Transformers Maketoy Battle Tanker armor – trailer for G2 Optimus Prime
Twist ties on the tray? Impressive idea.
Originally mistaken for a Fansproject spinoff company, Maketoy is relative a brand new company that makes third party TF toys.
Their first offering is the Battle Tanker upgrade set for Generation 2 Optimus Prime from the Generations/United series.
Now right off the bat, you will notice that there will be modifications needed for the set to work. Very, very annoying.
Changing the “waist plate” so that the armor plate will fit better. I have no idea why they didn’t just work the armor plate to fit the default waist plate.
Head swapping –FATAL FLAW ALERT!!!!!!!!
The peg hole for the Battle Tanker head is insanely small!!!!! Do not force the hole onto the peg or the joint will break and you will have to find another G2 Prime figure!
The manual states that you have to dip the head in hot water to make it soft and malleable to fit the joint. Sure, that takes care of one problem but then how will you swap the head back to the default one afterwards?
The problem is so glaring that Maketoy is releasing an upgrade/repair kit for broken necks.
http://www.maketoys.jp/headparts.htmlWhether this will be free or sold seperately, I have no idea. But it sucks either way though if you broke the neck the first time.
I opted to just carve the damn hole bigger using a screwdriver! Problem solved. Just be careful not to use a screwdriver that’s too big, or the hole won’t fit properly onto the ball joint.
Try using a small screwdriver first to carve the hole and gradually increase the screwdriver size to find the proper fit.
Ta-dah! Whew! That was a lot of unnecessary hard work, if they only designed the toy better.
Now, additional parts for G2 Prime….
It’s a definite improvement over the awkward looking Deluxe figure.
Twin cannons!!!
The “backpack” houses the battery for the light up laser sword. It actually reminds me of the Ghostbuster’s Proton pack and Neutrino Wand.
An alternate blade is included for the crest.
G2 Deluxe Prime’s default Laser Sword can also be stored onto the backpack.
Apart from all this, there’s another Sword included, the sword is an exclusive to first run units. be careful though as this sword is packed separately from the accessory tray and in a tiny plastic bag. Mine fell on the floor when I was opening up the set. Good thing my wife saw it or I would’ve missed it completely.
Now, last but not least, the Trailer weapons array, get ready for more hell….
FATAL FLAW ALERT PART TWO!!!!!!!!You have to rotate the entire section here. The arrowhead should be pointing upwards when going into weapons mode. Rotating the set is impossible!! The lock is too tight!
So the likely fix is to unscrew the halves of the plastic and rotate. Sigh…..
Note the TWO screw holes.
Finally!!! Suit up!!
Now, using the United version of G2 Optimus Prime.
Trailer mode
Overall, even with the negatives, I still like it, the look of the figure is solid, and compliments the G2 Optimus very well, even in trailer weapons mode. But certain parts of it was just damn harder than necessary (the headswapping and trailer transform). So you will need to be very, very mindful of how to approach the problems.
On a side note, I would recommend using the Japan TF United version of G2 Optimus as the Hasbro version has a problem with it’s right shoulder (there’s a piece of plastic getting in the way) and limits the articulation (and the fun factor)… a LOT!
Additional pics.
Hmmm…. Even with the Armor, Prime is still shorter than the Voyager mold.
Addendum
Transformers Maketoy Battle Tanker G2 Optimus replacement head
This head is meant to replace the one that came with the Battle Tanker. As most folks who bought the set know, the head was a tight fit and easily snapped the ball-joint peg off the G2 Optimus Prime figure. Make Toy finally rolled out a replacement piece which now uses a screw to open the head into halves instead, along with a peg for the G2 Optimus body in case you snapped yours off. But attaching the peg will require one to drill into the damaged toy. Sheesh. Beats nothing I suppose…
Gold
