As promised, here are some pics of KO Sunstorm, this time with natural lighting. As always, click to enlarge.
My name is Sunstorm. And I am funky.
Despite my offering for redemption, you still posed me against the backdrop of a Chinese mountain!
"I'm Sunstorm!" "No, I'm Sunstorm!"
We are ONE
Puny flesh creatures!
The most exciting knock-off that I’ve been waiting for finally arrived in the mail today. Sunstorm! He’s a knock-off/repaint of Hasbro’s Classics Starscream. The biggest difference with this KO is that it’s a character that fans have been clamoring for that hasn’t been, thus far, released in this line by either Takara or Hasbro. Sunstorm’s appearances in Transformers G1 fiction have been limited, but he has become a fan-favorite over the last few years.
Sunstorm's IMDB credits are just as extensive as Hauler's
After years of just being a one-off character/possible animation error, Sunstorm was brought to life more fully in the 2000’s by Dreamwave comics.
Textbook example of taking a level
This story arc firmly solidified Sunstorm in the Transformers mythos. If you’re curious about the backstory, check the TF Wiki. Fans have waited for Hasbro to re-color a Starscream toy so they can finally own a Classics version of their favorite character, but have thus far been left wanting, which left the market wide open to KO makers. Of course, the question you may be asking yourself is “do I want to take a chance on a Sunstorm made by Chinese KO makers?
The answer, I believe, is yes.
Let’s have a look:
Ah, the pretty packaging!
As you can see from the in-package photo, this Sunstorm comes from the CHMS mold. The packaging is clearly taking a page from the Takara Henkei line. If there actually had been a legitimate Takara Sunstorm made, the packaging would give away the KO status of the toy. CHMS is clearly marked on the top right of the card and on the left of the blister over the “Transformers” logo. Also, the card-art is blurred and a bit smaller than the real deal would be. Packaging tends to be a little neater than the other Seeker KOs in circulation right now. The toy comes bundled with launchers and a ziplock baggie with instruction sheet and character collector’s card. There are only two twisted ties around the body of the airplane. (The other mold also has ties around the wing tips.)
Sunstorm in jet mode
Here we see Sunstorm in his F-15 jet mode. Unlike many of the KO seekers out there today, Sunstorm fits together quite well in jet mode. The piece directly behind the cockpit is a little bit difficult to fit in, but it does snap together (and quite tightly, at that.) The wings all sit securely. The blasters peg in under the wing, though the pegs are almost too big for the wing mounts. Extreme caution should be used to avoid stress marks.
Now, the question that’s on everybody’s minds… Just how yellow and/or orange is this guy? Judge for yourself.
Who you callin' yella??
As you can see here, Sunstorm falls somewhere in the middle of Classics Bumblebee and Solar Storm Grapple. My wife’s immediate response when I asked her the color was “mustard yellow.” I think most fans were looking for something closer to e-Hobby colors, but I have to say, in person, Sunstorm really does look good. Given that there is a recolor that matches the e-Hobby version more closely in the works for later, some fans may choose instead to make Sunstorm their yellow Rainmaker. Witness:
We make it rain!
Now…on to the quality of the figure.
Joints on this one are EXTREMELY tight. In fact, in some places, they’re almost too tight. The feet are one problem area, as they are a pain to fold down. The chest area is a bit difficult to open and then put back together. The nosecone is very stiff. Don’t get me wrong, it can be done, but this figure is built tight! At some points, I became worried about putting stress marks on the joints and at times outright breaking it. To my great relief, nothing broke, so I have a solid figure.
Perhaps the best news is that the launchers peg into the arms VERY tightly. There is no slippage, and they do not fall out on their own. Poseability is the same as any Hasbro/Takara version of this toy. Paint apps are well done. Overall, the figure is very solid, with only the few negatives that I’ve mentioned above. I would, however, recommend that you leave this toy in one mode, as I am not confident that it can hold up to massively repeated transformations. This is a display piece and for collector’s only, and should not be given to kids who are going to want to play with it aggressively.
