Hardtop
Hardtop, the first non-show,
brand-new-mold Transformer to be released in Cybertron, has an alternate
mode of a semi-realistic sand rover. I say "semi-realistic" because, ignoring
a few things like visible hinges and stuff that you'd expect on a somewhat
small toy, the entire back half of this mode looks very unfinished-- it's
the robot legs folded up with the lower bulker half forming the "roof"
of the back half. As such, there is no real "meat" to the back half of
the vehicle, meaning no rear bumper, with the lower legs and robot waist
clearly visible from a rear view, and the fact that you can see through
this half pretty easily on pretty much any side angles. This is the toy's
single most greatest flaw, and it's a rather major one, as the whole thing
about Earth transformers in this line is they're supposed to look pretty
realistic in their alt modes-- i.e., without the back half missing. Another,
more minor, complaint is that the robot head is rather visible in the drivers'
seat from a top-down view (or near one), which kind of ruins the whole
reason for there being seat piece in their for the first place if the head
is almost on top of it! The side doors also can't open, alas. However,
these complaints aside, this mode is quite good. Very nice, "armor-like"
mold detailing, an above-average amount of paint detailing, and fairly
good proportions. I especially like how the bottom of the robot feet become
"lights" so he can drive in the nightime-- quite a creative touch, there.
Hardtop's key gimmick is rather simple, but it's still kinda cool for a
basic-sized toy nonetheless; insert the Cyber Key into the slot near the
back of the rear-mounted gun, and the barrel of the gun flips around to
become longer, like a sniper rifle barrel. (Which, according to Hardtop's
bio, is what his job is-- a sniper.)
Hardtop's robot mode
is very good, with spot-on proportions and excellent articulation-- he
can move at any point you can reasonably expect on a small toy, except
side-to-side at the elbows. And many of these joints are ball joints, so
he has quite a range of movement overall. He has very little kibble-- the
only parts that would really qualify are his wheels, but they tuck out
of the way pretty well and don't get in the way of movement at all, so
I don't mind them. I also love his head sculpt-- he's got a serious look
to his face, and coupled with the detailing on the sides of his head that
look like wired earphones, makes it look like he's a determined soldier,
in contact with other Decepticons on the front lines, who's ready to give
the Autobots a run for their money. What I DON'T like about this mode,
however, is the puke-tastic pastel blue-green used on Hardtop's head, chest,
and his rear wheels. It is an absolutely horrid color that doesn't go well
with anything. Ick, yech, blah. The rest of the color scheme-- purple,
gold, black, and green-- goes quite well with Hardtop, however. Another
small complaint is that, with the Cyber Key attached to the back of his
gun, it gets in the way of elbow articulation a bit on the arm that's holding
said gun.
Hardtop is a fairly
good basic, if you ignore the unfinished-looking back end of his vehicle
mode and the pukey green color. He's not a must-buy, but he's definitely
not a must-skip.
Review by Beastbot