Noah Diaz Exo-Suit (Studio Series/Core Class)

One of the more unique toys from Rise of the Beasts is this Core Class figure of Noah Diaz, one of the main human characters from the movie. Hoping not to spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but this toy represents a scene when Noah wears an Exo-Suit for a battle scene (I'll leave out further details just in case). Like many others, I thought the suit looked cool and did an internal fist pump when the figure was announced and ecstatic to find out he was a Christmas gift from my wife. Core Class is becoming my favorite size class in modern Transformers and it's a good size range for a human figure. Unlike other Exo-Suit figures released in the past, however, this one's pretty unique. Unique as in... he's not really a Transformers is he? Of course the character isn't, but the toy doesn't exactly transform.

Technically the alt mode is a jet, however the jet can be fully removed from Noah and serve as it's own toy. Noah more or less wears it as a backpack. On his own, Noah is a fairly decent action figure with a respectable amount of articulation. He has a arm mounted sword molded into his right arm and a blaster that can be held or attached to the jet. 'Transformation' more or less is adjusting Noah under the jet and arranging some parts. Like i said above, the jet can also be removed as it's basically an accessory similar to an Action Master partner. I had made comparisons to Takara Sci Fi Land with prior Exo-Suits and will be doing so again here. It's hard not to notice the similarities between this toy and a modern Diaclone driver. He almost could pass for a 90's Microman, I've seen some attach the jet backpack to various Microman figures as well. That's neat! While I'm sure being human character and the lack of actual transformation would be a turn off for some... I think it's a neat toy. He's different, but in a cool way.

Decepticon Slicer (Shattered Glass/Deluxe Class)

Since we've talked about Exo-Suit earlier, it seems like a good time to talk about Slicer, the toy it came with. Slicer is an update of a European exclusive Action Master figure that has enjoyed a solid fan following. Slicer also serves as two characters, like the BotCon 2010 version, this toy can either be Slicer OR Shattered Glass Wheeljack. The latter's look was based on Slicer, which would be why this toy comes in the Shattered Glass packaging. The toy can represent whichever you prefer. For simplicity sake, I'll be referring to him a Slicer though.

The way fiction will repurpose toys into two different characters can be confusing, so I'll try to keep this simple. I don't have an original Slicer, but do have the BotCon 2010 one mentioned above. I like how this update homages it with the dual red guns. The 2010 toy had them as a holdover from it's origins from the Energon Downshift toy mold. Making it the one Slicer not made from a Wheeljack toy, technically. 

This is a great toy. Using the Earthrise Wheeljack mold as a base, Slicer is a straight repaint improving an excellently designed toy with vibrant colors. Sometimes all you need is a fresh coat of paint. Slicer is well articulated and transforms into his race car alt mode fairly easily. For weapons he has the two red guns I spoke of earlier. They can be mounted to his vehicle mode thanks to some hinges. Slicer also has Wheeljack's rocket launcher. That can be held as a gun or mounted on his shoulder in classic Transformers style. You can add Exo-Suit to Slicer (or any other similar gimmick toy) in a variety of ways as weapons or armor. Get creative! For purposes of this post, I tried to mimic the 'official' armor mode (with some liberties). I'm currently on one of my off and on Spiral Zone kicks and found it similar. Though I hate using the work kick in that way. Ugh.

Slicer with Exo-Suit is an awesome set of toys. The variety of ways they can be used is really neat and their bright colors really pop. Exo-Suit is fun to work into a variety of uses while Slicer is a good old fashioned Transformer (they've been around 40 years for a reason). This was one of the gifts my wife gave me for Christmas and a really awesome one at that. For fans of the Shattered Glass universe, it's a new toy in a series that gets updates at random intervals. This is probably a set of toys a more hardcore fan would appreciate for the character and the history, but a casual fan would find just as much fun with the neatness of the toys. I wish more Weaponizer type figures came packaged with regular figures like this.Just seems natural.