WE ARE G1!
I will have more outdoor and natural light photos tomorrow!
The announcement trailer for Transformers 3 is out now!
Check it out!
Do you remember, long ago, in the history of Atlanta sports, when Georgia Tech Basketball was elite?
This is pretty much what Tech's whole year has looked like.
It was 2004 when they made it all the way to the NCAA Championship Game. That seems like ages ago now. They have always had one of the top recruiting classes in the country but recently they have been getting one-and-done players like Derrick Favors, Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeous Young.
Back when I was a big UNLV fan in 1990, they played “Lethal Weapon 3,″ coached by legendary coach Bobby Cremins.
Georgia Tech used to be an NBA breeding ground for point guards. Look at the list: Mark Price, Travis Best, Kenny Anderson, “Starbury” and Jarret Jack. They were an exciting team.
After losing to in-state rival Georgia at Alexander Memorial last night that should be the final straw. It is time to fire Paul Hewitt. The program is eroding.
I witnessed them get blown out by Kennesaw State. Seriously? Kennesaw State. Unbelievable.
Here is an idea: Hire Bobby Cremins. Yes I said it. Teams and schools do stuff like this all the time. The Redskins did it with Joe Gibbs. Pepperdine did it with Tom Asbury. The Golden State Warriors did it with Don Nelson. Bobby Cremins was the best coach Georgia Tech ever had. The court is named after him. Do what you have to do to get him here. I would like to see Georgia Tech Basketball go back to the National Powerhouse it used to be.
—Richard Holdridge
Awhile back, I broke the news that Henkei Starscream had been KO’ed and was about to hit the market. I placed an order for it, and it arrived last night.
You may remember me talking earlier about a KO Henkei Thundercracker. I praised this toy very highly, as I felt that it was a very high quality toy–perhaps even higher than the original, and certainly higher than your ordinary KO.
Sadly, I cannot praise Henkei Starscream so highly.
This release is clearly made by the same KO producer. The packaging is very similar, and the subtle “tells” that mark it as a KO are also present on this release.
A closer look at the "tells"
As you can see from the pic, there are several things that can identify this as a KO. First, look at the head, or more specifically, look at the sides of the head. The “vents” on either side of Starscream’s face are unpainted. They are white when they should be black. Also, the notches on the shoulders are too low. I circled an area of concern where the arm connects to the shoulder, because the plastic there has jagged edges and is in really sloppy condition. Also, there are no notches in the kneepads as there should be on an official release. This release also has the same issues as the other two, in which the back and the chest don’t quite fit together in bot mode. Also, Starscream stands with a bit of slump, as he tends to be back-heavy. The paint apps are also a little sloppy in places.
The biggest issue in my mind is the arm blasters. To the best of my recollection, Henkei Starscream did not have loose arm blasters. The KO does. They will fall off if an amoeba farts nearby. This is the deal-breaker between choosing between the KO or the real thing.
Alright, let’s take a look at the packaging. The big tell here is the placement of the collector card, which is squarely in the center, when it should be tucked under the jet. (Thundercracker’s card is to the right. Skywarp’s is also centered.)
Dressed up to fool you!
Here’s the card back.
Am I real or am I not?
Here’s what you see on the side.
Packaging, side view
The worst part about this KO is the jet mode. Because the wings and arms are super floppy, it doesn’t hold together well in this mode. The wings tend to slump, and as mentioned before, the body doesn’t fit together very well.
Make sure you pack your parachute
So the question you’re probably asking is this: should I even bother with it? To answer that, I give you the only reasons you should buy this particular KO:
1.) You already have Henkei Starscream and want to replace him in a display with something that you won’t care if it breaks.
2.) You can get it in a package deal with the other KO Henkei seekers which are much better.
3.) You can’t find the real deal anywhere for a reasonable price and don’t really care about a dip in quality.
