TransFormers: Masterpiece/Binaltech


	BT-01 Smokescreen This Autobot tactician is the first of the new, larger, more detailed (and even officially licensed from the motor companies) range of TransFormers, based on characters from Gen 1. Back then, Smokescreen was a variation on the Bluestreak/Prowl model, with a racing car paintjob. Now, he's a very impressive Subaru Impreza with lots of rally sponsorship decoration. Hugely more complicated than the original (but actually surprisingly similar), this Binaltech version of Smokescreen is very poseable, and his gun folds up and acts as his engine in car mode. The only thing he's lacking, in comparison to Gen 1 Smokescreen is the shoulder-mounted missile launcher. Very satisfying in both robot and vehicle modes (the front wheels are linked, so you can 'steer'), transforming between the two can be a bit fiddly, and it's awkward to get some bits to fit back together. It's strange that the first model is still the best (with the possible exception of Streak, who's very similar), but there's no indication of how many Binaltechs Takara will produce, so I may yet be surprised.
	BT-02 Lambor/Sideswipe One of the original Autobot warriors, Sideswipe is the second TransFormer to get the Binaltech treatment. Sideswipe used to be a Lamborghini Countach (hence the original Japanese name 'Lambor'), but now he's been re-imagined as an open-top Dodge Viper, and altogether curvier, more sultry car. With a much simpler transformation that Smokescreen (albeit not without complications), Sideswipe looks good in car form, but a little pudgy in robot form. His legs are a bit of a disappointment, and I'm really not sure about the windscreen taking up so much of his body area. Also, the rear of the car (which is actually plastic, rather than die-cast metal, and sports the number plate 'SIDE*SWP' with the Autobot logo in place of the star) and the bonnet are pretty redundant in robot mode, and just hang from his back. Considering the look of the back of the car, I would have preferred to see it act as a missile launcher, which could clip onto his shoulders. As for the car bonnet... well, it looks like he's wearing a coat with tails. Not a terrible model, by a long shot, but the head looks too cartoonish.
	BT-03 Streak Another remake of an original series Autobot, this is the gunner known as Streak. Back in the days of Generation 1, he was known as Bluestreak (despite being silver or silver and black - only the original Diaclone model was blue), and the American Alternator is known as Silverstreak... because he's silver, I guess. Essentially the same as Smokescreen, above, but with some nice, albeit subtle, differences. Both are Subaru Imprezas, but Streak is the everyday, 'street' version of the car, so he has all the headlights, a remodelled grille, the smaller spoiler and a heated rear windscreen. In robot mode, the differences become more apparent, because he has an entirely different head (with a subtly golden hue to his 'helmet'. His gun is exactly the same as Smokescreen's, apart from the colour scheme, and he has only one Autobot insigna on his left shoulder, with none on his right. There is one on his numberplate, though. At the back the numberplate reads 'SLV*STRK', with the Autobot insignia in place of the star. As mentioned, the head is not a duplicate of Smokescreen's, giving him a very individual appearance.
	BT-04 Hound The Autobots' scout, and one of the few who prefers Earth to home, Hound has always been an awkward looking model because his car mode is a jeep. The original had whopping great feet, whereas this one has tiny, awkward looking feet, stick-thin legs and a huge upper body. The proportions of Binaltech Hound are better than Gen 1 Hound, but he's still not one of the best lookers. Transformation is pretty easy, though the higher proportion of plastic parts (whatever happened to the whole 'die-cast' side of Binaltech? Each model seems to have less metal than its predecessor) mean it feels rather fragile at certain points. Worse still, they've chosen to use soft PVC for some parts (the steering wheel, gearstick and, criminally, the wing mirrors) so it doesn't feel very sturdy. Like Lambor, the legs are disappointing - the thighs are hollow(!) and the shins are very thin. He looks OK from the side, because his legs look more solid. Jeep mode has no steering, due to the arrangement of pieces, but it does have excellent suspension, for that 'off road' feel. Oh, and Hound's head - like Lambor's - looks too cartoonish.
