Zobovor <
zm...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> Note that the toy is marketed as MURK(TM) & DECEPTICON OCTONE (TM).
> Hasbro's taken to calling the character Tankor in recent years, having
> lost the Octane trademark, but the name Octone with an "o," rhymes with
> touch-tone phone, was actually Takara's name for the G1 character, so
> there's a precedent of sorts. (I imagine they could have probably gotten
> away with calling him "Octain," which is how his name has been misspelled
> in IDW's "The Ark.") Imma call him just-plain-Octane (or maybe that
> should be just-plane-Octane) if nobodu objects.
Also, Murk is just Mark, but they couldn't get the trademark. I don't know
who Mark is, but he's probably just some guy named Mark. Sort of like Coach
Hazard, who comes with Blitzwing, probably having a first name. Coach Phil
"Choke" Hazard.
> He comes packaged in robot mode, and he's a pretty boy. Mostly light
> grey with some purple, and a dash of dark grey and dark blue for accents.
> Low-key, not in-your-face, but still clearly a Decepticon. He's also
> got a couple of yellow stripes on his abdomen, which appear on no
> previous version of the toy or character. He comes packages with the
> shoulder towers in the up position, but I think they're meant more to
> emulate the Laser Optimus look, so you can easily tuck them away and make
> him more Octane-able.
They get in the way of arm movement. I do rotate them so the gray "front"
is on the inside, so at least they match the chestplate in color.
> Surprisingly, Octane gets all-new wings. What's more, they don't have
> the hinge down the center of each wing, so you couldn't tuck these bad
> boys away even if you wanted to. The hinges do allow for a couple of
> different configurations, so you can either have them standing up on his
> back parallel to each other (like The G1 Sixswhot toy) or sticking out to
> either side as far as possible (like he appeared in G1 animation, somehow
> even able to fit inside Sandstorm helicopter-mode cabin with those things poking out).
The wings and they many joints around them are a little loose on my copy.
They sag if you poke at them. There are pegs and slots to hold them in
place, but not very good ones.
> He comes with the same black dual-barreled gun as both iterations of
> Prime (it reminds me a little of the quad-barreled gun that came with the
> Generations edition of Octane/Tankor from 2008)which means I have three
> of these black guns now that I'll never be able to tell apart (Octane's
> does have some very small pock marks on the underside, a sign of mold degradation).
I think I would have rather had an Octane with a sword than one with a
really recognizable Optimus Prime gun. And even if I don't want an Octane
with a sword, you can always find someone who needs a sword.
That said, two of the guns would be very nice on the shoulders of
QuickSwitch, to make him look different from Six Shot -- and a bit like
Powermaster Optimus Prime... Also, a lot of the modes look better with more
weapons.
> I just want to stop and appreciate the robot mode. He's the right height
> to pal around with characters that he's likely to be associated with
> (Astrotrain and Blitzwing, or conversely, Sandstorm) and it's such a
> good-looking toy. I'm concerned about the way the lower legs are covered
> entirely in light grey paint, though. I thought that gated molds were
> Hasbro's go-to solution for making different parts on the sprue into different colors?
Was he ever really with Astrotrain and Blitzwing?
I assume he was somewhere in the background of Triple Takeover, doing
something awesomely Octaney with his new empire, and then it just fell
apart and didn't merit reporting in the Cartoon. He probably met up with
Mark there.
> Again, though, he's got paint problems. Both nosecone halves are made of
> dark blue plastic but are painted entirely light grey. I like that
> Hasbro took the extra step to ensure that his color profile would read
> correctly in all three modes, but good gravy, how am I supposed to keep
> this toy looking pristine and beautiful?
It's battle damage. It will make him look tough.
> Reusing the toy as Optimus Prime was a pretty business-savvy move on
> Hasbro's part. It allowed them to keep one of their star players in
> circulation, and produce a toy (well, a couple of toys, really) that
> would make lots of little kids happy based on the name recognition alone.
> This, here, is what this toy design was born to do, though. And it does
> it so well. I love all of G1, and I'm capable of getting excited over
> just about any update of a character who was born from 1984-1990 (really,
> extent that date to 1995, because I love G2 just as much), but I'm
> especially fond of Octane. He really is one of my favorite characters
> from G1 lore, and I'm so delighted that they've finally done him justice.
This is a really good update, and the best version of the mold.
I know there's a Scourge version out there, but I don't like the Optimus
wings, so it doesn't feel like a must have. I mean, RID Scourge's original
toy is still awesome, so he doesn't need this update.
Now, if we got a Toxitron... that would be worth hunting down.
> Zob (gonna go cover him in Saran Wrap now)
Who am I kidding, I'll buy the Source version too...
--
I wish I was a mole in the ground.