4.) You simply have to have every variant of every Seeker that has been, is now being, or ever will be produced.
If that’s not you, then you should probably just stick to the real deal.
In any case, as far as I can tell, no online shops have stocked this KO yet.
Here’s a short gallery:
Decepticons! Retreat!
Droopy legs and floppy wings, don't fail me now!
No, this is not photoshopped. There is a yin-yang symbol formed by trees on the mountain in the background.
Why does my arm feel so loose? And where did this gash on my knee come from?
I recently got in my hot little hands an upcoming Hasbro release, Solar Storm Grapple. Actually, the packaging says “Grappel” but… just no. I can’t bring myself to spell it that way. The figure is set to be released sometime in late 2010 or early 2011.
Grapple is, of course, a modern update of a classic Transformers character. The original looked something like this:
Look ma, one hand!
The old-school Grapple was a redeco and retool of Inferno, a fire-truck Transformer. That hasn’t changed. The new Grapple is a repaint and retool of Universe Inferno. The differences are cosmetic, for the most part. Of course the color is different. Grapple is a rather light orange–in fact, a much lighter orange than portrayed in official Hasbro photos. His emergency lights are amber, as opposed to Inferno’s clear lights. He has a different head, and his arms are rounded to resemble his G1 counterpart, whereas Inferno’s arms are squared.
So… on with the review, shall we? First, let’s take a look at his alt mode:
Here for all your crane-ish needs
The vehicle mode is pretty much no frills. A lot of the outer shell comes from folded up paneling in bot mode, so in some respects, this is really more of a “shell-former.” The deco on the truck mode is pretty slim. A few hazard stripes and little else. Nary an Autobot sigil is to be found on the one I have in either mode. The color is actually pretty ugly. It’s not orange, it’s not yellow, and it’s not pleasing to the eye. Something about the clear plastic windshields doesn’t sit well with me either, as I would’ve preferred something more tinted that doesn’t scream “let me look at your insides!”
Another complaint with the alt mode. It only looks right from the side. If you look from the top, there is a lot of kibble visible.
Look at me guts, boy-o!
Robot mode is a bit better. Thankfully, there’s some black thrown in there to break up all that orange. (There’s no way I’m buying the United version with the orange head.) The figure is a nice nod to G1. The only problem is that the crane makes a rather unwieldy weapon. I’m not even sure what he’s supposed to use it for, but it certainly doesn’t lend itself well to combat. Grapple doesn’t come with any guns either. The crane makes him difficult to pose on a crowded shelf, too.
As far as transformation goes, he is pretty simplistic, perhaps even a little too simplistic for a Voyager class toy. Pretty much all the transformation entails is folding up the shell parts, folding down the legs, folding out the arms and turning up the head. I only encountered one real problem. The head is spring-loaded, so it should pop up immediately, but there is a lip from the clear windshield plastic that catches the neck plate and keeps it from flipping. When transforming to robot mode, I had to really put some force on the plate, and I was very afraid I was going to break him. This, along with the rather average truck form, assures me that in all likelihood, I will not be returning Grapple to vehicle mode.
So, without further adieu, here’s Grapple’s gallery!
"Hauler, pull 'im up!!"
I will rebuild this town!
You think these buildings built themselves?
Yeah, I'm yellow. What of it?
Color comparison shot: Legacy Classics Bumblebee and 2010 Solar Storm Grapple
I was recently able to get my hands on the new Generations Blurr, a modern day version of the original Blurr from Transformers Generation 1. Most people remember Blurr as the fast-talking futuristic race car first seen in 1986’s Transformers: The Movie voiced by John Moschitta (perhaps best known as the Micro-Machine Man.
Here’s how Blurr looked back in the day:
I can run faster than the speed of sound despite having no articulated knees!
While undeniably a cool toy for its time, Blurr was in desperate need of updating for the 21st century. Using the fan-favorite mold that had already been used for not-so-fan-favorite Drift, Hasbro breathed new life into Blurr, with a re-tooled head, new guns and a look inspired by recent IDW comics.
