Remembering Transformers: The Power Core Combiners

It was the year 2010, and still no hover cars. I'd begun collecting Transformers again by this point. Not to a great extent, but Transformers Animated had brought me back into the fold by being such a good show, so I could say I was a Transformers fan again without a qualifier. It was a good time for the brand. The movies, as overtly terrible as they were, brought a lot of money into the brand and prompted a lot of toys. Transformers were very easily found, at all prices and sizes. And what's more, after a couple of years of sharp changes, the original Transformers style was coming back, and they weren't relying on the movie cast. While the Revenge of the Fallen line is infamous for its complexity, but it did a lot of fan pleasing things in later waves. This evolved into the TF2010 toyline between movies, a wider celebration of the brand, which ran concurrently with the collector-focused Generations line and Reveal the Shield sublines. Fans were basically getting all they wanted, and then Hasbro threw in another line to fill in the gaps, Power Core Combiners. These looked to be both inexpensive, and really fun to mess with. The basic idea was to have a small transformer, a commander, combine with 4 drone vehicles, whom would automatically transform into a limb. This “Power Up Mode”, would have shades of the old scramble city gimmick in that you could swap limbs, although a drone could only be an arm or a leg, not both. If not sold with drones, the commander would have a 4 mode Mini-Con partner instead, whom functioned as a multi-purpose accessory. Visually, these toys would lean towards classical transformer designs, rather than the movie aesthetic, although the combined forms tend towards bayverse with a lack of actual hands. In terms of fiction, things were a bit vague, but also leaned towards the bayverse.

These looked to be everything I wanted as a collector at that time.

I'd developed a mild fixation on the scout class, so I was on board, and this would see the return of another favourite of mine, Mini-Cons. The scout class had hit a level of quality that it honestly rivalled the deluxe price point around ROTF, and there had been a renaissance of toy-first, more conventionally designed characters. Plus, combination is always fun.. Play value should have been great. And yet the Power Core Combiners hit discount like a straight-to-video sequel. Starring a less famous Baldwin brother.

Bombshock & Combaticons, a first wave highlight

The PCC toys versus Objectivity and Subjectivity: a discussion

Back when I was writing reviews proper, I would always aim for objectivity. What do I mean by this? Well, my opinion, your opinion, everyone's opinion, is dictated by personal taste and context, its entirely subjective. It is not the same as the truth, and striving for objectivity is the acknowledgement of this. The fandom does not view Transformers like actual children do, and the fandom itself does not have a unified view on most things, including what makes a good toy. The best you can do is try to acknowledge your own biases, and accept that a commonly held opinion can just easily be wrong as right. Power Core Combiners got hit very hard with subjective complaints. That is to say, it wasn't designed in a way that immediately pleased collectors. But, as this worked so well for Armada, why didn't this line take off? Well, because there's some objectively bad things about them.

Crankcase and the Destrons, a sucessful repaint

On the more subjective end of the complaint spectrum, there is the entire gimmick, and the engineering decisions that resulted. Some fans took against the fact these toys didn't have a traditional five member combination, the spring-loaded conversion also hampering articulation. The fact that a toy is easily transformed and doesn't prioritise articulation isn't automatically the same thing as being a bad toy, see Armada again, but for many it is. Part of this is undoubtedly the somewhat curious choice to cast the power core connectors in blue. If they'd been black, people probably wouldn't have minded as much, but would that really have made the toys better? The connectors themselves seem to a result of the sheer challenge in doing a three mode transformer at this size, a compromise, but Hasbro deliberately didn't hide them. 

They put them in the fricking logo.

I kinda respect that. On that theme, many also took issue with the combined forms, in that they often weren't fully humanoid, routinely lacking hands and having odd proportions. This is a complaint which I'm not gonna dismiss out of hand, as Transformers are people, but we are talking about a mode that is purely about blowing stuff up, so.....OK? I also find myself wondering if the old “its not G1, so I don't like it” mindset may be at play here. A lot of these toys invoke classical characters, but stop just short of actually being them. Would it have made a difference to the public perception of these toys, if, say, Bombshock was named Onslaught? Well, people would have been far more forgiving if the PCCs if they were named legacy characters, at least at first.

