Friday, January 29, 2010

Human Alliance Barricade

Took a day off to go to the doctor earlier in the week, and I found this guy.

He's pretty cool. Doesn't quite have that knock-your-socks-off feeling that HA Bumblebee and Skids do, but he's close. And honestly, of the four HA molds available, Barricade is the one that "suffers" the least from having to incorporate the Human Alliance gimmick, e.g., having a functional interior. He doesn't have that hollow feel that BB and Skids to, nor does he wear his entire alt mode on his back like Sideswipe does. Actually, he really does just seem like an improved, large version of the deluxe mold from 2007. Which is good, because that mold is actually fairly lackluster for a deluxe (no head movement, hair-trigger "punching" gimmick in left arm, other wise restricted articulation).

Another reason he feels a bit different from the other HAs is the fact that he doesn't come with a person. His partner, Frenzy, really is simply an updated version of the Frenzy accessory from the 2007 Barricade deluxe. This time, though, he's even more of an Action Master, seeing as how he doesn't even turn into Barricade's grill. Also, in addition to all the expected "ride on the robot" gimmick placements for Frenzy, he can also completely and invisibly stow in either Barricade's robot or car mode - just like the 2007 version does, in Barricade's engine.

Anyway, pretty cool toy. Really, one of the best HAs yet, even if it gets to be called that by doing things a bit differently.

Also, news:



Our good buddy Huffer reappears, along with the first look at one of the five-member Power Core Combiner teams. Apparently, the smaller, Huffer-style 2 packs can interchangeably combine with the larger, Scramble City-style sets. Awesome. By the way, the 5-member combiner is most likely Bruticus.

Also of interest is a deluxe mold version of Movie Ironhide, which is nice, because he can hang out with the upcoming ROTF deluxe Ratchet. ROTF also will see the long-asked-for update of the G1 character Seaspray, the Autobot hovercraft. His ROTF incarnation is a voyager class toy (clearly larger than the original minibot) and much more buff/aggressive looking. Also, his hovercraft alt mode appears able to transport scout class toys in vehicle mode (I foresee a lot of folks slapping ROTF Beachcomber on his back - it only seems natural).

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