Haslab Transformers Victory Saber
Shipper box
The box is pretty massive, spanning 18.75 x 12.5 x 5.5 inches in dimension.
Beautiful box layout!
Amazingly, the box features a reversible slipcover so folks can display the box in it’s Japanese boxart display.
The set comes with a huge cardboard poster.
Trays
2 pairs of green effects parts are included with this set.
Micromaster Holi
Leader of the young Rescue Patrol Micromaster team, Holi loves to hang out with his buddy, Jan Minakaze and goof off all day.
Holi is a redeco of Siege Micromaster Stakeout
Micromaster Fire
Just like fellow Rescue Patrol member, Holi, Fire likes to hang out with their human friend Jan and goof off all day at Autobot HQ during downtimes.
Fire is a redeco of Siege Micromaster Red Heat. He, along with Holi, were unlocked as a part of the third tier for Star Saber, at 20,000 backers.
Similar to their previously released Siege molds, they can be combined to form the Binerboost Salvage Blaster. This mode is not mentioned in this set’s manual (lol.. I wonder why).
Unfortunately, Star Saber can’t hold onto the Binerboost Salvage Blaster due to his forearm design.
Thankfully, the super weapon fits good and well on Victory Leo.
Star Saber
To eject or connect Saber from V-Star, remember to press down on this red button to unlock the figure.
Brain of Courage
Star Saber’s Brainmaster is called the “Brain of Courage”. The Brainmasters were created in “reverse” to the older Headmasters technology, where full sized-Transformers now transfer their consciousness into a small, Micromaster Transtector bodies to conserve Energon. An unexpected side-effect of this transfer grants them “Brain Power”, which greatly boosts their courage, strength, skill and intelligence stats while they are in Brainmaster form.
The Brainmaster figure stands less than an inch tall. He’s also a bit difficult to balance out due to his large “face backpack”. I recommend raising the arms up a bit to help him stand.
lol…
Saber (jet mode)
Brain of Courage can fit inside jet mode Saber’s c0ckpit no problem.
Brain Set!
Saber (robot mode)
When the Brain of Courage combines with the front section of the V-Star, Saber comes forth!
Saber stands roughly 4.75 inches tall.
Man… I don’t recall Saber being this small. Bumblebee/ Cliffjumper sized?
The front nosecone becomes Saber’s shield.
Saber Laser rifle
V-Star
Star Saber’s shield can be mounted on the back portion of the V-Star.
Docked with Saber
Star Saber’s sword blade can be hidden into a slot on the V-Star.
A flight stand is included for the V-Star.
Flight stand configured for V-Star mode.
V-Star in Fire Base battle station mode.
The shield fits in VERY poorly for the Fire Base station, it just falls down with the slightest touch. I wish they designed this better.
You can plug effects parts onto the hard points on Saber’s shoulders.
Battle Up!
Star Saber
Known throughout the cosmos as the “Greatest Swordsman in the Universe”, Star Saber’s spark burns with a strong sense of justice, tempered by his calm demeanor. Succeeding God Ginrai, this brave Autobot Commander highly values all life, often risking his own, as he strives to stop the menacing Decepticons once and for all.
Aside from his duties as Autobot Commander, Star Saber also serves leader of the Galactic Defense Forces Sector One Unit.
During down times, Star Saber occasionally walks around Autobot headquarters with his helmet stored on his back.
Some folks received their copies with damaged chrome on Star Saber’s chest, mainly due to the way the ties were holding him down in the box. Mine has some too, but it’s not too terrible. If you get a really bad unit, Toyhax.com has chromed stickers to fix the issue.
Star Saber features an interesting concept for his hands, opening the hands will tuck the port for his weapons into the wrist. We first saw this gimmick back with Commander Class Siege Jetfire.
Unlike the G1 toy, Star Saber features rocker ankles this time around. It won’t get much range but it’s something.
Surprisingly, the figure actually features an ab crunch joint.
With Earthrise Optimus Prime.
Star Saber stands roughly 10 inches tall.
