The G1 Journey

Scrapper Bio:

A wizard at designing fortresses and energy plants, but modest. Shows his true malevolent genius by incorporating defeated Autobots into his buildings’ structures. Shovel can slice through 12 in. thick carbon-steel, lift 30 tons. As right leg and part of torso, combines with fellow Constructicons to form giant robot “Devastator”.

Introduction:

So the last of the Constructicons is here for review and what better way to finish than with the Constructicon’s leader: Scrapper! Before I picked this figure up I was more excited to complete the Constructicon team rather than actually fiddling with the figure itself. Bottom line, I have been itching to combine these guys into Devastator for a photo shoot and review … but I’m getting way ahead of myself. Scrapper – you’re up for review buddy!

Alt Mode:

I know what you guys are thinking: “I bet he’s gonna say how he loves how functional these toys are and how they add to the play value.” Well, I’m not one to disappoint so … I LOVE how functional this toy is! 😉 But seriously, Scrapper’s bull-dozer alt mode is another solid addition to these Constructicons – the entire team is done so well I am not surprised Scrapper is no different. His shovel moves up and down to give you some scooping action, however he suffers the same limit in his shovel as Scavenger did. Scrapper’s shovel doesn’t have another joint to allow him to scoop and then “dump.” Not too big of a deal, but it is a bummer because I would think it would be easy to do. Regardless, the functionality of the figure is pretty solid, which leads to some fun play value.

Although a solid addition for functionality, Scrapper is an average looking figure in alt mode. From the front the bull-dozer looks best, it’s when you turn him to his side that I feel he starts to lose his appeal. My nitpicking complaint is how his arms are clearly visible in alt mode. Everything else blends in well except his arms. Nitpicking complaint, but it’s still there. I suppose another downfall is his canopy, which is detachable and can easily be lost if you’re not careful I suppose. I’ve also noticed that huge lack of purple. Scrapper is covered in the traditional green deco and it’s only when you lift up his shovel that you can see some purple coloring. Just a little odd when his other team members had a really good balance of green and purple. Regardless, solid addition to the line up and DAMN do they all look good together in alt mode! More to come of that later obviously 😉

Transformation:

Transformation to robot mode is a very simple and typical G1 process. To transform Scrapper all you need to do is flip the back part of the bull-dozer to become his legs, move his arms slightly forward (in reality though they can just stay stationary), and then pull up his head while pushing the shovel backwards. This is the interesting part of the transformation actually. There is some type of gimmick in there that prevents the shovel from moving all the way back, you actually have to pull Scrapper’s head out in order to move the shovel all the way. However, there is a slight alternate transformation with this step that I will highlight below.

Robot mode:

I’m somewhat torn on robot mode. I want to really highlight what I love about this figure, but the more I fiddle with it the more I wonder why Scrapper hasn’t received as much negative criticism like Scavenger did. Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first. My biggest issue is the “butt-claw” syndrome we got going on here. When you put Scrapper’s shovel all the way back, he has the same effect as Scavenger’s butt-claw, only difference is Scrapper is more a “back-claw” with much better balance though. To correct this, I actually didn’t push his shovel all the way back. When looking straight on now, you clearly see his shovel, but in my opinion it looks better!

Other things to note are the much more dominant purple color scheme we now have. His entire chest is a nice blend of purple and some cool looking stickers. My tolerance of stickers have actually grown tremendously with this Constructicon team. I actually really enjoy how his wheels are all visible in robot mode. It adds something aesthetically pleasing to this mode. For articulation purposes, Scrapper has up and down movement with his arms and you can even fudge a running pose with his legs: this is highlighted below in the “Evolution” section. Robot mode is average, but still fun to fiddle with.

Combined Mode:

As part of the 6 member team that forms Devastator, Scrapper forms the right leg of Devastator. Not much to this mode. His arms go straight up and his shovel is flipped up slightly. You now have a sturdy leg …

Evolution:

The evolution of G1 Scrapper to the “Classics” TFC Structor is really quite unique. The TFC Structor shares a lot of the same negatives I found in the G1 figure. One of the more interesting features I found was the identical kibble Structor has on his back. He has both the “back-shovel” syndrome going on, and even his cabin that hangs off the back as well. Check out the comparison photo of the two with their backs and side angle, it really is quite unique. I also see a good number of improvements in this Classics figure. For one, Structor’s shovel now has an added point of articulation in which you now have more range of motion and functionality in the bull-dozer’s shovel. Although the added articulation for Structor is nice, this is honestly probably one of the less-than-average evolutions. Structor’s alt mode is very blocky and not the easiest on the eyes. All and all, I actually am impressed with seeing some of the negatives and limitations of the G1 Scrapper figure carried over into TFC’s “Classics” Structor. Take a look at the pictures and let them do the talking.

Alt mode comparison:

Robot mode comparison:

Look at how similar the kibble on their backs are. I really find this fascinating and it’s cool to see the TFC toy designers took so many cues from the original G1 figure.

This is probably the most dynamic pose I’ve gotten out of a G1 figure thus far. Pretty cool huh?!

Head sculpt is nice on Structor – I also like how his shovel sticks out, very similar to how I transform G1 Scrapper.

Overall rating 7/10:

I was actually expecting more from Scrapper, but I got the minimum amount of satisfaction to give this guy an average rating. His alt mode is average and is bot mode is average – I am very indifferent in other words. To me personally, he’s missing the “wow” factor I got from Bonecrusher and Mixmaster, but he doesn’t have as many pitfalls as Scavenger. Overall, I’m more excited to get past this figure and prepare for the grand finale. It would be in my best interest to revisit the figure after the final phase.

So … what comes next you might ask? Well … here’s a little teaser for the epicness that is about to happen: