Friday, February 17, 2017

Mastermind Creations Kultur - Tarn

Does anyone else miss the window boxes of previous Mastermind Creation releases? They've really been wowing me with each new figure. Kultur is no exception. He is a great representation of the leader of the Decepticon Justice Division.

I like the look of this H-tank. It is simultaneously sleek and menacing. There is plenty of line work and clean paint applications for visual interest. The underside could be cleaner though - robot arms and hands are clearly visible. He doesn't roll at all. The treads are not functional and there are no tiny wheels underneath. His turret has a very limited swivel; it's more of a wiggle. The cannons can articulate upward a little bit, but stop because of the protrusions on the turret. Between the pair, the guns at the front can cover a 180 degree arc. There are three panels that flip open to reveal missile pods. The missiles of the outer pods are removable.

Transformation to either mode is really simple and straightforward. My only gripe is that the two halves of the treads on his shoulders do not tab together.

For some reason I pictured Tarn to be a lot bulkier. Maybe it's just the proportions of the upper body to his legs in this figure, but he seems to be very lanky. Kultur certainly has not skipped any calf curls or pull ups at the gym. It is a fine representation though. I love the line work and clean paint applications on his torso. His mask comes off to reveal a face with metallic painted eyes. There is an unfortunate hole in his head from the peg, but I'll be keeping the mask on so it doesn't really matter. The eye holes on the mask could have used a metallic inset because his eyes aren't visible. Maybe someone on Shapeways will offer a solution. 

His head is on a ball-jointed hinge so he can look upward and downward quite a bit. He has ball-jointed shoulders. They are technically on ratcheted hinges, but there is only a couple of clicks. He can almost raise his arms outward and upward to 90 degrees. You do get a little butterfly action on the balljoints though. His wrists are also on ball joints. He swivels at the biceps, waist, and thighs. His thumbs are fixed and his fingers are single-pinned, with his pointing fingers articulating separately from the rest. His double-jointed elbows can get to a full curl, but the treads get in the way of the fusion cannon. He has ratcheted, double-jointed knees that can only get to 90 degrees, unless you break the sculpt by moving the treads out of the way. His hips are on universals with ratchets along the transverse axis. He can achieve a full side splits and a full front splits if you turn his thighs. He also has an ab crunch. His feet are on rockers and tilts, with separate toe tilts.

His only accessory is his turret with dual cannons. The two cannons have different sculpts and paint applications. They can detach from the turret and be held in his fists, leaving him a small shield. Mastermind Creations Vos supposedly can be held in rifle mode, but I didn't bother to transform him to find out.


Kultur is another figure I'm gladly adding to my Reformatted shelf. Not surprisingly, Mastermind Creations knocked another one out of the park. Sure, I could always use more accessories. My only complaint would be that we need more Autobots, and not just repaints/remolds of Azalea.









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