Transformer Review: Dark of the Moon Voyager Class Skyhammer
Skyhammer transforms into a helicopter. He didn’t appear in any of the three movies so far. So is he worth buying for? Let’s check him out. 
Attack Chopper Mode
Skyhammer - Alt Mode
Skyhammer’s alt mode is a military assault helicopter. The model was not mentioned in the packaging, so it may be a mix of existing helicopter designs.
Anyway, this chopper mode looks fantastic. The choice of the grey colours used was executed very well, and the other colours such as yellow (cockpit) and white (helicopter tail) do not ruin the look of the helicopter at all.
Additionally, the rotors rotate very well and there are a good number of MechTech ports in alt mode. That’s more than you can ask for this very nicely sculpted helicopter mode.
Transformation
Reasonably simple. The transformation is straightforward with a tad bit of trickiness to it. But transforming the wings into his robot backpack can be nastily tricky at first because of the clearance available to transform them.
Robot Mode
One word: FANTASTIC! This is perhaps the best helicopter transformer we’ve gotten so far! Previous helicopter transformers had the rotor blades at the back of the body, or on the arms. This time, Skyhammer’s rotors actually bend towards his back, which has never been done before. By doing so, this gave the designers a lot of opportunity to play around with using the other parts of the helicopter to form his other body parts. The final result is a fantastic and decently bulky figure! Well done Hasbro!
Off the bat, Skyhammer’s design is a mix of movie-verse and classic/G1 styles and they blend perfectly. He is very humanoid looking and has a head sculpt similar to that of Optimus Prime. Decent posability and a waist joint makes this figure a good posable toy!
Skyhammer - Cool Pose
One downside though is that he is top heavy and the heel spurs don’t really help to support his weight well. Thus Skyhammer has the tendency to topple backwards unless you fiddle with the knees a little. On the bright side, his MechTech weapon is pretty nice. It is a huge machinegun that transforms into a large blade when activated. Like all Voyager class figure MechTech weapons, this one can also lock into place by rotating the activating lever 90 degrees when the blade is out.
Another thing to note is that Skyhammer is a little smaller than previous Voyager class figures, just like how all Dark of the Moon figures have been shrunk in size. But he isn’t drastically smaller and still looks almost equally big as previous Voyager class figures from afar. So his size is acceptable.
Overall, this is a fantastic robot mode! Kudos again to the designers!
Conclusion
Fantastic helicopter. Fantasic robot mode. Very well designed and executed! 
Transformer Review: Dark of the Moon Voyager Class Shockwave
Megatron left Shockwave in charge of Cybertron when he went to Earth. That was the story in G1. Now in the movie, Shockwave apparently having stayed in Cybertron now decides to join Megatron on Earth. His movie incarnation is impressive and menacing at the same time, and pilots a bad-ass drilling machine in Dark of the Moon. Let’s take a look at his figure.
Cybertronian Ground Assault Mode
Shockwave - Alt Mode
Shockwave’s alt mode is a Cybertronian tank mode. It has a gun barrel/turret on one side, and a huge arm blade on the other. This is the default appearance, and it looks evil! Every bit and corner of this figure just looks like it can crush anything in its path. There are very good molded details and paint apps in this mode, and the choice of metallic purple, grey and silver blends in impressively! Also, although the gun turret seems to only be on one side of the tank, it can be rotated 360 degrees. Nice.
As for size in alt mode, Shockwave is a little smaller than than previous Voyager Class figures. But it is no problem. Overall, still a superb tank mode!
Transformation
Simple. Shockwave’s transformation is easy and can actually be figured out without referring to the instruction manual. However, transforming the backpack is a little tricky due to a minor clearance issue.
Robot Mode
Shockwave - Robot Mode
One word: FANTASTIC! This is by far one of the best movie-verse transformers we have seen so far! Just like his alt mode, Shockwave looks equally if not more menacing in his robot mode. The huge rib cage, the bulky legs, the sharp clawed hands, a long blade, a huge energy gun, and the horned head with a Cyclops eye – all this screams evil! He is one great evil Decepticon and a great display piece!
Now, this Shockwave does not look similar to previous Shockwave figures. The only similarity would be the Cyclops eye. Everything else just isn’t the same because of his bulk figure. But that doesn’t mean he’s awful. He’s a great toy.
Shockwave - Unarmed
Posability is kind of limited in some areas, like the hands and shoulders. No waist articulation though. The hose connected to the gun and the backpack hinders posabilty somewhat, and would be better if the hose were longer. Nonetheless, it is detachable so removing the hose could solve the problem.