This is how you turn an annoying character into a fan fave.
The new Blurr figure, which is now available at retail, is fully articulated and more poseable than many of his Transformer brethren. He has a wide foot base, which means he can pull off many more tricky poses, including a lot of kicks. His car doors become holsters in robot mold, which hold two blasters, both of which can be stored there in car mode or bot mode. Blurr can either go the guns-a-blazin’ route with the two blasters OR he can use the extremely long sniper rifle with clips onto his robot back/vehicle undercarriage. Blurr’s head is perhaps one of the more striking things about him. One of the oft overlooked features in the design/manufacturing process of Transformers is the eyes. Not on this figure, though. His light blue eyes are almost piercing.
This is a great figure to own. Enjoy the gallery! Click on the pictures to enlarge.
mold brothers for life
Pretending to be Ninja Turtles
We've got Decepticons at the gates, Decepticons in the air, Decepticons inside the walls, Decepticons, Decepticons, Decepticons! If we beat them off the walls, they're still in the air, if we shoot them out of the air, they're still at the gates, so where does that leave us? Nowhere, that's where.
I just received the new KO of Fansproject’s DIA Commander set today. This third party set was developed as an upgrade for Classics Optimus Prime and to homage the original Diaclone colors of Transformers Generation 1 toy Ultra Magnus.
Lately, the knock-offs coming from China have been getting increasingly more and more high quality. This is no exception. This one is copied right down to the box and every piece is high quality. You won’t know you’re getting a knock-off. There’s really no two ways about it. Usually there are tell-tale signs that let you know you’re getting a KO, but as far as I can tell, there aren’t any readily recognizable tells here.
There were no shortcuts taken on the quality of this thing. The stickers are not cheaply made; rather, they are exact and well-cut. The comic/instruction book is fully reproduced on high quality paper. The box is basically the same, and the plastic on the actual kit feels authentic.
For those of you who are considering getting this and putting it on a KO Optimus Prime, I would caution against it. The pieces don’t fit nearly as well on a knock-off as they do on the real deal. This set, like the original, is meant for legit product, as ironic as that may seem. That being said, when the armor is put on a legit Classics Prime, it stays put with no problems.
In fact, there is only really one problem with this kit at all — the shoulder-mounted rocket launchers. The peg is a loose fit and they tend to fall off the shoulders or slump a bit. The shoulder stacks are a bit loose occasionally, but generally stay in place. A couple parts in trailer mode are a little loose. But I’m told that these problems exist on the original as well.
Paint apps on this KO look really good, and the chrome is really well done. I only noticed one small chip on the chest-plate. Otherwise, it looks really great.
I really recommend this to anyone who is looking to pick up this set.
Photo gallery ahead! Click the images to enlarge.
Here it is, still in package
The bottom of the packaging
Freed from the box
The comic/instruction booklet
Sticker sheet, launchers, and energon case
inside bottom of the box
Optimus and trailer in tractor/trailer mode
Optimus, before the armor
First, you put on the waist piece
then snap on the legs
Attach the chest armor. This can take a little fiddling, but it will snap securely.
Next are the shoulders. They can be a little loose and may fall off, but usually they sit securely. The OP gun pegs into the back of the right shoulder.
Now for the rest of the arms and the shoulder launchers (again, they're very loose, as you may be able to tell)
Add all the humongous guns and Optimus is BANGIN'!
Armor on a different Prime, a knock-off Ultra Magnus. Not recommended. The arms and chest piece do not snap on or stay as well as they should.
Optimus alongside the DIA Commander
Yeah, we couldn't think of a better album cover design, and Frank needed the work...
The fourth album from My Chemical Romance broke onto the Billboard album charts this week, debuting at a rather respectable #8. The Sandbox was able to obtain a copy and give it a listen.