 Presenting the infamous Doubleclutch and Rallybots

As for objective flaws, they were there, and I can't pretend otherwise. They honestly mucked things up with startling regularity, varying from tolerance issues, to mis-assembly and flat-out bad design. Doing a triple changer at this size is a very considerable challenge. Double Clutch is pretty notorious for having 4 corrective retools, Bombshock has his legs mixed up, and Mudslinger has fragile thighs, to name three big offenders. Surprisingly, the Mini-Cons themselves don't come up often in the same conversation. Sure, they are made from translucent plastic, which tends to cause breakages a few years down the line, but the only mould called on it by the wiki for it is Beacon, whom isn't translucent. What did however come up during my research was an oversight in the design of the line. You see, the moulds intended to be sold with Mini-Cons had a port on the chest for armour mode, but the moulds for the five packs largely didn't. The toys weren't as interactive and interchangeable as they looked, with some lacking proper fist holes. Wave three did a mix and match, and produced sets that just didn't work as well as the originals, including a Protectobot team with three military drones in it, and a Decepticon whom can't hold his axe(1).All this certainly contributed to the bad reception of the line, which resulted in later waves not getting a full release, which had of course featured new moulds without those issues. I had largely avoided these problems, the worst I encountered being a stress mark and an enthusiastic spring. Then this happened.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Ahem, thanks to @copplex for selling me a replacement, as Sledge is that nice of a toy.

What the PCC line did well

Right, we've spent a few paragraphs acknowledging the weaknesses of the line. Why should you pay any attention to it? And why do I even remember them?

They did a Dinobot Combiner. There you go, case closed. Checkmate. Humanity fulfils its destiny. Toyline completely justified.

Oh, you want a serious answer?

Remember how I mentioned that the Power Core Combiners came from a good period in the brand? When toy budgets were high, oil prices were a bit lower, and they got creative? When they made notably good scouts, with many joints, and frequent accessories? Yeah, PCCs do still benefit from that trend. These were toys that were over-ambitious and quirky, not ones where corners were cut, and I've got a lot of time for stuff like that. More specifically, the PCCs tended towards notably good head sculpts, uncommon altmodes, and tended to have play value coming out of their ears. No hover cars, unfortunately, when it worked, it proper worked. And when it didn't? Well, these toys were and are inexpensive. Here's list of toys that are either curious or superior examples of the line.

Huffer & Caliburst: A good all-rounder paired with another good all-rounder.

Smoulder & Chopster: An evil fire truck with a flaming axe.

Sledge & Throttler: A nicely articulated robot, whose altmode and mini-con has the functions of at least 3 Constructicons.

Icepick & Chainclaw: An evil snowplough, whom can look like Jack Frost.

Undertow & Waterlog: An evil speedboat. Speedboats in general are pretty rare. Like once a leap year rare.

Heavytread & Groundspike: A rare Autobot tank that isn't Warpath(2), Heavytread has arguably the best torso mode in the line.

Bombshock & the Combaticons: Lotsa guns.

Grimstone & the Dinobots: See above.

Steamhammer & the Constructicons: 4 unique altmodes, pleasing combined form, and knives.

 Steamhammer, from my personal collection.