	BT-05 Dead End Originally I had intended to ignore the Decepticon Binaltech models, largely on the strength of this one. Sure, it should have been Sunstreaker, but I just don't like Dead End as this car, and the modifications to the car mode make for a more awkard looking robot. The original Dead End was the manic depressive Stunticon, a burgundy Porsche barely bigger than some mini-Autobots, which formed part of the gestalt Menasor. Now he's separated from the Stunticons, and stuck in a Dodge Viper Competition Coupe. Transformation is exactly the same as Lambor, but the chest doesn't stick together as well because there's nothing to fasten it with. The colour scheme is great, and the paintwork seems much more extensive than on Lambor, but it's still 'Evil Sunstreaker' rather than Dead End. With the same transformation comes the same list of complaints about posability, but that's mainly in the legs. The head is an obvious homage to Sunstreaker, but it also looks a bit too 1940s Sci-Fi crossed with Samurai helmet for my liking. Perhaps it would have looked better in Sunstreaker colours...
	BT-06 Tracks Another Autobot warrior, but always too vain to do any fighting, in case his paintwork is scratched. The original Tracks had quite a simple transformation and used the top of the car for his chest (almost like one of the mini Autobots, Cliffjumper or Bumblebee, for example). This one... well, everything is simple enough except the legs, which are incredibly difficult to transform back to vehicle mode. He's almost the reverse of Gen 1 Tracks, in that the robot is literally back-to-front, and they've added a fake car roof to his chest to make him look more like the original. The front portion and doors are die-cast metal, and the rear is all plastic, but the paint job is so good, there's no visible difference. In fact, liberal use of metallic painwork make Tracks look as if he's almost entirely die-cast, even in robot mode. The yellow version appeared to use a much lighter metallic paint on the chest, arms and legs so, to me, this blue version is better all round. The legs and feet are quite awkward for posing purposes, as are the elbow joints, but he's still reasonably dynamic. Tracks' head sculpt is much better than I'd expected - it seemed flatter than it actually is - but I'm still not convinced about the colour scheme.
	BT-08 Meister/Jazz Easily the coolest of all the Autobots, Meister (aka Jazz) was an excellent choice for a Binaltech makeover... But I'm going to be really controversial now, and say that I don't think Meister is as good as Smokescreen or Silverstreak. My reasons are than the legs and the simplified transformation of the arms simpler, just don't look as good. Personally, I actually found the legs more complicated than on BT-01/03... simpler in that they do what they're supposed to without too much effort, but the whole 'rotate the legs at the hips, then rotate the feet at the ankle' seems like overengineering, if it was only to combat the problem some people seem to have had deciding what constituted an 'upright position' for the legs. On the upside, he is probably more posable because of all of this, and the tilting 'toes' do make the feet look better. One interesting feature is that the gun comes from the exhaust system rather than the engine... and it really doesn't convince... or even fit his hands properly. Meister's head is quite good, serving both as a homage to and an update of the look of the original Meister/Jazz. The clear blue visor seems to come a touch too far down his nose, but that may just be my opinion...
	BT-09 Swindle Swindle, being the only Decepticon Jeep I can remember, was more or less a no-brainer for sneaking into the Binaltech project. There are a couple of changes between Hound and Swindle, mostly cosmetic, and the problems of Hound remain - soft plastic for the wing mirrors and steering wheel. Overall, Binaltech Swindle got a great deal with the Wrangler. Originally, he was a short, stubby little thing with crap arms. According to hints in the story, this body was originally intended for Trailbreaker (which explains the head), but is now a weird mustard yellow rather than classic black. It's mildly disappointing to find that Swindle - the munitions expert - has no extra weapons, only a black version of Hound's weedy handgun. Might have been nice to add something else, but I guess the Jeep company didn't want to add any cannon mounts to the vehicle mode... and very sensible too. The head sculpt is far better than Hound's, and probably among the best in the series so far.
	BT-10 Grimlock What else could the Dinobot leader become, but the latest incarnation of the very definition of the 'American muscle car'? A nigh perfect model Ford Mustang 2005 (the seams in the bonnet and rear window are the only real hint that this isn't just a model car), and what coule be the most impressive and posable Binaltech model to date. Transformation is hideously complicated and overengineered, probably to reduce its impact on the look of the car. Yes, the doors will pop off as you switch between modes, but it looks as though that was the intention, because the potential for scratching is huge at that point. Yes, the arms and head are very difficult to transform, but that's the price you pay for such a fantastic display piece (in either mode). The car's engine changes into Grimlock's gun, and his Energo-Sword is stashed on the underside of the car (which becomes a kind of cape in robot mode). I'm a little dubious about the fit of both weapons in his hands, but it's nothing terrible. The head is a real high point, and is possibly the best of the lot so far. There is absolutely no mistaking Grimlock. By comparison, I'm really starting to dislike Meister's head...