By the way, the MechTech weapon is a huge gun that when activated, two smaller guns fold out. This is one of the better gimmicks so far, and it is actually not that bad. The weapon is activated by sliding forward the grey piece at the back end of the gun.
Plus, Voyager Class MechTech weapons can lock into place, so you can keep the weapon permanently activated. For Shockwave’s case, slide the grey piece at the back end of the gun all the way until it clicks.
Albeit being a little smaller than previous Voyager figures in robot mode, this is just a superb figure and would be a waste to not get it. After all, he was one of the main stars in the Dark of the Moon movie.
Conclusion
Bad-ass and awesome in both alt mode and robot mode. Highly recommended!
New DOTM Voyager Class figures!
Hey y’all. A few days ago I bought what appears to be the best 2 Voyager Class figures from the Dark of the Moon toyline: Skyhammer and Shockwave. They’re awesome figures! I’m also blessed and happy that I could still find them in a local Toys R Us store.
Will be reviewing them soon.
Transformer Review: Dark of the Moon Deluxe Class Barricade
The evil police car gave Sam Witwicky a scare in the first Michael Bay Transformers movie. He reappears briefly in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and also gets a toy reincarnation. How good is he as a figure this time around??
Saleen Car Mode
DOTM Barricade - Alt Mode
Barricade’s alt mode is a Saleen car and is very accurate to what he looked like in the movies, having the Decepticon Police Badge, the numbers 643 on the hood and front of the car, and the following iconic words: “To punish and enslave”. The difference between this DOTM Barricade and his TFTM predecessor is that he’s smaller, comes with a MechTech weapon, and the spoiler is painted white instead of black. But overall, despite its sheer small size, it’s a great vehicle mode with great details.
MechTech weapon activated
His MechTech weapon, however, in my opinion is the weakest point of the figure. It transforms from a big machinegun to a huge claw. As a stand-alone weapon, it’s not too bad. But when equipped onto Barricade in vehicle or robot mode, it looks ridiculously huge. More so, in robot mode it’s too heavy for Barricade to hold as it will easily make him fall, and also Barricade’s robot hands are not designed to hold MechTech weapons. Thus, this MechTech weapon did not execute well for this particular figure. I will give credit for nice colour choices though!
Transformation
Fairly difficult. The transformation sequence isn’t that hard, but transforming the legs can be a pain especially when transforming him from robot to car mode. It can be a pain to fit the legs snugly inside the car. >_< But other than that, he has quite a fun transformation.
Robot Mode
DOTM Barricade’s robot mode firstly is pretty accurate to what he looked like in the films. The clawed fingers, pointy face, and slender body have been well designed and executed.
DOTM Barricade - Robot Mode
Of course, this figure does not come without faults. The first one obviously being his size. Many DOTM figures tower over Barricade and that is due to the way he transforms and also due to the awkward forced bending of the legs due to transformation. Straightening the legs any further would case the feet to pop out, and this is due to the way the feet are designed.
Another reason why Barricade is much shorter is because of how his hips are transformed. The official transformation requires you to collapse his upper torso onto his hips so as to give him a very stout body with barely any abdomen. Thus, just like what Youtube reviewer fxfranz did, I did not fully collapse the torso onto the hips so as to give him more height. This makes his crotch stick out more though and is clearly visible when viewed from the side. But I’d rather have him look this way than to have him look like a fat dwarf…
MechTech up!
As mentioned above, Barricade’s hands are not designed to hold MechTech weapons, so this sucks. However, he has two MechTech ports on his shoulders right opposite the wheels.
Overall, despite its flaws, this Barricade figure has been a great improvement over the original figure. If you can get over these faults, this is not a bad figure to have in your collection.
Cyberfire Bumblebee vs Barricade
Conclusion
Great alt mode, not so great robot mode. Shorter than most DOTM Deluxes and has a crappy MechTech weapon. However, he is a great improvement over his original predecessor. Recommended!
I hope this review has been helpful! More pics below!
DOTM Barricade Review Coming Soon
I purchased DOTM Deluxe Class Barricade a few days ago. Will do a review for him very soon. Stay tuned!
Transformer Review: Dark of the Moon Deluxe Class Laserbeak
Laserbeak was one of the key Decepticons in the third installment of the Transformers CGI movie: Dark of the Moon (2011). He portrayed a very evil and merciless spy and his toy incarnation is a nice representation of the character. Check out the review below.
Hover Jet Mode
DOTM Laserbeak - Hover Jet Mode
In the movie, Laserbeak had various alt modes ranging from computer monitors to LCD screens. Deluxe Class Laserbeak however transforms into a unique hover jet, which is a forced alt mode for this toy. It’s a tiny jet with large turbines on the wings, and the landing gear clearly resembles bird feet. Overall it’s not very appealing and does not disguise the character well.
