Of the three Insecticons, Kickback has always suffered from that robot-on-all-fours look. Forager doesn't buck this trend. Still, he definitely evokes all that G1 goodness. His six legs easily support his body. His front two legs on either side share a swivel joint. They are hinged in six places each with another swivel at the top. His rear legs are hinged at three spots. His wings are hinged at the base.
Transformation seems to be easier than Badcube Kickbutt, but there are a couple of tricky spots. The head splits open along the seam. This allows you to push out the insect face plate from behind, without needing to use tools and risk scratching the paint. The legs are easy, but the arms require a little care. A special instruction card is included, reminding you to open the chrome circles under his arms before rotating the wings. The insect legs and robot arms assemblies are on sliding hinges. Once you have the wings rotated out of the way, just grab the insect legs and yank the entire assembly out, one side at a time.
Forager cleans up very well. The insect legs fold up neatly against his back instead of forming a backpack like his companions. The line work is simple, but done very well, as is the paint application. His eye visor is painted a metallic red.
I have a couple of issues with the design. His antennae are made of a soft rubber. One antenna came warped out of shape. I hope someone will make a set of hard plastic antennae. Also, I can't get the top of his head to close all the way against the face plate so there's a slight gap at the top of his forehead.
Transformation seems to be easier than Badcube Kickbutt, but there are a couple of tricky spots. The head splits open along the seam. This allows you to push out the insect face plate from behind, without needing to use tools and risk scratching the paint. The legs are easy, but the arms require a little care. A special instruction card is included, reminding you to open the chrome circles under his arms before rotating the wings. The insect legs and robot arms assemblies are on sliding hinges. Once you have the wings rotated out of the way, just grab the insect legs and yank the entire assembly out, one side at a time.
Forager cleans up very well. The insect legs fold up neatly against his back instead of forming a backpack like his companions. The line work is simple, but done very well, as is the paint application. His eye visor is painted a metallic red.
I have a couple of issues with the design. His antennae are made of a soft rubber. One antenna came warped out of shape. I hope someone will make a set of hard plastic antennae. Also, I can't get the top of his head to close all the way against the face plate so there's a slight gap at the top of his forehead.
His head seems to be on a ball joint, but it doesn't leave much room for vertical articulation. His shoulders are on swivels and hinges. He swivels at the biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs. His thumbs are fixed and his fingers are single pinned. He has double jointed elbows and knees. His hips are on universal joints. His toes are hinged, but he has no ankle articulation.
Forager will be joining his comrades on my Masterpiece shelf. The Badcube bugs could serve here as well, but I prefer to use those for my CHUG display. I simply find the aesthetics and build quality of the Fans Toys bugs goes better with my MP display. I can't wait to see how the MMC bugs stack up against these guys.