Legacy

A financial failure, the Power Core Combiners quickly dropped into obscurity. The line would would in effect be replaced by the Human Alliance basic figures in Dark Of The Moon, which enjoyed much greater success. Combination would return in the Fall of Cybertron line, but would also prove to be something of a failure in execution, a much worse one due to budget cuts. A little later, there would be a Japanese release of these toys under the United Ex banner, where they were tied into the G1 continuity as pre-existing characters, and given nicer paint jobs. Such is the way of things, although information on the actual toys is a bit thin on the ground. The fandom largely ignored these repaints after the PCCs had finished, so its not clear if any of the faults were replicated there. The PCCs did however get a level of support from two different third party companies, an oddity given that these weren't a G1 property. Maketoys made a set of modular weapons that could partsform into limbs, and a completely new commander mould to make their version of The Fallen. TFC Toys meanwhile would go a different route, creating 4 transforming robots closely based on WW2 vehicles and their crew. I don't normally go in for such things, but those Iron Army sets remain in my glass case. A completely successful combiner would not appear until Combiner Wars. At no point would hover cars appear, real or otherwise, although you could make the case for some of the Fall Cybertron stuff.

The Maketoys Missile Launcher, jungle colours variant. Note Heavytread is featured prominently.

The TFC Toys Iron Army set combined. Again, note Heavytread being used as example.

Conclusion

The Power Core Combiners was an exceptionally ambitious line, that didn't fulfil that ambition. It definitely wasn't for the want of trying, as the toys were very creative, but it just didn't quite work out well, and writing this article took the shine off the nostalgia for me. Having a toy break was probably what did it, but I can't deny the line had some nasty problems around wave 3 or so. That said, if you want to call the line a failure, you must acknowledge that it was an interesting one, and there were some legitimately good toys in there. The PCCs had a lot of unusual concepts, rare altmodes, and a basically good play pattern once the bugs were worked out. So check 'em out.

In the meantime, its 2017, where's my damn hover car?

Foot notes

1. Oh, and there was the famous “Spastic” incident, later on.
2. Or Guzzle.

Images not by myself are variously copyright of Hasbro, Make Toys and TFC Toys, used under fair use provisions.

A Clickbaiting Mad Max: Fury Road Tie-in Review: Power Core Combiners Mudslinger and Destructicon Drones

Well, Mad Max: Fury Road is out on Blu-ray, and I liked it a lot. I think most people did. It's looking to be the best action movie of 2015, which is no mean feat. Did anyone think we'd be talking about a Mad Max film more than John Wick or Ant-Man? And that it would be both awesome and kinda feminist? No, we didn't. So, I thought I'd mark the event by finding the most Mad Max transformer I could, and review it. Your first thought would probably be the Junkions, but they are bikes and overtly comical. The Mad Max films can be funny, buts not their main selling point, and the setting favours 70's cars. Instead, I'm gonna look at Mudslinger and the Destructicon Drones, whom for reasons that shall become obvious almost immediately, are very Mad Max. But are they any good? Well, kinda, maybe, <indecisive noise>, not really.

The Destructicon Drones

Like I said, this set is very Mad Max. They are all road vehicles, often looking a bit random and salvaged. The colours are still a little bright, but if your average road warrior knew what paint was, these tones wouldn't be that much of a surprise. They all have Mini-Con posts, roll well, and two have decorative weapons. Unfortunately, as early drones, the limbs either have a tolerance issue, or don't look like limbs. Another thing to bear in mind is that the previous owner attempted to paint the blue PCC connectors black(1), and that hasn't worked.

The Armored Junker Drone is the one which best fits today's theme, being largely brown and gunmetal in colours, with a huge great ram on the front. It doesn't do much more than roll, but is completely inoffensive and quite cool to look at. This drone does look like something salvaged and weaponised at least twice. Leg mode is decent, but the foot doesn't secure that well.

I'm not immediately aware of any there being any big trucks with four rocket engines in the Mad Max canon, but if there isn't any, there damn well should be. The Armored Truck Drone is, again, a nice vehicle that fits the theme very well indeed, but doesn't do much beyond roll. Its leg mode isn't the most convincing one ever, and is the one most likely to cause trouble in combined mode due to tolerance issues.

Cast mainly in warboy white, the Dune Buggy Drone looks the part, if only for its flaming Decepticon badge. Its also one of the more ramshackle looking vehicles, with a detailed interior and a gun on top. I would have prefered brown to be the main colour, but its nice. The arm mode isn't brilliant though. While there is technically a wrist, the automorph is actually something of a shell former too. Most of the distinctive vehicle bits end up as a shoulder pad, with all the alleged arm bits springing out underneath.