The only articulation for this mode are the wings that can fold upwards (not downwards). Paint apps only include those on the cockpit – cockpit windows and bird details at the side.
Unlike most Deluxe DOTM figures, Laserbeak comes with two large MechTech weapons: machineguns. When attached to one another, they form a massive energy cannon or bazooka. Personally I like these weapons a lot and I think these are the best MechTech weapons by far. For my figure however, when combining the MechTech weapons, the movable gun barrel does not lock into its final position properly. It angles outwards out of the rest of the bazooka barrel. So, it’s a bit of a shame. However, these two weapons are still gorgeous MechTech weapons!
Also, as mentioned in my Cyberfire Bumblebee review, I have given these weapons to Cyberfire Bumblebee as Laserbeak’s MechTech weapons are way too big for his size.
DOTM Laserbeak - Hover Jet Mode with MechTech Weapons
However, the Laserbeak’s hover jet mode looks more destructive and menacing when equipped with his oversized MechTech weapons. Practically, this jet would have difficulty flying. So was it executed well? If equipped with smaller MechTech weapons such as those from DOTM Deluxe Topspin, then yes. But with his given weapons, then I doubt so.
Overall, not an impressive alt mode. But definitely something better than Scorponok’s or Ravage’s alt modes.
Transformation
Fairly simple. The tail, neck, and wings of the figure are very cleverly concealed (and revealed). Neck is stored inside the body of the plane, tail is compacted to form the rear wing piece, and the bird wings are folded up neatly inside the turbines. Kudos to the engineers and/or designers of this figure!
Beast Mode
DOTM Laserbeak - Beast Mode
This mode is what makes the figure shine. Laserbeak appears to be an alienated bird with spikes on its neck and tail. The wings and talons look sharp and deadly, and the face is weird yet evil-looking. Every bit of this figure screams evil. One negative thing of the beast mode is the cockpit of the hover jet is visibly seen on Laserbeak’s belly. It may be bothersome to some collectors. To me, it’s something tolerable.
Articulation for this figure ranges from very decent to okay. The neck and tail are well articulated due to the many ball joints incorporated into the toy design. Wings fold in and out fairly enough due to the concealing inside the turbines, and clearances for up and down movement (the wings cannot fold downwards). The weakest articulation is in the legs, where the thighs only can fold forwards and backwards. The talons however are decently articulated.
There are not much paint apps in beast mode, but they are very nicely done – Bluish-green eyes, red tongue, nice silver detailing on the wing tips, and a nicely painted silver tail. I especially like the silver paint apps on the wings with a bit of fading effect.
Plastic quality on this figure is great and does not feel or look cheap. The choice of plastic colours is a little bland but does not ruin the look of the figure at all (unlike other DOTM figures). After all, Laserbeak was not colourful in the movie.
DOTM Laserbeak - Beast Mode with MechTech Weapons
Size comparisons with other DOTM Deluxe figures show that Laserbeak is definitely shorter than the average Deluxe figure. But his wing span is very long; so long it easily outstretches the length of any Deluxe figure alt mode (excluding Classics Astrotrain). So this figure is of a good size.
Laserbeak’s MechTech weapons still look humongous even for his beast mode. They add a nice destructive touch to his beast mode, but personally I’d prefer smaller MechTech weapons attached on him.
All in all, the beast mode is very good and a very close representation of Laserbeak from the DOTM movie.
Conclusion
Albeit a weak alt mode, Laserbeak has a very impressive beast mode that is very screen-accurate. A well-designed and well-articulated figure with neat oversized MechTech weapons. Overall, a recommended buy! And a must-buy if you loved Laserbeak in the movie.
More pics below:
I hope this review has been informative and useful. Thanks for reading!
So here we have yet another movie Bumblebee figure. There have been so many movie Bumblebee figures in all sizes (except Scout class) and a lot of collectors are already getting tired of these figures. That said, is Cyberfire Bumblebee worth picking up if you already have so many Bumblebees?? Check out the review below.
Note:
Cyberfire Bumblebee may be simply referred to as “DOTM Bumblebee” below as an easier reference to both DOTM Deluxe Bumblebee and Deluxe Cyberfire Bumblebee (since they are of the same mold).
Camero Concept Mode
Cyberfire Bumblebee in Alternate Mode
By now, we know Bumblebee’s movie alt mode is the Camero Concept car. The new Dark of the Moon Bumblebee features the Camero with a spoiler and more sporty look, which includes a mesh-like guard at the doors as a replacement for windows. Cyberfire Bumblee is the direct repaint of the new Bumblebee mold (while retaining a lot of old Bumblebee parts).
