Spray, iGear Mini Warriors MW-01 action figure Review

While some 3rd Party companies focus on add-ons to existing figures, iGear is producing brand new complete action figures of our favorite Transformers. Spray here is of course Autobot Seaspray from the pocket-sized minibot G1 figures. He's the first of iGear's Mini Warrior line and stands 4" which is taller than Rager whom I reviewed earlier, but mainly because of his fan mounts. Head to head he's basically the same height.

Spray's articulation is loads of awesome. Everything is ball jointed including his waist and ankles. Tho his head is tiny you can move it easily and the props on his back spin. Every bit of him is sculpted nicely with tight edges and neat tech design. There's even a space on his chest to affix your own Autobot logo you can pick up at ReproLabels. He's molded in a sparkly matte plastic which doesn't shine like the rest of your Transformers but at least you can see the detail with the darker blue and solid white making him look far less knockoff-ish.

Spray is packed in a nice box similar to Rager and comes with his own sparkly hard plastic collector card and a tiny harpoon gun which unfortunately doesn't store in vehicle mode. No instructions are included but a bit of unfolding and extending his legs will transform him easily. The only paint are his eyes and windows on his feet which are crisp and clean. His face is a separate piece of plastic and unlike the G1version the faceplate isn't yellow, but all grey.

The altmode for Seaspray is a hovercraft type that's almost as big as a scout vehicle. It looks sleek and updated with all sorts of panels and window cuts on it. Unfortunately there are no wheels underneath so Spray can't roll anywhere, just sit. I would have loved to see spherical mouse-ball type wheels that would allow you to spin him like a real hovercraft but it wasn't in iGear's design.

So what's the verdict? He's more articulated and designed better than Rager, also appearing taller because of the back props. The matte plastic and lack of wheels is a bit disappointing but aren't a dealbreaker. I really like the range of articulation he has in all his limbs and the spinning props are nice. Keep in mind he's an unlicensed product of a licensed character so weigh that internally as you will. You can pick him up at our sponsor Big Bad Toy Store or wait till he's back in stock at iGear's web store. I'd suggest BBTS because it's based in the USA. iGear's store ships from Hong Kong so it will take a while to reach you.

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.

iGear Toys Kup01 head set review

There's a lot of controversy surrounding 3rd party manufacturers now that they're creating complete versions licensed characters. But what they also make is add-on kits that require you to go out an buy a figure from Hasbro first. This is viewed as acceptable by most standards and being reviewed tonight is iGear's Kup01 head set.

The heads, two of them, come in a cool little plastic box with a foam insert and tiny screwdriver. The box lid has iGear's logo on it and the plastic is the exact shade of the Hasbro Generation's Commander Kup's darker chest/waist plastic. It's quality ABS too, not flimsy like most knock-off toys are made of.

Both heads have a great detailed sculpt to them and one sports a 'Cy-gar', Cybertron's version of cigars that Kup sports in the comics. The second has a slightly different mouth shape and no Cygar. The screwdriver isn't anything special but looks nice, like one of the ones that comes with those Tech-Deck finger skateboards. The paint work is crisp and clean as well, quality stuff.

It should be noted that the front of the head doesn't actually hold the head on the neck post. Only the back attaches so you really do need to take the head completely apart when attaching it. The head snaps together pretty securely without the screw as well. Since this is the case I wonder if they could have saved money by just including a second removable front half.

For $12, the price of the hasbro figure itself you get two heads, a box that can sit in the back of Kup's vehicle mode, and a little screwdriver. If you really hated the zombie looking head that came with Kup then this you'll probably want this and I can recommend it. You can pick it up from iGear's site for $12 free shipping but it's coming from Singapore so it will take a few weeks. For $2 you can snag one off of Ebay (all eBay links are eBayPartnerNetwork affiliate links that help me out!) from a US seller and get it faster.