Something of the odd one out, the Heavy Hauler Drone would have been great had it used the same colours as the Armored Junker. Whereas the Dune Buggy breaks up the white with other colours, this is very monochrome, and doesn't look that good even if we forget today's theme. On the plus side, it does have an articulated tow hook, a flip-up mini-con post, and some decorative bombs. The arm mode isn't brilliant, but as it features two big claws, it doesn't count as a negative in the context of the set.

Mudslinger

This guy has one obvious problem, the lime green, achieved via plastic and slightly mismatched paint. This colour doesn't fit the theme, and even if I wasn't looking for road warrior vehicles, I'd be commenting that Mudslinger and the Destructicons look like toys from two different sets. There's also the line wide problem with the PCC connectors being really obvious. That said, by himself, Mudslinger isn't bad, and a monster truck suits Mad Max like a cat suits the internet. This monster truck mode is quite nice, rolling very well and immediately provoking fantasies of crushing cars. There's lots in the way of engine gubbins and shock absorbers, highlighted either by paint or by use of plastic colours, although the lights were omitted. Things become less pleasing when you look at the back, seeing the PCC connectors, and a cavity where the robot bits are. The supercharger also forms the head, and once seen, it cannot be unseen. Play value is this form mainly comes from the aforementioned fantasies, although there is an off-centre mini-con post to round things off. There's not a great deal to be said about a mode that seeks only to be a truck, but it does enough.

Converting between forms has a shellforming element to it for the legs, and works best going from truck to robot mode. I find it fiddly going the other way, and getting things flush is an annoyance, although there is cleverness is using a mini-con post as part of the spine. Once in robot mode, we start to enter marmite territory, as Mudslinger has a very distinctive appearance. He has a big angry face, which wears the supercharger intake like a beret. He's proportioned like an ape, with the wheels increasing his apparent bulk further. The colours are also more varied, that green still being present, but much more broken up. Sadly, the lower legs are hollow, but that's as bad as he gets. Basically, the guy looks like an asskicker, but a clumsy one. His articulation adds to that impression, and at this point it becomes necessary to discuss the design flaw associated with this set. The thigh swivel is based around a peg that's too big for its slot, prompting reports of breakages, especially in combined mode. My example seems okay so far, but his not exactly nimble either. The arms have four joints, but are restricted at the shoulder. His legs also have a very tight universal hip, and a much lighter knee. The head is on a swivel, and he doesn't really have ankles. Total joint count is seventeen, but is not as good as it sounds, and like all PCC commanders, he doesn't have a hand weapon. As robot modes go, I've seen many worse, but this is unrefined.

Super Mode
The combined form of this set, not to put too fine a point on it, is as ugly as sin. Ugly can be a virtue, don't tell me it wasn't for the regular robot form, however this is a more generalised mess of a mode. The obvious problem is of course that lime green, but there's also birthing hips, with the aforementioned breakage problem, and an almost two dimensional appearance to the mode. All the mass in the torso is being used to make the toy seem wide, but not deep. This wasn't an uncommon design traitamongst PCC combiners, but its more noticeable here thanks to that almost luminous green. The head for its mode is also less than a looker. The designers seem to have wanted to go a new direction for the sculpt, something which worked for many of these toys, but I will always remember it described as an “ugly matrix”(2). The neck joint is at an angle too. His drone limbs are not a visual plus either, as mentioned. Functionally, this mode is middle of the line stuff. Articulation is typical, 14 points if you count the little extra in the dune buggy drone. There is a a total of six mini-con posts in variously useful places, with the torso notably having one on the back. Its not actually a bad mode, but design decisions don't really do it any favours.

