Rager, iGear Mini Warriors MW-02 Review

Unless you've been under a rock for the last few years you're aware of 3rd party companies, specifically ones that deal in the Transformers fandom. Some offer add-on weapon kits, completely new headsculpts, and in iGear's case, completely new figures. He's called Rager but no mistake this character is the autobot Huffer. Normally I'm not a fan of mass-producing a licensed character. It would be like Universal copying Micky Mouse's design and calling him 'Mister Mousey'. I'm not sure why this is allowed here in the Transformers world but this was a free figure given to me to review so I don't feel like I've contributed to anything shady.

He's molded in a slightly sparkly yellow, blue, and silver plastic. The sparkle flecks are apparent in good lighting and hopefully he won't suffer from crumbly gold-plastic-syndrome as older figures do, degrading over time. His sculpt is well done with nice angles and a nice design to it. He's just over 3" tall which puts him under Scout class but over Legends class. Basically he was meant to mimic the pocket scale of the G1 figure.

Along with Rager you get a nice box with graphics, his bio, two pistols and included inside is a hard plastic sparkly collector's card with his tech-specs. Mine didn't come with instructions but he's simple to transform anyone can do it. Transformation is a breeze, just unfold some parts, turn his waist, flip his shoulders and you're done. The pistols are tiny and don't store on him in vehicle mode so you'll lose these in the carpet right away if you're not careful.

Rager's articulation is very good, ball joints everywhere, toes, a waist, but no thigh swivels. He can pose just about any way except cross one leg over another which isn't a big deal. His paint apps are clean but here's where we start going downhill. He's missing the silver on the hubcaps and black roof-lights. The G1 figure had both painted and if you're not even matching the character's color standards 25+ years ago then something is amiss.

Someone also forgot to topcoat Rager before molding him. Every bit of him is cast in matte plastic, not shiny like all other Transformers so while very sturdy with tight joints he feels and appears like a Biglots knock-off toy. His wheels turn, but don't spin freely. Almost all vehicle wheels spin freely around a metal axle. Here the pin head is on the inside of the leg and the rod glued inside the tire. Everything is tight and poor Rager won't roll anywhere.

Rager's head while ball-jointed is set so far back under his hood that you can't turn it without a toothpick or something thinner than your finger. I found this terribly annoying because the most important joint on a figure is the head/neck joint for personality and direction. So what's the verdict? Unless you're a die-hard fan of the minibots he's a pass. The dollar-store look, missing paint apps, lack of rolling wheels, and the fact you're buying an unlicensed product of a licensed character makes him kinda iffy. If you want him head over to our sponsor BBTS and snag him because he's already sold out at iGear's online store.