Aside from the combination thing, which was my main reason for wanting this set, there are a couple of features not found in any of the 52Toys stuff I've previously written about. First off, they have opening and detailed cockpits, reportedly capable of sitting pilots from the modern Diaclone reboot. I don't have the ability have to test this currently, but I suppose that's cool, there is some stylistic overlap there. Then there's the 5mm pegs to connect the limbs to the main body, in a weaponizer- adjacent kinda way, like modern Junkion Transformers. The instructions encourage you to mix & match in ways beyond the two stated combinations, which is fun to do in a sort of "fan mode" way. For example, I did work out that Groundhog can take Mole's limbs and still make a decent box mode, but the reverse does not seem to be the case. Maybe I'm missing something, but I should point out that the other combiner MegaBox are based on the same 5mm port system, so there's options. On the downside, the cutmark problem that Black Getter had is back and still kinda sucks. This is most obvious with the white marks on the blue/grey plastic, which is the sorta thing that should been caught during quality control procedures. Or outright prevented at the test shot stage. The set is a little rough around the edges due to that and a few other minor annoyances. Nothing a bit of touching-up couldn't resolve, and worse things happen at sea, but this ain't a model kit, is it?
Mole, AKA Code 1, is the one I like the best visually, but also the most finicky, and having the worst of the QC issues. As a construction vehicle akin to a high-tech JCB, I adore it. It's hitting all the right industrial notes in safety orange. It's something while not real, has that verisimilitude; it looks like something that could exist, and honestly could be dropped into almost any near future setting without issue. The arms each have 7 major joints, the claw obviously adding more, moving in a very industrial way. It's wheelbase is interesting too. It's the most sci-fi bit of it all, with each pair of wheels being jointed in three places. You can adjust its ground clearance, and the main body is similarly jointed, so the entire thing can rise up like a cobra. The flip-side to that is that the Mole is largely made of joints that feature that blue/grey plastic I mentioned above. Also, I easily get confused putting this into box mode as you can fold it up several ways that feel valid up until the point where it suddenly isn’t.
Groundhog, aka Code 2, isn't as visually pleasing to me, but is more even as an experience. This is because it seems to making the most compromises for the combined form, but is more foolproof and has a lot of character. This vehicle gets around with a single wheel and a set of purely decorative tracks. These tracks are on the small side I feel, fairly disproportionate compared to the arms/legs, but they have these oh-so adorable set of joints so they can be extended and posed. Meanwhile you get a set of limbs with arguably better motion than the above, but topped off with a bigger claw and a chainsaw. And the box mode does not confuse me, and also is achieved in a manner that looks like it could work in real life. As its a simpler design, the limbs just fold up onto the sides, and I can certainly imagine this being delivered on a trailer to building site. So, that's all good stuff, although after messing with for a while, it's quite easy to see that this dude becomes something else.
So, onto to combination. The instructions describe two ways, a combined vehicle form, and the robot form, aka the main event, aka Landbreaker. This is facilitated by another 5mm peg, with the robot mode feeling quite intuitive to achieve. The vehicle mode is less so, it feels more like a happy by-product of the aforementioned modularity, than a distinct form. I'm put in mind of one of those big asphalt laying machines that make motorways though, so it's not without an appeal. The combined robot form is however nice. Possibly greater than the sum of its parts, even. It's not without its weaknesses, a lot ends up on the back, and the leg pilot must hate his job, but the fundamental strengths of both parts come through. I'm going to use that fancy word “verisimilitude” again. It's hard to make a combiner look technically feasible at all, it's very much a super robot genre thing. Landbreaker however looks both unified and almost as sensible as it's individual components. It's got that near-future realism to it, and it's honestly amazing that the designers pulled it off. A big part of that is the "head" which has a webcam-looking sensor on it that moves with a universal joint. It looks like something a construction robot would have, not necessarily humanising it, but thematic and expressive. It also poses like a boss, repurposing all those joints becoming the most unexpectedly agile robot I've handled of late. It's got pretty much everything you'd want or need, even working in the connector as a waist joint and ab crunch. It's still got that serious robotics feel to its movements as its entirely swivels and universal joints but I honestly don't know what more could be added. Mole is largely made of joints, so you can get a lot in the upper body, and Groundhog is far from a slouch too. It looks great, poses well, and can kick people with a chainsaw. There’s an awful-awful lot to like.
In addition to being something that exists, Landbreaker is something that is quite awesome. I don’t know if its the best thing 52Toys has done, I don’t have the experience to make that judgement, and there’s some petty annoyances, but… yeah. This does a lot of stuff right, comparing favourably to Transformers toys, while having that 3rd party flair, but also very much its own identity. I keep on finding new stuff to like about it. Consider this a recommendation, and if in doubt, there’s a purple and green version.
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