Conclusion
A few weeks back, I did a review of one of the highlights of the Power Core Combiners. Today, I've reviewed inadvertently one of its more mediocre examples. Mudslinger is on his own a fairly decent scout, some distance from excellent, but interesting enough. He is after all a monster truck that transforms into a gorilla wearing an engine for a hat. That's worth at least a look. The Destructicon drones meanwhile represent altmodes of a style that are quite uncommon in the brand, not unique, but the road warrior well is not visited often. However, putting them together sadly demonstrates all the common complaints of PCC toys. Mismatched colours, ugly combined modes, design flaws; these are all present. Crankcase has merit in spite of the combining gimmick, not because of it, and this a real shame. This makes for a hard set to recommend, even under the auspices of a themed clickbait review. When Takaratomy got around to releasing it as Roadmaster, they gave it a much more unified and rusty colour scheme, only marred by the use of purple. I would be inclined to recommend that, but its not easily found, and the hips were not fixed. Mind you, if ugly, post-apocalyptic vehicles and monster trucks are your thing, there's something to enjoy here. I just wish it was shiny and chrome.

Foot notes

1. Which is completely understandable. BTW, hi Mike.
2. Although it could become Mecha Immortan Joe, if you were creatively inclined and felt like kitbashing.

Radical Regenerations: Power Core Combiners Steamhammer And Constructicon Drones

Okay folks, lets try something a bit different. I have many Transformers. Many, many Transformers. And I've come back to regular reviewing after an absence, where I'd got a little bit bored with how I was doing it. So rather than just blast out fifty bajilion “Concise” reviews(1), I'm going to run an irregular series called “Radical Regenerations”, where I talk about sometimes obscure toys in an informal manner. I don't mean radical in the 90's Bart Simpson sense here. And I don't strictly mean regeneration in the Doctor Who sense, although nearly. I'm talking about those times the designers took a character, and gave it a damn thorough reworking. Not a blatantly obvious trademark securing exercise, or a simple reuse of a name that kinda fits, but when they clearly were homaging something, but not merely recreating it. The opposite to Generations in general and Takara, basically. So, let us begin.

The Context

Cast your mind back to five or so years ago, and remember the Power Core Combiners (PCC) line. On paper at least, this should have been the best damn thing ever. They were to be a line of scout size toys, following just after the Revenge of the Fallen line, which was known for its scouts, and for generally being pretty damn good at whatever it did. These toys would also feature the return of two extremely well-liked gimmicks, Combination, and Mini-Cons. It was nothing, if not ambitious. In practice however, the line did not end well, the reasons for this being varied. One factor was likely a simple glut of product, with Generations and TF2010 on shelves at the same time. Another was probably the implementation of combination, this being achieved by spring-loaded, automorphing drones rather than teams of robots, and said limbs not looking that limb like at times. Another was the simple fact, like most Transformers lines, the designers didn't perfect things until later waves. But perhaps what hurt most was the vague fiction supporting the toys. While PCC characters and teams were often named after G1 legacy characters, the resemblance was slight, and the bunch of them get lumped in with the bayverse. You might think people are whining about Alpha Bravo and such now, but imagine that applied to an entire toy line. Takara eventually would come along and tie their version into G1, but back then, it wasn't clear whom the PCCs were aimed at, and by the time it had found an audience and resolved the bugs, the discount stickers were being applied. Whatever could have been done differently, this is still a crying shame. This is the line that gave us a combining Dinobot team. An evil fire truck. Destrons. Destructicons. A tank Autobot whom isn't Warpath. A little Mini-Con whom changes into a drill. And the focus of today's review, Steamhammer and the Constructicons.

Constructicon Drones

Occupying a middle ground between the classical green/purple and bayverse “opal fruits” palette(2), the Constructicon drones are superior examples of the type. First off, each drone is actually the first iteration of their altmode in the franchise, which makes for quite a distinctive look, and different play patterns. Secondly, the kinks were largely worked out by this point with respects to the automorph, my examples having the right amount of tension in the springs, while looking slightly more humanoid than some in the line. And thirdly, each “arm” drone has an adjustable thumb, which actually helps a lot. The basic strengths and weaknesses common to the drone play pattern do still apply however. Each drone does benefit from a mini-con post, with a cracking amount of detailing and no meaningful omissions of paint, this set being made prior to the budget cuts. On the other hand spring-loading entire limbs can cause some annoyances, when bits catch where they shouldn't, and be outright unacceptable for some. Let's look at each of them.