Shield
Star Saber’s shield can either be held by his hand…
Or it can be clipped onto the side of his forearms.
You can also recreate Star Saber “sheathing” his sword into the shield from the Japanese G1 cartoons.
Saber Laser rifle
Saber Blade
It’s a real shame the blade is just painted silver and not chromed.
If you’re having trouble inserting the blade, make sure the blue part is pushed back into the handle. This is achieved by pulling on the sword handle.
Similar to the G1 toy, you can store his weapons by pegging them into his back.
The sword can also be pegged onto Star Saber’s hips when it’s not in use.
Victory Leo
God Ginrai, the former Autobot Commander and Star Saber’s closest friend (aka “Powermaster Optimus Prime”), is mortally wounded following an attack by Deathsaurus’ Living-Metal-Destroying Cannon. Choosing to still be of use to the Autobot cause rather than just waste away in stasis lock, he undergoes an experimental procedure that will grant him a new body and allow him to combine with Star Saber.
As Victory Leo, God Ginrai’s personality is nearly fully erased, leaving only traces of his old memories. When he first emerges from the procedure, Victory Leo is trapped in in his beast mode. Confused and extremely feral, he poses a dangerous threat to friend and foe alike. It was only when the young boy, Jan Minakaze’s life was in danger, did the wild Autobot fully wake up.
With Earthrise Optimus Prime
With his best bud, Star Saber.
Victory Leo stands roughly 7.5 inches tall (10 inches counting the tips of the V-Lock Rifles).
Optional stickers are included for Victory Leo’s rear wings.
Sheesh I really hate seeing the hollow spaces on the V-Lock Rifles…
The V-Lock Rifles can be mounted on his forearms.
Hip gatling guns.
V-Lock Cannon
The V-Lock Cannon can also be clipped onto Victory Leo’s hips to recreate his classic toy look.
Victory Leo in beast mode
Victory Leo in flight mode
Docked with Star Saber to form Victory Saber in flight mode.
While you can use the flight stand for the combined jets, it feels wobbly due to all the weight involved. Hopefully, the stand won’t warp over time if you plan to display them like this.
Victory Saber
The combined form of Star Saber and Victory Leo, Star Saber’s speed and power are greatly augmented in this form. Unfortunately, this power boost comes at a cost, due to Victory Leo’s violent personality, Star Saber becomes less focused and more prone to lashing out in rage.
The set is marks the second Haslab Transformers Crowd-funded project following Unicron.
Victory Saber stands roughly 13 inches.
To make sure which foot goes where, the gatling guns on Victory Leo should be facing outwards.
The V-Lock Cannon can be stowed away on Victory Saber’s back.
Do note that Victory Saber does NOT have any ankle articulation.
Also note that, thanks to the design on Star Saber’s shoulders, there are some limits to the range of articulation with respect to the wings getting in the way of the shoulder posts.
You can use the flight stand for Victory Saber to make him more stable but note that it has very, very limited clearance for the platform, so you might end up scraping the yellow paint on the “V”.
You will also need the attachment accessory to plug into Victory Saber.
The effects parts plug into the V-Lock Rifles, as well as the Saber Rifle and V-Lock Cannon.
The whole boxset
Overall, I like it. The set is very nice and comes together really well, with all of its fine details and extras, even right down to the box.The box design is very unique and I love how it came out. I’m also glad Hasbro didn’t crank the price too high on this set. The figures look great and the combined mode doesn’t feel too clunky. The bonus Mircomasters are a nice addition too. I can honestly say I’m happy with this set.
I can’t say I like some of the design choices though (the hollow V-Lock rifles and cannon for one). There are also reports of quality control issues that are a bit alarming (damaged chest chrome and erroneous leg panels on Star Saber), so best to inspect your copies right away.
Also, according to the TF Wiki site, a large batch of this set meant for the Taiwanese market encountered an accident during shipping and were all water damaged. Resulting in those orders being fully refunded and customers were given “A Hero is Born” sets as compensation. EU retailer also cancelled orders in some parts. Very strange. This all results in this set being harder to get in the aftermarket I think.
Gold
