Intro:
I
have to admit, although the Car Robots/ Robots in Disguise series was first
broadcasted in 2001, I haven’t watched it before. Still, I do recognize the characters
from the series, and some of them are also on my hit list such as Gigatron,
Fire Convoy and Ultra Magnus, just to name a few.
But
one particular set that I had never intended to get was the Buildmasters. The
Buildmasters is a special team of engineers and architects tasked to build the
Global Space Bridge. Unlike most special teams ever since G1, the Buildmasters
were never meant to be warriors and fighters, thus making them quite unreliable
in battles.
The
members of the Buildmasters are also capable of combining to form a super robot
called Build King, or Landfill in the Robots in Disguise (RiD) series, which we
will be reviewing in Part 5 of this series of reviews.
It
was pure coincidence that I managed to find this group, and with a proper nudge
from my pal Big Daddy V, I finally relented to what I already wanted to do.
The
members of the Buildmaster that I will be reviewing are sold in a different
packaging, and all of them are Takara releases.
Build
Boy, or better known as Wedge in the RiD continuity, is the Chief Architect and
the unlikely leader of the group – even more so since he is the most
inexperience member of the group. His gung-ho attitude is sometimes compared to
other characters from other Transformers series such as Hot Rod (G1), Hot Shot
(Armada/ Micron Legend & Cybertron/ Galaxy Force) and Bumblebee (Animated).
At
the time of its release, Build Boy was one of the smallest Deluxe-class figure
ever made – much smaller than his 3 other comrades.
Alternate
Mode:
Build
Boy transforms into a small orange-colored bulldozer.
The
bulldozer itself doesn’t do much – the front bulldozer piece does not move up
or down, or anything else for that matter. The tracks are only for show, as it
doesn’t really work – no surprise there, although it does look realistic.
There
is a generous amount of detailing all over the figure, adding more realism to
the figure.
Another
thing I also like about this figure, is how minimal the kibbles are – to the
point of almost non-existent.
Neat
little alternate mode.
Robot
Mode:
Build
Boy’s robot mode might be a little small in size, but he is by no means
inferior to the other members.
In
terms of body proportions, he is almost perfect – almost, because the chest can
be a little thick, but that’s kind of necessary due to the fact that he is
hiding Build King’s head within.
Articulations
is kind of good – the head turns 360°, and it kind of being able to look up,
due to the transformation method. The shoulders are ball-jointed, and have all-around
movements, but can be a little hindered due to the design of the shoulders. The
elbows are ball-jointed as well, which means they can rotate and bend (at about
90°). The hips are ball jointed, and the single-jointed knees can bend as if
they are double-jointed, mostly due to its transformation joints. Still, it’s
really creative to be actually being able to combine the usages of its
articulation joints.
Although
its articulations may not be stellar, Build Boy can be posed in a variety of
exciting poses.
In
this mode, he also wields the double-beam gun, formed by the bumper of its
bulldozer. The gun may look a little bit unrealistic, but I guess it works.
Overall,
it’s a very neat little robot mode.
Overall:
Even if you’re
not considering to buy and complete the Buildmaster team, Build King or Wedge
is already a good figure on its own. It looks good in both modes – less kibbles
in vehicle mode and a robot mode with very good articulations.
Highly recommended.
Final
verdict: 9/10.
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