Blog #400: Toy Review: Transformers Collector’s Club Subscription Service Deluxe Scourge

I ordered my Transformers Collector’s Club Subscription Service toys on September 23, 2012 and a mere 272 days, nearly nine months, later I got my first figure.  Yeah, par for the course.

Random thought.  Anyone out there become pregnant and have a baby between ordering and receiving this figure?  Apparently it takes the same amount of time to make this toy as to make a human being.

Seriously…

In fairness to Fun Publications, they claim that this was a screw up on Hasbro’s end (not sure if that was actually at Hasbro or at the factory, but that is essentially the same thing).  That very well might be true.  However, with their past history of almost never meeting a deadline with the club figures, it’s very hard (more like impossible) to give them the benefit of the doubt.  It very well could be the case that it actually wasn’t their fault.

However, having said that, wouldn’t you think they would ship everyone all their figures at once since we’ve been waiting six months?  I mean, we should have gotten the fifth or sixth figure this month, and instead we’re getting the first.  We’ll be paying for next year’s figures before we’ve gotten all of this year’s toys at this rate.  They should have shipped out all figures and given a shipping discount for the screw up.  While it may not have been their screw up, Fun Pub is the seller, and they have a responsibility to their customers, regardless of whose mistake it was.  The buck stops with them.  They should have at least offered people the option of saving shipping costs and getting them all at once.

Unfortunately, this is what I’ve come to expect from Fun Pub, so I am not surprised at all.

On to the toy.

Transformers Collector’s Club Subscription Service Deluxe Scourge

Vehicle Mode: I have to give Fun Pub credit where it’s due.  This is one nice looking toy.  He’s got great paint apps, and the coloring is great, accept for his side windows.  I know the side windows can’t be translucent red, but they should have painted them black.  It’s a minor thing, but it looks odd with the red side windows.

Robot Mode: In robot mode his paint job is even better.  Lots of intricate paint apps, especially on his head.  They really did a great job painting his head.  It looks phenomenal.

I’m not a huge fan of the upside down G2 symbols.  I know the Japanese Car Robots Black Convoy had them, but the USA Scourge didn’t.  I have this feeling that they only did it this way to appeal to fans in Japan, where they are now selling toys via eHobby.  I’m sure there are some fans in the USA who like the use of the upside down G2 symbol, but I just don’t get it.  If they wanted him to be the Japanese version, why isn’t he called Black Convoy?  Also, it should be noted that the Car Robots Black Convoy had the logos on his shoulders.  With this toy in robot mode, the doors hang upside down from his arms making the symbols right side up.  This makes the upside down symbols pointless.  Also, I’m not sure why they did an outline, Car Robots Black Convoy had purple symbols.

To sum up, this is a really beautiful looking toy that I think will be one of the most popular from this year’s subscription service.  Unfortunately, it’s conceptually flawed.  It wants to be both the Japanese and USA version of the original toy at the same time, and ends up being neither.

Thanks for reading!