Exo-Suit (Shattered Glass/Deluxe Class)

Exo-Suit is a unique toy. Coming in a 2-Pack with Slicer (I'll get to him soon), Exo-Suit is an update of an Action Master vehicle as a Weaponizer. Using the Weaponizer gimmick means Exo-Suit can somewhat become an Exo-Suit for Slicer. It's vehicle mode doesn't really look like the original's... but it's still neat. As I understand, you can technically create a ride-able buggy for Slicer with this toy... but I didn't try it myself. The toy itself is a repaint of Black Roritchi (don't look at me, I didn't name it), which is a repaint and remold of Fasttrack. This toy has a lot of upfront explanation, but it's still a good regardless. I don't know if Exo-Suit is meant to be a drone or an individual character. Until some sort of characterization is given, I'm taking it as a drone. 

Exo-Suit is a very pretty toy in it's colors. A mixture of pink and red with some gray and black creates a very interesting robot mode. I like it!  My wife said it was a Valentines Day robot, and that works! (The set was a Christmas present from her) A lot of folks would call the deco G2, but it's really the colors the original toy had. Which was G1. The tail end of G1 in Europe (where Slicer hailed from) was converted into G2, so there's a lot of bleeding of one idea into another. The colors were really just a sign of the times. Exo-Suit is a Weaponizer as I said above. Meaning it can be pulled apart and made into armor or weapons for other Transformers figures. Even neater, the parts can be combined with other Weaponizers or similar gimmick figures to create something really unique. The gimmick is very similar to Mugenbine, which is ironic as Exo-Suit gives me strong Machine Robo vibes.

Exo-Suit is a cool toy. The Weaponizer gimmick is fun and works well with this figure. I can see some complaining about the parts forming needed to make the toy work and that'd be a fair complaint. Others like myself don't mind it, so it's really up to personal preferences. I REALLY like the colors. It gives Exo-Suit a distinct look and well... they're cool! There's two pistols that can be attached in other places and a neat little sword included. The little sword is very similar to the ones that would come with older Transformers. It's a neat little bit of flair. Vehicle mode is fun and makes me think of video games. For a figure that's basically a fancy accessory for Slicer, it's pretty great. Speaking of Slicer, we'll be looking at him in a few days.

Oh shit! What are we going to do now?

I was really excited to get the new Spike figure from the Transformers Studio Series 86 line. Not just because I really enjoy Transformers, the 1986 movie, the Studio Series line, Core Class, and everything else related to Transformers. No... well that's not just why. Spike also looked really cool. As someone who grew up with various sci fi/fantasy toys from the 80's and never left them behind (as you can see), Spike feels like a culmination of those ideas into a neat little figure. 

Spike, of course, represents his appearance in the 1986 Transformers movie decked out in his Exo-Suit. As seen in the movie, the suit has an attack mode as well as a vehicle mode that the figure pulls off pretty well. Before I go any further, let me just say that I REALLY like this figure. So I have nothing bad to say AT ALL. He is fairly articulated for a figure at his size and price. For a change, I really dig the included blast effects. I usually take them as a novelty and don't think much of them. Here's they represent the rocket fire from the vehicle modes booster pods. In attack mode, they're the blaster fire! That's nothing new... but it really did it for me this time.

Spike really feels like a natural evolution of Takara SF. All that old Microman and Diaclone art really seemed to be reflected in the 1986 Transformers movie and subsequent seasons. Honestly, if I were in the position to make convention or store exclusives, Spike would get made into a new Microman figure. Some of you are probably glad I'll never be in that position. I want repaints of this toy. Give me a Buzzworthy Bumblebee version in weird 'stealth' colors. They already use the Micronauts font in that line anyway. Let me find some weird knock off of this figure. I want that grind house feel of bootleg robot toys on this mold. I just envisioned a bootleg line where this figure is another character ala Inter-Changeables. Spike is a great version of his appearance in the 1986 movie and the culmination of so much more.