Ocular Max Terraegis - Trailbreaker

Ocular Max Terraegis - Trailbreaker

Although I like Badcube Speedbump, I was hoping that Ocular Max Terraegis would be able to replace him on my Masterpiece shelf. Terraegis has solid knees, but I find I still enjoy Speedbump more.

Speedbump holds together just a little better in vehicle mode. I wouldn't say one has more or less panel lines than the other. They're just in different spots. Terraegis could have used more tinting on his windows to hide all the internal robot bits. I do like how he includes running boards on both sides, a detail which Speedbump lacked. He also has dual tailpipes. His sideview mirrors have metallic paint and are made of hard plastic so some care should be taken to prevent snapping them off. Although he rolls very well on large, rubber tires, one rear tire refuses to stay pegged in so it sometimes splays outward, like he got squashed from above. The rear window on the trailer cab opens, but it's mainly for transformation.

Despite being careful, I managed to snap off his left, rear wheel panel in going to robot mode. It wouldn't flip over and I guess I applied too much force. One of the small plastic pins that serves as a hinge sheared right off. I was going to try and fix it with some superglue, but attaching the panel back to the remaining pin and finishing the transformation of the leg kind of holds it in place anyways. The panel is on the rear of the leg and doesn't seem to be in any danger of falling off. It is slightly more wiggly than the unbroken side though.

The rest of the transformation process was really easy. The arms and fists are on sliders that requiring some yanking. This is not my favorite mechanism, especially since you have to yank on the fists by his fingers and because the mechanism leaves slotted grooves in his arms. Attaching his arm and shoulder weapons requires some parts-forming. Overall, his transformation process is much simpler than Speedbump, especially his backpack. Since I already have a broken piece, I didn't try to go back to vehicle mode.

Terraegis looks pretty good. He has Die-cast in his legs and spine. His head sculpt is done very well. I like the metallic blue eye visor. He has all the requisite panels and lines in his knees and shins. Unlike Speedbump, the sides of his calves are filled in by panels. Disappointingly, no new paint applications are revealed in robot mode. His spine is visible from the sides. On my figure, his backpack sits at an angle. I can't tell if it's distorted or if the spine is. I'm pretty sure I didn't skip a step, yet there is a unsightly gap at his waistline.

He's a little more svelte than Speedbump and a little shorter, but still taller than Lorry. He does not have any chrome on his body. His plastic grey arms and legs gives him a less high-end feel than Speedbump. All his weapons are chrome though. I prefer how Speedbump handles his weapons. Terraegis' weapon mounts just seem more finicky than they need to be. Both figures appear to weigh about the same; I didn't actually throw them on a scale. Overall, Speedbump seems to cut a more imposing figure.

His head is on a hinge and swivel that gives you quite a bit of vertical articulation. This is my preferred neck joint to satisfy my compulsiveness of having leveled heads. His shoulders are on hinges and swivels. They can raise upward and outward to 90 degrees and butterfly forward and back. He has swivels just above his elbows and at his wrists, waist, and thighs. He has ball-jointed thumbs and single-pinned fingers that articulate individually. His pointing fingers also articulate at the second knuckles. His single-jointed elbows and knees are good for a little more than 90 degrees. Unlike Speedbump, his knees do not suffer from any wonkiness. He has a very slight ab crunch, but I find that his chest unpegs too easily when using this. His hips are on universal joints, with ratchets along the transverse axis. One hip joint feels unusually tight. With one breakage already, I'm hesitant to test its limit and tolerance. He has ankle rockers and toe tilts. His shoulder cannons are on hinges so can tilt upward a bit. His other weapon is on a ball joint no matter which armature you use.

His accessories include a pair of cannons and mounting plates, his other over-the-shoulder weapon and two mounting options, two claw-like mounting pieces, an extra pair of sideview mirrors, an alternate head for himself, and an alternate head for Sphinx. The cannons are chrome and fit onto the mounting plates for replacing his fists. You can have either hand, both, or none replaced by his hand cannons. They also have a hinged peg for mounting on or inside the camper in vehicle mode. His over-the-shoulder weapon is also chrome. The two mounting options allow you to attach it behind his head like the G1 toy or on his shoulder like in the cartoon. The claw mounts go on the sides of his biceps and allow you to attach the rear pieces of the cannons, which need to be detached to replace his hands. The extra sideview mirrors are nice to have in case of breakage. The alternate head is more toy accurate. It has a red eye visor and mouth plate instead of a face. The extra Sphinx head is a blue version of the Liger head sculpt. Except for the cannons, I don't think you can store any of the other bits and bobs in vehicle mode.

If it weren't for his terrible knees, Speedbump would be my clear favorite of the two Trailbreakers. I'll probably continue to use him on my main Masterpiece shelf, at least until the FansToys version arrives. Terraegis will stand in one of my secondary Masterpiece displays.