	BT-12 Overdrive Another one I intended to avoid originally, because the transformation and paintjob are eerily reminiscent of Lambor crossed with Tracks. Bizarrely, though, it works quite well. While this is an officially licensed model Honda S2000, the packaging has no Honda logos because of some legal wrangling about Overdrive's gunbarrel/axle. The Alternator has no gunbarrel, the Binaltech has no Honda markings on the box... And I think the Binaltech is the better of the two... even if the gunbarrel is unfeasibly long. Transformation is FAR simpler than Lambor/Dead End but, while there are still some posablilty issues with the legs, they're nowhere near as bad as with the Dodge Vipers. Particularly impressive is the way the rear of the car becomes the arms and the chest - it's fairly simple, but much more elegant than I'd expected, having seen many photos. The engine-and-axle gun isn't so elegant, however. The barrel is just too long, and the length of the engine means part must be angled upward for it to fit properly when posing the arms. On the upside, the head sculpt is very good, and a good update on the original Omnibot's head.
	BT-13 Laserwave Somehow, they made the Meister mold even more cool. The Mazdaspeed version of the RX-8 would probably have been the more appropriate for Meister, on the whole, but it's amazing how well it works for Decepticon Military Operations Commander. The colour is bang on, and robot mode really screams 'Shockwave' (or 'Laserwave', or 'Shockblast'). Transformation is exactly like Meister but, while the cars are quite similar (the only real differences being the larger opening in the front end and the spoiler on the back), robot modes are very clearly different, even though the physical differences are minor. As usual, Laserwave's left arm is mounted with a gun, rather than a hand. He has the same rifle as Meister, but it can be attached to his gun arm and used as a power-up. The head is a masterwork. Not only is it a very accurate rendition of Shockwave's head, but it's a huge improvement on the simplistic and blocky original. It's even better than Energon Laserwave, particularly because it keeps the light-piping (so his eye appears to glow without the need for batteries).
	BT-14 Wheeljack Yet another I wasn't going to bother with. I got this one and Dead End at a discount and, having transformed both, started to wonder why I didn't snap them up immediately. Wheeljack's head was the sticking point for me (that, and the fact that the G1 character really didn't seem to suit the heavy Grimlock mold) but, like Tracks, the three dimensional reality is FAR better than the photos I've seen online. The only difference between Grimlock's Ford Mustang and this one - the Mustang GT Street Tuning - is that two of the headlamps are blacked out, and he has a rather fetching black spoiler. This mold's transformation is very complex, but I can manage it reasonably well these days. I'd read many complains about weak joints on this model, but I can happily report that the hips and arms are nice and strong, so posing is very easy. The hips are actually so tight that I more often manage to accidentally shift the chest out of place before getting the hips to move. The colourscheme, also, is much better than I thought, and not so garish. Many people would have preferred Wheeljack's original green and red paintwork, but I think the simple blue stripes suit him well. I'm not sure why he has a sword like Grimlock's (only blue) but Wheeljack was always the weaponsmith, so he can easily make his own excuses. The head mold - like Tracks' - is much less flat than most photos seem to imply. My only complaint is that the whole back is silver, which seems like a lazy job of painting to me... so I may correct it.
	BT-16 Skids Not exactly the most prominent Gen 1 character, Skids has gone from being a compact 4-seater to a rather bulky people mover. Transformation is the typical, complicated Binaltech process and, I must report, this is the first model I've bought where the paint has chipped following transformation. Only a little on the doors - barely noticable unless looked for - but still very annoying. Unfortunately, the Hasbro/Alternator Skids has rather silly-looking sparkly windows and a terribly 'street' flaming wheel icon on his sides, which don't really add to his appearance. This is also the first Binaltech I've picked up which has loose ball joints - his ankles - which can make posing very tricky. Still, these points aside, it's another excellent model. While the car is quite ugly and boxy, it makes for a very impressive robot... though his gun is exceptionally weak-looking. The head mold is also quite bland - much more like the cartoon Skids than the original Gen 1 model.