The new repaint gives Bumblebee a menacing look with bits of roughness and vengeance hinted in his spark-fire details. Plus the tyre rims are very well painted with silver, and also a very nice silver logo painted at the right side of the car rear section.
Also, do note that for the Dark of the Moon toyline, every figure has been shrunk in size except for the Leader Class figures, so Cyberfire Bumblebee is definitely a smaller Camero than his predecessors. However! The colour scheme was so well executed on this figure that it easily beats the original DOTM Deluxe Bumblebee, which lacked paint apps. Thus, if you are interested in getting a DOTM Deluxe Bumblebee, you might want to pick this one instead.
Transformation
Fairly simple. This is probably the easiest movie Deluxe Bumblebee figure to transform!
Robot Mode
Cyberfire Bumblebee in Robot Mode
The robot mode is stunning! The amazing spark-fire details on the hood are still visible and adds some personality to the new darker Bumblebee. The red light piping makes him even more menacing! Some bits of yellow are painted on the legs and arm panels to break up the mostly black plastic colour, which is a sweet touch. Also take note of the very nicely molded and painted head sculpt!
Posability is pretty good on this figure, with adequate joints in the limbs and also a nice waist swivel. In addition, the thumbs open a little, but are designed so that DOTM Bumblebee can hold MechTech weapons fairly well.
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DOTM Bumblebee vs Previous Bumblebees (Robot Mode Differences):
At a glance, you would notice a few changes in the Bumblebee mold. Firstly, the arm panels are much smaller than older Bumblebees and this is much more screen accurate. Of course, this disallows DOTM Bumblebee to have hidden weapons like his HFTD Battle Blades Bumblebee counterpart.
Another difference is the legs. The heel spurs are now rigid and do not move unlike the HFTD version. The automorph in the legs (that originated from the TFTM Bumblebee figure) has been slightly modified. The rear section of the car is not connected by gears with the feet anymore. So, you might have to readjust the rear car sections manually after you transform the feet. (Otherwise they will appear to flop downwards.)
Furthermore, the thigh guards fold diagonally instead of straight like the HFTD version (or folded outwards like the TFTM version). The diagonal configuration is more screen accurate, thus it’s a plus point for this figure.
Next, the torso design has changed. The bottom part of the front car grill folds in on itself to reveal the torso of the robot mode. This is cool and takes up less space! =) The drawback? This makes Bumblebee look shorter and bulkier at the stomach, which may not appeal to some fans. But to me it’s perfectly fine. On the other hand, the front car headlights angle better to give the CGI-accurate “V” chest design.
Thirdly, the backpack collapses in a different manner, and not in the neatest of ways. Previous Bumblebee figures have executed the backpack assembly better than the DOTM version, but once you have the toy, you will eventually get over the backpack issue. (Unless of course you really hate TFs with back kibble)
Lastly, translucent windows may be flipped out if you prefer Bumblebee to have his proper trademark wings in the movies. But due to the design of the mold, the mesh-like guard is fixed in place and will not allow the windows to be flipped up in car mode.
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Cyberfire Bumblebee with Actual MechTech Weapon
Cyberfire Bumblebee with Deluxe Laserbeak's MechTech Weapons
So that said, there are improvements and flaws in the DOTM Bumblebee figure. Thus, in a way it’s reasonable or justifiable to pick up this Bumblebee because of the changes in the mold. But again I believe Cyberfire Bumblebee would be of better worth of your money because you not only get the mold changes, but also a well-done paint job.
I believe you have noticed in the pictures that I have given DOTM Deluxe Class Laserbeak’s weapons to Cyberfire Bumblebee. Personally I did this because Laserbeak was more aerodynamic, lightweight, and had hidden guns instead of huge big-ass guns that might have limited his flying abilities. As Cyberfire Bumblebee’s name has the word “Cyberfire”, it hinted to me that this Bumblebee should be using high-end guns or a machinegun. That said, I passed on Laserbeak’s weapons to Cyberfire Bumblebee and it has done wonders for the figure!
Conclusion
Cyberfire Bumblebee is another well-engineered Bumblebee and has come very far since its first predecessor in the 2007 movie. Some upgrades are noticeable, a few classic old parts are there, and also doesn’t do away with a flaw or two. However, because of the great paint job and also the new menacing personality that it gives to Bumblebee, I believe you should get this figure!
TFTM Cliffjumper, HFTD Battle Blades Bumblebee, and DOTM Cyberfire Bumblebee
For more pics, check out the slideshow below:
