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Transformers Review: Build Typhoon (Car Robots Deluxe) a.k.a. Heavy Load – Part 3 of 5 - Buildmaster

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 Typhoon, or better known as Heavy Load in the RiD continuity, is the tough guy cum joker in the group. He’s strong and very agile, since he is a master martial artist.
Alternate Mode:
            Build Typhoon transforms into a yellow-colored dump truck.
            Just like his other comrades, Build Typhoon is quite detailed. And has just the right size.
            He doesn’t have that much gimmick, except that the dump-bed at the back does tilt down as if Built Typhoon is emptying trash. The kibbles are less obvious and are very minimal.

Robot Mode:
            Build Typhoon’s robot mode is very stout. In Lord of the Rings terms, I kind of imagine Build Boy as the Hobbit; Build Hurricane as an Ent; and Build Typhoon is analogous to being a Dwarves – short and stout.

            Typhoon stands at about 5-inches tall. In terms of physical proportions, apart from being stout, Typhoon has huge feet! To the point it almost feels like duck feet.
            That aside, I especially love the head sculpt – the smirk really gave this guy some character. Being the joker of the team, I guess that’s essential.
            Articulations –wise, the head turns 360°; the shoulders, although they are on ball joints, they can’t really do anything much, apart from rotating 360°. Because of its designs and shape of the shoulders, you can’t really lift the arms outward, which is ashamed really.
The ball joints on the hips and elbows, on the other hand, work just fine – they are able to do what they were set out to do.
So, yeah, the articulations aren’t exactly stellar, but it’s just okay , and a bit below average if you ask me.
In this mode, Typhoon also wields the Dump Claw, formed by his dump-bed.

Overall:
Build Typhoon is an okay figure. On its own, he doesn’t do much and I probably won’t go out on a limb to find this particular figure.

            Final verdict: 6.5/10.


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