FACE VOLCANO

by David Willis on October 9, 2012 at 7:24 pm
Posted In: Blog

Maybe it’s the nearly 20 years we went without a Unicron toy, but I just can’t pass up a new Unicron toy.  I’m pretty sure I have all of them, save some redecoes.  There’s this artificial (by now) feeling of Unicron toy scarcity that compels me to buy them.  Why am I buying this, my brain asks?  The answer is, obviously, because it’s friggin’ Unicron, my seven-year-old self  barks back at me.

There could be worse compulsions.  I like Unicron.  At least, I really like the Unicron that appeared in the later Marvel Comics and gave him a purpose beyond “random eating robot built by tiny dumb monkey alien.”  Him being the cosmic Big Bad, the Transformers Satan,  just makes more sense.  That has been, thankfully, the Unicron that has marched forward since, even into the current permutation of the Transformers brand, Transformers Prime.  TFP can be pretty by-the-numbers at times, but I really like what they did with Unicron.  It’s hard to make that guy fresh.  But Unicron’s body is actually the Earth’s core, and his essence can barf up onto land via volcanoes.  It’s a pretty dark twist, putting the Ultimate Evil below our own feet.

Anyway, that’s why this Unicron looks like he’s a rock monster and why he transforms into his own face inside of a volcano.  Sure, the instructions tries to pass his alternate mode off as a spaceship, but that’s no spaceship.  It’s a volcano with Unicron’s face embedded in it, with his skeletal wings doubling for a lightning storm.  It’s a Face Volcano.  And it’s why I love this toy.  Because Face Volcano.

Otherwise, it’s just another toy of Unicron that also transforms into the most bullshittiest third mode “Capture Mode” ever.  Yeah, there’s this other thing you do with him, besides the robot and the Face Volcano, that involves you splitting Unicron open, yanking him apart, and wrapping him around either Megatron or Optimus Prime.  It looks like it should be pretty simple if dorky-looking, but it is so aggravating to try to put into place that I’ve decided this third Capture Mode is a prank.  It’s a lie.  It doesn’t exist.   TakaraTomy’s trying to pull one over on me.  The only other option is that they are not very great at making toys, and I think I prefer my toy companies evil rather than incompetent.   Seriously, it makes you break your toy to put it together according to the instructions. And even then nothing lines up properly, resulting in a sloppy mess.  If you are not bald or gray already, this Capture Mode will make you so.  Ignore it.

Unicron comes with a Mini-Con, like other Japanese TFPrime toys, and this one transforms from a mole-like creature into Unicron’s left arm.  When the Mini-Con’s on vacation, you can pull the halves of Unicron’s big spikey club arm apart and they can be used for both of his arms.  This doesn’t look too great, because the half-arms are obviously half-arms with no backs to them, so I think the Mini-Con’s staying attached to his elbow.

Technically, this Unicron is an army builder, since there were buttloads of him in the season one finale, but I think I’ll pass.  There was only one Face Volcano, after all.


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