The Drill Drone is a big, f-off, drill machine, of a construction usage, rather than a sci-fi one. Cast mainly in grey, its the dullest to the eye of the four, although it does match well in the combined mode. The drill is articulated in two places, not quite enough for arm mode, but it can ram people in vehicle mode. Its mini-con post meanwhile is best used when the drill is pointing down.

The Front End Loader Drone is orange, but wears it well, and is the most characterful of the bunch. There's the visual illusion of an unbroken conveyor belt, and an articulated upper shovel to feed it. Its a vehicle that goes up to the nearest pile of detritus, might be rubble, might be a Junkion corpse, eat it up, and “poop it” into a waiting “dump truck”(3). It also makes for a long, possibly too long, arm which adds some grey into the mix. Just be mindful of that little black bit by the socket.

The Plow Drone, which I shall henceforth refer to as “Mister Plow”, is one where I'm not fond of the colours, but I do like the sculpt. Its got too much white in either mode for my tastes, with some paint splatter at the back, but there's merit here. The plow has some nice paint applications, while making for a great foot, and there's actual interior detail for the cabin. Mister Plow, that's his name, unfortunately is a bit stiff in the plow joint, so works best when springing into leg mode.

The Steamroller Drone, seemingly pre-empting Mixmaster by five years, drives the opposite way to which you might think. Seriously, this also has sculpted seats facing the back wheels. Anyway, coming in a nice JCB yellow with effective paint apps on the roller, this drone looks good. The leg mode is similarly pleasing, with some new detail exposed when the automorph operates. However, his wheels seem to sit a millimetre or so loose on their mountings, which looks odd.

Steamhammer

Okay, we have been here before, with the Energon character of the same name. Steam hammers do exist, although in a realm of forging, not construction. This guy is just a bulldozer with a badass name. Well, I say just a bulldozer. More accurately, he looks like Bonecrusher on steroids, and more tasteful colour scheme. While an obvious Constructicon-in-waiting, the purple has been traded for black and grey. From a majority of angles, it looks good, although like Sledge from the same line, its got a slightly ramshackle and broken-up feeling, with a lot of the vehicle coming from the arms and chest, so displaying a lot of joints. Its also got a curious case of Double Visible Head Syndrome, with the robot mode head on top, and the super robot on the underside. There's also no real attempt to hide the blue PCC ports in the back, something which is a frequent line wide flaw. On the plus side, the blade covers a lot of sins, has a nice weathering, and is partially articulated. And this isn't a bulldozer that's going anywhere it doesn't want to, having a set of spikes out back to act as breaks. Factor in a well-placed Mini-Con post, its a hard mode to dislike.

The robot mode? Well, not as much.

The general appearance of the robot is that of a Decepticon through and through, mean, angular, and clawed. No new colours are introduced here, so he does look to be a Constructicon, although there's some fairly atypical design elements here. The claws for example, are a big thing, as bladed weapons aren't really a Constructicon trait, and a boon to play value. While definitely a “bad guy” sculpt, I remain undecided if the head is meant to be canine or porcine. 

