Constructicon Devastator Combiner Components (Universe; KB Toys Exclusive Micromasters)

Components include: Bonecrusher, Buckethead, Hightower, Long Haul, Quickmix, Scavenger (sold seperately)
Individual prices: $4 (U.S.)
Allegiances: Decepticon
Size: Micromasters (i.e., slightly smaller than Minicons)
Color Schemes: Light pale green, black, royal purple, and some silver and light red
Overall Rating: 5.0

(NOTE: These toys aren't really new molds but basically re-named, re-packaged reissues of a formerly Japanese-exclusive Micromaster set-- Sixbuilder-- from the early 1990's. Even though these toys are sold individually, I'm reviewing them on one page for simplicity's sake.)
 

Bonecrusher
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Individual Rating: 5.0

    Bonecrusher is a bulldozer, and is a pretty typical Micromaster in his construction. His vehicle mode is top-notch, with great mold and paint detailing. The proportions are also very realistic, especially for such a small toy, and there's no robot extras to speak of whatsoever. Bonecrusher's color scheme is a great throwback to the G1 Constructicons, and this set is obviously supposed to be a new version of them, both because of the alt modes, color scheme, and most of the names. True, green, black, and purple aren't exactly the most common colors for a construction vehicle, but it's such a great color scheme for Decepticons, I can't particularly say I care. So absolutely no complains color-wise for any of the toys in this gestalt set, considering that they all have the same color scheme.
    However, one of the big downsides is that, like most Micromasters, Bonecrusher has a pretty crummy robot mode. His legs are easily bigger in mass than the rest of his body, and they're stuck together, so they can't move individually. His arms have no discernable elbows, and are kind of pudgy. The head has a very good amount of detailing for being so small, however, and the chest doesn't stick out. His articulation is also rather bad, as is the case with all Micromasters; he can move back-and-forth at the shoulders, hips, and knees, but the hips and knee joints can't move individually since Bonecrusher's got one big uni-leg.
    Bonecrusher comes with Devastator's waist & upper leg piece.
    Bonecrusher is one of the better Micromaster Constructicons, but he's still got some major proportion and articulation problems in robot mode, like pretty much any Micromaster. Love his vehicle mode, though.
 

Buckethead
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Individual Rating: 4.3

    Buckethead's vehicle mode is an earth mover. (Buckethead, by the way, has got to be one of the goofiest TF names ever... hardly flattering, to say the least...) This mode is decent, but the robot arms poke out rather obviously at the sides, which is rather annoying. The window cover the driver's seat area also isn't painted, but is green like the surrounding plastic, making it rather hard to find at first. In fact, Buckethead probably has the worst paint detailing out of any of the Micromaster Constructicons-- he has a few nice purple paint apps in robot mode, but that's really it. There's no paint apps used for the vehicle mode. So the only thing the vehicle mode has got going for it is that the little shovel can move up and down, to move about a teaspoon of... well, whatever you so desire.
    Buckethead's robot mode, as expected, isn't top-notch, either. The proportions for the legs, chest, and head are certainly better than on most other Micromasters, but the arms actually are BEHIND the wheels coming out of his chest, which is a huge design no-no. Good luck getting Buckethead to fire a rifle, since he can't move his arms forward much at all. His other articulation is at the hips and knees, where he can move back and forth-- though, again, he has a big unileg, so they can't move individually.
    Buckethead comes with Devastator's chest piece.
    Buckethead is one of the worse Constructicons, with sub-par detailing and really, really odd arms in robot mode. He does make a nice chest for Devastator, but that's the only real high point he has.
 

Hightower
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Individual Rating: 5.2

    Hightower's vehicle mode is a crane, and it's top-notch. Lots of cool mold details, and a decent amount of paint apps (most of them going towards painting the windows purple). The proportions are also pretty realistic, with the sole exception of the crane arm, which is shorter than it would otherwise be for obvious reasons. Even as short as it is, it's still a little on the fragile side, so be careful. It's still pretty cool that they put a moving crane arm and hook on such a small toy, though. The upper back part of the crane can also rotate around, so the crane arm doesn't always having to be facing towards the front.
    Hightower's robot mode is pretty basic, but it works, for the most part. His actual body has very good proportions for a Micromaster, with the lower legs not being TOO much larger than the upper legs, and the chest not sticking out too much either. Hightower DOES have the back half of the vehicle mode hanging off his upper body, though, which does ruin the look a little. Still, it's not nearly as bad as the designs for, say, Long Haul or Buckethead. And it does give him a bit more of a "beefed up" look. Plus, I still love how much detailing is going into these little Micromaster's faces, and Hightower's is no exception-- heck, he's even got the only red paint app on the bunch, and that's only used for his tiny forehead! Hightower's articulation is average for a Micromaster's-- he can move back-and-forth and the shoulders, hips, and knees. The legs are held together in such a way that the hips can't move seperately, but the knees can. So it's a little better than a uni-leg, but not by much.
    Hightower comes with both of Devastator's fist pieces.
    Hightower is one of my favorites of the Micromaster Constructicons, with a great vehicle mode and a decent robot mode, even if he does have half of this vehicle mode hanging off his back. But you can't expect TOO much from such a small toy.
 

