Intro:
Welcome back to another edition of Transformers Review. Well, since this is going to be our first ever review for the year 2012, I thought I might as well review something totally new.
Ever since I was a kid, I had fallen in love with the Transformers franchise, but unfortunately, my parents couldn’t afford to buy me a Transformers figure. Instead, they bought LEGO building blocks instead, and I absolutely love them. In fact I still got all of my LEGOs from my childhood – all twelve of them – now, with not a single missing piece. I absolutely love them and it opened a whole new world for me.
I couldn’t get any Transformers figure? Well, it’s simple, I’d make them. Well, they are not exactly carbon copies of the real thing, but that’s where vivid imaginations come in handy. In fact, I even created my own Transformers characters, unrelated to the then G1 universe. I even made my own gestalt (or rather more resembling Super Sentai or Power Rangers’ Super Robots). I remembered having had a space cruiser as its main body, with a truck and a car as the legs; with an air plane and another space ship as arms. It was a monstrosity – standing at least as tall as Unicron. I had great fun.
Fast forward some 15 years later, kids do not have to imagine the way I did anymore. Thanks to Hasbro, they now have Kre-O – the building blocks set that could literally be used to construct your favorite Transformers characters. The good thing about Kre-O is that they can be used along with other construction-brick sets, namely LEGO.
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| Out of the Box |
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| Instruction Manual |
So, I guess it’s enough with the yapping and let’s get on with the review.
Alternate Mode:
The truck mode looks okay. While there are certain characteristics on him which is distinguishable as Optimus Prime, he is clearly not based on any series in particular. However, you can clearly see glimpses of the original G1 aspects on him, along with a bit of Classics/ Henkei Optimus and a little bit of Animated.
The wheels rolls quite freely and it feels real nice.
The set also comes with a sticker sheet where you will need to paste the stickers, namely the spotlight on top of the roof; the Autobot insignias; the headlights; the name Optimus Prime on the front grill; and of course the side windows.
The truck unfortunately not that solid, and some parts may detach accidentally when you mess around too much.
No big deal, you’d only need to reattach them.
Robot Mode:
Ah… we finally come to the robot mode. One thing I want to make things clear, even though it is a Transformers figure, the figure itself doesn’t really transform. Rather, it all about disassembling and reassembling the whole darn thing.
Majority of Optimus Prime’s essence are there: the head sculpt looks spot on, that’s definitely Optimus Prime and couldn’t have been anyone else; the smokestacks are there; the chest window panel (although it’s not a two-panel pane as normal); and of course, the wheels on the legs and hips.
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| That's Optimus Prime alright... |
Articulation-wise: the head rotates 360°; shoulders flap up and down; the elbows bend; the hips and ankles are all ball-jointed.
It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t include a knee articulation along with it, otherwise it would have been near-perfect.
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| From left: Kre-O Basic Optimus Prime and Classic Voyager Optimus Prime |
Summary:
Kre-O is really a dash of fresh air in the franchise. It’s only a matter of time that Transformers would follow other franchises such as Star Wars and Harry Potter into the construction-bricks line.
Like I said, the Kre-O really reminded me of my childhood, and fiddling with this set really brings back fond memories. You get to enjoy both the benefits and enjoyment of playing with a LEGO-ish bricks and have your very own Transformers figures.
Absolutely recommended.
Verdict: A strong 8.5/10
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