Fansproject is not exactly a legit toy company. You see, they are a third-party company which specializes in custom Transformers merch. They are not limited so much by the restrictions that come with official Transformers items, such as part, part count, size class or demographic, so they're able to produce - and make lots of money off of - products that enhance Transformers items in their own way. I'll leave you to Google their name if you don't know of their work already. That said, onto the review.
A while back, they released a figure called Sidearm, a custom Targetmaster which they made around the time they made an add-on armor/trailer for Classics Hot Rod. When the tsunami/earthquake incident happened in Japan not too long ago, Fansproject offered a redeco of Sidearms for donaters to the Japan cause, which they fittingly named Blesser.
The way you got this figure was very simple. You donated to Red Cross and provide a receipt to them as proof, and if you were one of the lucky first 1,500 people to do so, you got Blesser sent your way. I was one of the lucky ones to get it. That said, onto the review!
The colors on this are nice and smooth, almost has a matte finish to it. If I had to say one thing I didn't like, it's that the white isn't as it looks in the picture. In person it's like a very light grey. Which works, but I was really into the idea of Blesser being a pure white color. But any complaint you may have about it is kind of moot since, well, it's free.
The articulation on this is perfect. Balljoint legs (no knee articulation due to transformation requiring sturdy legs), and bends at shoulders and elbows. It's limited, sure, it's a lot for its size. Actually, Vangelus of YouTube did a good review of Sidearm if you want more info on that and the transformation.
The peg on the gun mode is not what I was hoping for. Instead of a full round peg, it's a slot that happens to be the length of a peg. So, figures with open hands like Animated Arcee or some of the more recent toyline releases probably wouldn't handle this gun very well. A shame, but at least it can still be held by others. There's also a smaller peg on it for other sized fists, I'm not sure which figures that covers though.
Oh, a neat thing this also comes with is a card which sports a short bio. The only thing of interest is that it assigns you as his human partner. They put a sticker in that spot with the name of the person the package was addressed to. Very nice touch. On the back is some artwork of Blesser, which I thought was a great thing to include. "Life is priceless!!"
It's possible you'll start seeing them on eBay if people decide to sell them off, but otherwise, I'm pretty sure you're out of luck on getting this particular coloration of Sidearm if you weren't one of the 1,500. Don't let that turn you off to it, though! It's a sweet figure, and if you can get Sidearm, get him. He's a cheap third-party item and well worth it if you're into little robots that turn into guns, which I know there's fans of.
With that, I return to my usual lack of posts. Sadly. But perhaps something will come my way eventually. I hope to have a Legends figure in the mail soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment