Death's Head
07-12-11, 06:23 PM
The last of two original designs– as well as one of the last two figures released for the Alternators line, Rumble was another interesting addition to the ranks of the Alternators Decepticons. I say interesting, but really it just amused me that whilst the Autobots got some of their key players represented – Prowl, Grimlock, Hound – the Decepticons just had Shockwave followed by erm, Dead End, Swindle, Ravage and Rumble. Hardly the stuff of nightmares, but there you have it.
So Rumble is, amusingly, an agreeable family saloon car; The Honda Civic Si. It’s not a bad looking thing, but its one of those glib squirts that passes for car design these days. At least its not silver. The detailing is good, plus there’s steering and the doors, bonnet and boot open too. I know! It’s like Christmas isn’t it? Rumble tootles around quite nicely in this mode thank you very much, with only the usual inanity of the license plate (it says Rumble on it) to spoil things.
Switching Rumble to robot mode is, like Swindle, an easy task. Both Rumble and Ravage II are marked by their simplicity. Whether this was a response to some of the needless complexity that had crept into the line or , in Rumble’s case, due to the gimmick of the robot mode. Either way, the most fiddly part of Rumble is assembling the legs. The arms just split from the back of the vehicle and a flick of a couple of tabs reveal not arms, but Rumble’s pile drivers – as seen, lest we forget, in the 1980s cartoon.
The robot mode is good, but cluttered. The doors hanging off Rumble’s hips get in the way of the arms and also cause some restriction of movement to the legs. The weapons that are formed from the engine block are also a bit surplus to requirements and are just there to give Rumble something of a similar silhouette to his original toy – which is noticeably reflected in the chest design which carries over the cassette motif. The head sculpt is great and the overall idea of the figure is sound. However, the pile driver arms do tend to just dangle around, and whilst its nice to have a bit of variety in the line, it does serve to make the robot mode a little awkward looking. Particularly as he couldn’t really do much pile driving with those arms – they’re just too short. The other noticeable failing of the robot mode is in the ankles. Rather than use ratchet joints, Rumble has his feet on ball joints which extend on a short axle. The end result is a figure that’s prone to toppling over as the ankles struggle to support the weight of the toy.
Despite the flaws, Rumble is a welcome addition to the Alternators ranks. Primarily because he’s a Decepticon and therefore makes up for the criminal shortfall in villains for the line (don’t car manufacturers know that bad guys are cool?) and just because his robot mode is a little unconventional by Transformers standards. I just wish he’d stand up.
12571258
So Rumble is, amusingly, an agreeable family saloon car; The Honda Civic Si. It’s not a bad looking thing, but its one of those glib squirts that passes for car design these days. At least its not silver. The detailing is good, plus there’s steering and the doors, bonnet and boot open too. I know! It’s like Christmas isn’t it? Rumble tootles around quite nicely in this mode thank you very much, with only the usual inanity of the license plate (it says Rumble on it) to spoil things.
Switching Rumble to robot mode is, like Swindle, an easy task. Both Rumble and Ravage II are marked by their simplicity. Whether this was a response to some of the needless complexity that had crept into the line or , in Rumble’s case, due to the gimmick of the robot mode. Either way, the most fiddly part of Rumble is assembling the legs. The arms just split from the back of the vehicle and a flick of a couple of tabs reveal not arms, but Rumble’s pile drivers – as seen, lest we forget, in the 1980s cartoon.
The robot mode is good, but cluttered. The doors hanging off Rumble’s hips get in the way of the arms and also cause some restriction of movement to the legs. The weapons that are formed from the engine block are also a bit surplus to requirements and are just there to give Rumble something of a similar silhouette to his original toy – which is noticeably reflected in the chest design which carries over the cassette motif. The head sculpt is great and the overall idea of the figure is sound. However, the pile driver arms do tend to just dangle around, and whilst its nice to have a bit of variety in the line, it does serve to make the robot mode a little awkward looking. Particularly as he couldn’t really do much pile driving with those arms – they’re just too short. The other noticeable failing of the robot mode is in the ankles. Rather than use ratchet joints, Rumble has his feet on ball joints which extend on a short axle. The end result is a figure that’s prone to toppling over as the ankles struggle to support the weight of the toy.
Despite the flaws, Rumble is a welcome addition to the Alternators ranks. Primarily because he’s a Decepticon and therefore makes up for the criminal shortfall in villains for the line (don’t car manufacturers know that bad guys are cool?) and just because his robot mode is a little unconventional by Transformers standards. I just wish he’d stand up.
12571258