It almost feels like this album was a direct response to the common misconception that MCR is an “emo” band. There is nothing emo at all about this album. Rather, the album is aggressive rock from beginning to end. This is the kind of album that you keep in your car for those days when you feel the need for speed and ear-shattering music. All things considered, it’s unfortunate in a way that the album was released in winter, because this is a CD that needs to be listened to at full volume, windows down, flying down the interstate. The interludes that feature DJ Dr. Death Defying make listening to this album in your car all the more reasonable.
One thing I like about the album, and MCR’s work in general, is that it carries a concept all the way through the album. In this respect, My Chemical Romance reminds me of a modern day Queensryche, and this album in particular reminds me of Operation: Mindcrime. One of the unfortunate by-products of an mp3-driven music industry is that more and more albums are just a compilation of singles that have little if anything to do with each other. This particular album is set nine years into the future and features the band’s alter-egos “The Fabulous Killjoys” in combat with an evil corporation. (It’s interesting hearing an anti-corporate message from songs that are clearly corporate rock.) Because of the futuristic feel of the album, the music is supposed to emulate what the California music scene might sound like nearly a decade into the future. There’s sort of a post-post grunge feel to it, and a few of the songs almost veer into the realm of the ballad and the anthem. Still, this is combat rock, and the music does a good job of making the listener feel a certain way. Some moments you feel powerful; other moments you feel angry and righteously indignant.
Overall, it’s a good listen, though I have to say that there is very little that is truly groundbreaking in this album.
Current singles are “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)” and “The Only Hope For Me Is You.” This author feels like “Sing” and “Bulletproof Heart” and “The Kids From Yesterday” are almost certain to become singles, and they are some of the more notable songs on this disc.
Alright…let’s get to the ratings, all of which are scores out of 10:
Bump in my ride? 10
Rock my face off? 8
Strong album concept? 8
Songs that will get stuck in my head? 9
Safe to play around the kids? 3
Overall 8.5 and rising with each play
Editor’s Note: It is my pleasure to welcome Richard Holdridge as a writer here at Sizzle’s Sandbox. He will regularly contribute his thoughts on sports here. He is a walking, talking sports almanac, so I am sure you will enjoy his thoughts. –Sizzle
Do they make hate-proof jerseys?
I have to say I am very excited about seeing LeBron James coming back to Cleveland. He is in for a real surprise. If I were him, I would fear for my life. There is a reason why the city of Cleveland has to beef up security when he comes to town.
In order to understand the city’s hatred for LeBron, you must understand the suffering this city has gone through. They have not won a championship since 1964 when the Browns won the Super Bowl. The Indians went to the World Series in 1995 and 1997, but guys like Tom Glavine and Edgar Renteria broke the city’s heart. The Cavs got their hearts broken by Michael Jordan in the late 1980′s. This is a city that has known loss, and those losses hurt deeply.
In 2003, the Cavaliers drafted LeBron James in hopes of bringing that championship they have been desiring and chasing for over 40 years. He boosted the team, and would eventually help them reach the NBA Finals in 2007, but in yet another heartbreak, Cleveland got swept by the San Antonio Spurs, and the city’s losing streak would remain intact.
LeBron played 7 seasons for the Cavs and won 2 MVP awards while there. But as with all good and promising things, there came a time when a crucial choice had to be made. When he became a free agent in July 2010, there was a lot of speculation about where he might play next, both on his part and on the part of basketball fans. A lot of Cleveland fans hoped he would stay but instead he dropped the bombshell in a ESPN One-Hour Special, telling the world that he would “take his talents to south beach”. He signed with the Miami Heat along with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to form what was supposed to be “a dynasty.”
So far they don’t look like a dynasty. An NBA team can’t win with a no name coach, no big man and no point guard.
Personally, this author hopes Cleveland beats Miami badly. Perhaps it is time that LeBron gets a taste of the loss that Cleveland has felt for so long.
–Richard Holdridge
Sizzle's Sandbox 
