Many of us like it big. The desire for having things big is innate and it's difficult to explain that yearning. On the other hand, the novelty of having things small is real as well. In case you are wondering, I am talking about Transformers toys here. As mentioned in my earlier posts, I did not enter the fandom and hobby with childhood memories of owning Generation One toys. I wasn't religious about the need to own Generation One toys. I was also not attracted to toys from the Transformers movies. In fact, I walked past aisle of 2007 Transformers Movie toys and not picked a single toy as I was put off by the excessively complex steps needed for transformation.
The Transformers toys that gently eased me into my toy collection were the Legend class figures. Yes, you heard me right. The tiny figures that some collectors held in disdain. Some called it oversimplified toys for little children. Others just found them a waste of space and money. I would beg to differ. For an adult collector entering the fandom, the Legend class figures are great for handling as they do not require complex transformation that consume time. Time that most adults do not have to pursue their hobbies. The toys are also hardy as they have less moving parts and minimal accessories. They do not take up a lot of space and are great for display on your office desk. The Legend class figures scale well with toys like Metroplex as you can lay them out to create scenes from the cartoon or games. Last but not least, you get to own different characters at a low cost!
Legend class figures have certainly come a long way and we have seen well-articulated, well-painted and modern updates of characters that we love from the cartoon. Some Legend class figures released for the Combiner Wars line even interact with the combiners as they become part of the combiners or weapons wielded by the combiners. One of the molds that I enjoy greatly is the mold used on Legend class Optimus Prime, Nemesis Prime and Huffer. Of course, when I read the news on Combiner Wars Legend class Pipes, I knew I had to get it to complete my collection of the mold.
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| Pipes- In packaging |
Like Huffer, Pipes comes packed with his rifle and an artwork of him firing his energon rifle. Similar to other Legend class figures of this wave, an artwork card and instruction leaflet is included with the toy.
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| Pipes- Out of packaging |
I am not sure about you, but if a toy can be posed in a position resembling that of the included artwork, I think the designers and makers of the toy are considered successful.
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| Pipes in Robot Mode |
Pipes is very well-articulated and has little difficulty going into the pose similar to the artwork that he came with. His striking resemblance to Huffer did not deter me from getting him as I was happy to get another colour of this mold.
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| Pipes in Vehicle Mode |
I think one of the main reasons, other than the robot mode, is that the vehicle mode for this mold greatly resembles the IDW design of Optimus Prime. The Voyager class Optimus Prime released for the Combiner Wars does not even come close to resembling the IDW design. It's a waste, considering how many fans would like to own a Voyager class version of this mold. Sure, we have third party products like Toyworld Orion and the upcoming Beelzeboss upgrade but having an official Optimus Prime toy designed closely to the IDW illustration would be nice.
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| On display! |
They may be small, but Legend class figures go well on display. Especially when it looks like you are building an army of Optimus Prime there! For size comparison, it is very evident that the Legend class is bigger than the Legion class from the Robots in Disguise series. Keep a lookout for this little guy as they should hit our retail shortly!
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