Long Haul
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Individual Rating: 4.3

    Long Haul is a dump truck. Thus mode, while still good, is a little sub-par when compared to the other Constructicons. The robot feet are pretty obviously sticking out the back end of the vehicle, and the robot head is somewhat visible, being face-up right next to the driver's seat as it is. The mold detailing is pretty good, but there isn't much paint detailing when compared to the other Constructicons, so it looks a little on the blah side. They're by no means crippling blows to the toy, but they are noticeable.
    In robot mode, Long Haul is noticeably larger than the other Constructicons-- most of them only come up to his shoulder. It's because of his overly-long legs-- they're made up of the back two-thirds of the vehicle mode, and the look rather mismatched compared with Long Haul's squat, bulky chest and arms. I don't like his chest structure at all-- the driver's area is on one side of his head, while there's nothing sticking up on the other side of his head. It's pretty asymmetrical, and in an odd-looking, imbalanced way. The arms also can't point straightforward, as they're prohibited from doing so by the front bumper-- and considering that the toy wouldn't have lost any play value by taking off those two skinny ends of the bumper, thus preventing this movement restriction, it's pretty annoying. Long Haul has pretty average movement for a Micromaster- he can move back-and-forth and the shoulders, knees, and hips, just like the other Constructicons. And he has the usual uni-leg, which prevents individual leg movement in the knees and hips.
    Long Haul comes with one of Devastator's foot pieces.
    Long Haul is one of my least favorite Constructicons, because of his extremely odd proportions in robot mode and his couple of semi-obvious robot extras in vehicle mode. Still, he's needed to complete the gestalt, of course, so you need to get him if you want to form Devastator.
 

Quickmix
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Individual Rating: 4.6

    Quickmix's vehicle mode is a cement mixer. As expected, this mode is pretty good overall-- the proportions are a little "squashed" to keep him the same length as Long Haul, since they both form a leg of Devastator, but that's really my only complain with the mode. The mold and paint detailing is pretty good (though I question making the headlights black, of all colors...), and there's no robot extras to speak of. So no complaints here, folks.
    Quickmix's robot mode, though, has pretty odd proportions. The hands are very thin, stick-like, and have no discernable elbows, for one. The legs are also a bit too wide and blocky-- not as bad as Bonecrusher's, but worse than, say, Hightower's. The front half of the vehicle mode also just ends up on Quickmix's back, and his head is really molded faaar into the interior, to the point where it's rather hard to see without holding him up to the light. It doesn't help that the design on his forehead looks like two big, goofy looking optics, whereas his real, normal-sized optics are hard to see because of how the head is eternally enveloped by shadow. His articulation is pretty much the same as the other Constructicons-- he can move back-and-forth at the shoulders, hips, and knees, but he has a uni-leg, so his hips and knees can't move individually.
    Quickmix comes with one of Devastator's foot pieces.
    Quickmix is about middle-of-the-line as far as the Micromaster Constructicons go. Nice vehicle mode, even if is a bit squashed, but his proportions in robot mode are a bit out of whack, and his head is a bit hard to see.
 

Scavenger
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Individual Rating: 5.2

    Scavenger's vehicle mode is an excavator. My comments on Scavenger are pretty much the same as they were on Hightower, though, since his design is pretty much a carbon copy of the latter's. On, the mold details and some of the paint apps are different, but that's it. The articulation, proportions, transformation, and the like are identical. The design for the robot chest and head are a bit bulkier and more asymmetrical than Hightower's, to make his robot mode look more individualistic, too. Not really much has changed, though.
    Scavenger comes with Devastator's gun and head piece.
    Scavenger is another one of my favorite Micromaster Constructicons, and for pretty much the same reasons as Hightower, given that their designs are identical. He still has that darned backpack in robot mode, though, and his articulation isn't too great, but he's still definitely an above-average Micromaster.
 

Constructicon Devastator
DevastatorGestalt pieces in jet mode
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium
Individual Rating: 6.6

    Since Devastator has a structure similar to the previous Micromaster gestalt, Defensor, it makes sense to do several comparisons between the two. (For the record, Hightower and Scavenger form the arms; Quickmix and Long Haul form the legs; Buckethead forms the chest; and Bonecrusher is just stuck on the butt, contributing nothing useful to the gestalt at all.) For one, I like the unified color scheme a lot more on Devastator than the disjointed scheme on Defensor, as it really helps establish him more as his own robot mode and not just a bunch of vehicles slammed together. Many of the connector parts are the exact same as they were on Defensor's, just different colors-- the gun, feet, chest, and waist pieces are all the same. The head has been changed to a different one that resembles G1 Devastator's with a few extra head crests. The hands have also been changed, and thank goodness, they fit into the gestalt arm 'cons much, MUCH more snugly than on Defensor. Because of the construction of Hightower and Scavenger, Devastator can also move his arms from side-to-side at the shoulders in addition to back-and-forth, so those little wings on the side of his chest piece don't interfere much with arm movement. Though, like Defensor, Devastator can only move at the arms and head, so he's not exactly the most poseable of 'bots.
    I still think it's rather cheap that Devastator has all these parts in gestalt mode that aren't used in the individual robot modes, but at least they form a jet. Because of the similarity of Devastator's gestalt parts to Defensor's, the jets are essentially the same, minus the color scheme, so my comments on Defensor in that respect also apply to Devastator. I do think that the blue used on Defensor works much better for a jet than the purple and green on Devastator, however.

    Like pretty much all of the Micromasters, the Micromaster Constructicons have pretty good vehicle modes, but rather misproportioned, odd robot modes. The gestalt form is quite a bit better than Defensor, and I do love the unified color schemes, but asking about $25 U.S. total for what basically amounts to a deluxe-sized toy is still a bit much, even is that toy splits into six different robots. Still, if you like little Transformers, or Constructicons, than I'd recommend it-- otherwise, though, your money is better spent elsewhere.

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Review by Beastbot

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