If its porcine, we've basically got an Ork here, which would fit a bulldozer. If its canine though, I find myself looking towards the movie Bonecrushers, you know, either the clawed one who hates everything, or Michael Bay's dog. That would be a bit convoluted if that's the case. He does have tread legs like G1 Bonecrusher or Scavenger, but he's got separate toes too. His backpack is also a flaw all of his own, as is the arm kibble and he has those blue PPC connectors. Said backpack seems to have resulted in the hips being very restricted in the name of balance, as he is very back heavy, something which I find deeply annoying as these are balljointed. This area is the singular unambiguous negative, as the joints might as well not be there, and the thigh swivels are loose. There's also a set of securing tabs for the combined mode, which are easy to insert, but hard to remove without removing the leg too, which is a blight on an other acceptable transformation scheme. On the plus side though, those claws do mean a lot here, 5 pack moulds not usually having weapons, and enough articulation in other places to offset the hips a little. He has articulated toes, and a PCC connector as an adjustable heel spur, with rotation above and below, the knee. The arms are a bit more basic with three joints, but they work well. His head also swivels, although the waist is fixed, for a total of 21 joints. You can get good poses, and he's got more inherent play value than some PCC toys, but he's gonna need patience.

GATTAI DA!

Super Mode

Steamhammer's combined form seems to have been designed by someone whom had heard of Devastator, but didn't feel beholden to that design. Yes, there are elements that evoke him, Mister Plow, that name again, Mister Plow(4), has a Scrapper style foot mode, the two arm units are tracked, but there's a clear distance between this and any previous Devastator. It skirts the bayformer aesthetic a bit with the arms, but otherwise, its something different. The head for example is a full faced visor, but he's got antenna ears, and what seem to be chin cannons. His chest is largely formed by the dozer blade, with the regular robot arms acting as securing points. The lower legs retain the tank tread motif, but gains a mecha loincloth, and I do like how the knees become hips. Something I'm less fond of are the big treads popping up from the shoulder, and there's not much you can do with them. The overall effect though is one of some monstrous pile of machinery come to life, as opposed to just awkward, oddly proportioned, and/or incomplete. As with Grimstone and his Dinobots, Steamhammer with is drones looks like a godless killing machine, if a skinny one with a Limb Length Discrepancy, and we should all be able to get behind that. That's what your average gestalt tends to be in fiction, if we are honest. Some big ugly monster turning up and leaving a trail of destruction, especially if we are talking about Decepticon ones. And this mode owns the look. Sculpted detail and paint applications are plentiful, and while the drones don't share all the same colours, there's a lot of overlap, with the back and grey being a unifying factor.

Functionally, he's nice. Articulation is fairly typical of the line in most ways, the automorphing drones preventing elbows for example, while Steamhammer's design places some too. He lacks a waist, the shoulders have an upward tilt of only 45 degrees, and he's loose in the hips. The head is also restricted, but I'm glad they didn't cut a corner and left the joint in . He does however have articulated thumbs with his drones, a major improvement on the PCC norm, while retaining Steamhammer's useful joints in the legs, for a total of 17 points. Play value is a selling point, and a hair above average. Unusually for a five pack set, Steamhammer has a flip down nini-con post on the chest in this mode, something which was otherwise limited to the two pack moulds. This means he can take mini-cons with armour modes, while his drones end up with ports in unobtrusive and useful places, on the knees and on the shoulder. Then there's the whole limb swapping aspect. Assuming you've got a few compatible toys knocking about, its a mode with a lot going on, and on its own terms, looks good.

Conclusion

The Power Core Combiners were a mixed success at the best of times, but Steamhammer and his drones are probably in the top three of that line. The combined mode works well, its nice to see some new alt modes, and play value is pretty high. As reinterpretations go, its a good one, a worthy successor to the Constructicon title, but one that has its own personality. Mind you, Steamhammer does have his problems, which serve to highlight how good in general Combiner Wars is. The robot mode is compromised by that dozer blade, and automorph is marmite, but let's be fair to him, this guy sold for 20 quid back in his day. Compare that to what you get for the same these days, and suddenly five years ago seems a distant and fruitful age. Ultimately, its a good set, but one best judged on its own terms, and not dismissed out of hand for doing something different. Consider him recommended.

Foot notes

1) Good for a lunch hour though.

2) Takara went for the green and purple. Because of course they did

3) Sorry. Had to be done.

4) Have I run this reference into the ground yet?