Transformers Reviews

Sentinel Prime

January 10, 2009 11:23 am Ryan Animated, Deluxe, Toy Reviews

Hey! It’s one of my very, very few Transformer toys that doesn’t have bi/trilingual packaging. That’s because this one was a lovely xmas gift from my wife’s relatives in the US. It’s interesting that you guys get the character bio on the card, rather than on the instruction sheet down there (I really wish it was on the instruction sheet for all of them, because it’s easier to hang on to that than on to the card or box). But hey, enough about the packaging, it’s time to talk about the Tick Sentinel Prime! (Feel free to hum the Tick’s theme song while you read this. I’m humming it while I type.)

Scale is not Sentinel’s friend here. He’s about the same size as all the wheeled deluxes, which means he’s either really small or everyone else is really big. Still, it’s a nice vehicle design, and at this time of year, a suitable one around here (I have yet to find a way to convince him to clear the road in front of my apartment - Hasbro, this would make a great gimmick for a future toy!). It captures the Animated design quite well, feels fairly solid, and has nearly no robot kibble showing. It’s a fun altmode, with a good roll to it, a plow that can be angled like a real snowplow would, and a mounting point so that you can store his weapons on the roof (which, admittedly, doesn’t really look very good). You can even sort-of kind-of get a V shaped plow by splitting the plow, if that’s your kind of thing.

Transformation from Snowplow to Robot

Lift the roof/window section of the truck (which does not include the windshield, oddly enough) and shift it back, pegging it in place over the bed of the truck. This will expose the thighs and pelvis of the robot, which can be shifted up and out to move the bed and roof of the truck (i.e., the feet and calves) further out.
Free the pegs holding the front doors to the front fenders (I find pulling the doors back slightly does the trick, but I haven’t found a good way to do it without putting an uncomfortable level of force into it), and swing the arms out and around and peg the back wheels into the front wheels.
Stand him up, separate the legs, pose the arms and head and such. Feel free to peg his lance and shield into his enormous hands.
Separate the halves of the plow to their maximum extend (there’s a double swivel joint facilitating this) and swing them over his shoulders to his chest.
SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

Sentinel’s a fairly beefy guy, it seems. He stands pretty easily for such a top-heavy guy (the big feet help, as do the hams on the ends of his arms that can be used for balance. The proportions suit him, and the inspiration is fairly obvious (big guy, blue, antennae, huge chin, hmm…). He’s got a good amount of articulation, and manages to be rather kibble-light (and what there is, is done well). I love the face sculpt, and the painted eyes actually work better than I think proper lightpiping would have (the mold includes it, but the lightpipe was done in black plastic). I never really use that feature anyways. Deco-wise, he’s still mostly blue, with his big orange plow grabbing a lot of attention against the fairly dark blue. It’s a nice contrast, even if he does look like he belongs at a hockey game (hey, how about next time he scans a Zamboni?). There’s a ton of paint applications, and I’m struggling to figure out where one might be missing for show accuracy (I almost suggested the grey circles near his knees, but there’s a screw there, so close enough). Heck, he’s even got tricolour weapons, which is pretty unusual (and welcome!). Translucent plastic for the weapons would be nice (it’s pretty much standard for energy based weapons, it seems), but he’s already got orange, black, grey, and blue plastic, so asking for a fifth plastic colour on a deluxe might be pushing it a bit.

Articulation Breakdown

Head - fairly limited ball joint, slightly mobile antennae
Arms - triple swivel shoulders (one is ratcheted, and is quite stiff), swivel elbows
Legs - ball joint hips, swivel knees

Score

Deco: Rating: . If I had a double of him, he’d have an Oilers logo on him already.
Posability: Rating: . There’s a couple of poses I’d like to be able to do that his arms just can’t accomodate, but he’s well articulated (if not necessarily articulate) and still a ton of fun.
Transformation: Rating: . I like it, it has a lot of interesting quirks to get things where they need to be (like getting all four wheels onto the shoulders), and a minimum of cheating (until they give us flexible plastic to get the chest bending to happen). I’ll give him 5 stars when I can figure out how to get his doors unpegged from his fenders without looking for a flying peg.
Sentinality: Rating: . They captured this perfectly. He looks like a bully, and the sneer on his face is almost perfect (I’d have preferred a smug expression rather than a contemptuous one, but that’s just my preference). The fact that he’s the size of Bumblebee just adds to the hilarity.
Vehicle Mode: Rating: . It’s got what you need in a good vehicle mode - it looks like what it should, and it rolls well. The plow angling action is a super surprise, as well.
Robot Mode: Rating: . Tons of detail, accurate to the show and to the character, and it’s a ton of fun. If you have trouble balancing him, try shifting that massive chin around - it might be what’s keeping him off centre.

Overall, Overall Rating: . He’s dynamic, he’s fun, and man am I glad I got this guy. If you like the character, get him. If you don’t like the character, well, something is probably seriously wrong with you. I recommend some sort of sense-of-humour implant.

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