like they could be be reversed, but in doing so you'll have issues with the wing. There's probably an interesting story about how this toy was created, but hasn't been fully told yet. There's speculation the basic design was put on hold for a few years, and Hasbro Jerry Jivoin has stated they were in two minds about what size class they should have been, considering Leaders at one point. Takara designer Hasui Shogo did comment that he wanted to take the opportunity to make a giant, Masterpiece scale, Devastator, and you can see what he meant. Have a read of his fan translated interview. In any case, the whole combination is a complex counterpart to the usual Combiner War style, not better, not worse, but different. Which is entirely appropriate.

Devastator

And here he is, the main event. The goal to which so many of the team make sacrifices. Were these made in vain? Nope. Devastator is not only fricking huge and animation come to life, he's also uncommonly posable. Visually, he's as good as any modern toy, and more unified than say, Superion, if not without suffering some modern problems. The colour choices and moulding give us something that's G1 personified, but there's gaps when you go looking in for them, and the occasional odd panel. However its hard to argue that the essential essence of the character hasn't been captured(4), and a slightly ramshackle look does makes sense for him. You could also complain about the ungodly mix of neon green and purple, but you would be missing the point. There are deviations from the cartoon model of course, Mixmaster being the obvious one, but also the black instead of purple hands. Nevertheless, this is clearly the dude whom made a mess of Autobot City and could give the Dinobot trouble, if only for the visored head. The dude looks big, and looks the part. He is a bad day waiting to happen to someone. And he has a big gun, for those rare occasions where stepping on people is not a complete solution for the day's problems.

Devastator's articulation is utilitarian, mainly universal joints, but with a few nice touches. Please don't misunderstand my repeated comments about gaps above, Devastator is not a light toy, and everything below the shoulders is about taking that weight. The legs obviously omit ankles, and feature three BIG ratchets, but there is a ankle tilt function for more natural poses. There's plenty of indents in the ratchets too, backed up with a waist swivel. The arms aren't ratcheted, perhaps regrettably as friction is variable, but are comprehensive with 7 joints. His opening hands are however an issue, his ability to grip his gun being a bit weak despite some securing ridges. Compared to Ultra Magnus, he's a vice, don't get me wrong, but its a preventable problem. His head meanwhile is on a simple swivel, but I don't think he needs to look up at much. The good news is that its an otherwise fully articulated combined form with a total of 26 joints which rivals the CW norm despite being much bigger. Balancing on one leg is possible, even on Scrapper, although its probably not sensible to leave him that way. You can stow the gun on his back, and have him reach for it. He can beat his chest. And let us not forget the simple joys of a waist swivel and articulated skirt armour. This mode is the business.

Conclusion

This set had an awful lot to live up to, and was almost immediately overshadowed by the Japanese release. There's a lot about it that's weird too, and I can't decide if the engineering is a blast from the past, or a hint of things to come. It's pretty clear they wanted the biggest and best Devastator they could get, and that mode is a complete success, surpassing Defensor in my eyes. The individual robot modes however feel like throwbacks to Classics/Universe era, when they were still working out how to modernise G1 toys. This is why I haven't attempted seperate reviews for each member, they are obviously parts of a whole, not self-contained. The box even sells them that way. Its not necessarily that corners have been cut, although there are the wheels, its more the case that a few things slipped through the cracks, or got changed due to the technical challenge of building something this big. The Takara version will of course be putting some of these things back, in effect becoming the Director's Cut, but the myriad variations on this set are going to have pretty similar lists of issues. The clip-on wheels, big gaps, questionable proportions, Long Haul's morbid obesity, Mixmaster's design flaw, and suspiciously absent vehicle features are all fair reasons not to take the plunge. Its not as if there's a shortage of combiners these days, with the rest of Combiner Wars doing the scramble city thing a bit better, its notably expensive, and Devastator's massive size can bring its own problems.

I find myself wondering if we might be better off judging it against a Legacy Megazord or something.

Anyway, these issues however pale in comparison to a simple truth: not much of that really mattered once I got them combined and in hand. The set is as fun as it is big, and hits the nostalgia button pretty damn hard. Its also cleverer than it looks, and does exactly what it needs to. If you like Transformers, you need this set in your life. And you've got plenty of choices when buying, the Hasbro, the Takara, the SDCC, a possible G2 repaint, and the endless third party add-ons for them. But when it comes to being a really big Devastator, its hard to go wrong with this set, and its gonna be the cheapest option. Just shop around.

Foot Note

1. Hot Spot, I'm looking at you.
2. I also managed to mark the paint on his left shin, which I intend to fix.
3. To help assist Devastator in stomping poses, maybe?
4. That's an extremely pretentious sentence to use in relation to someone whom goes smashy-smashy.