Planet X Asclepius continues the tradition of being named after Roman gods. In this case, he is named after the god of medicine.
If you are wondering about the reflections, I'm trying out a slightly different lighting technique and a new plexiglass board which seems much more reflective than the previous one.
My copy came with a defect. A red transparent plastic panel is missing from his upper left thigh.
I'm not that enamored with the tank mode. It's a bit misshapen, but I suppose it's faithful to the source material. The side cannons can swivel vertically. The main cannon is on a hinge. Its connection peg is rather loose so the whole thing kept popping off. The shape of the vehicle doesn't really show off the line work and transparent plastic details. It's unfortunate that the upper arms have their screw holes facing outward. The eight "wheels" are on ball joints, but they don't really touch the ground. I like how the way they articulate gives the illusion of a vehicle rolling over uneven terrain, but he has no wheels on the undercarriage so he doesn't actually roll.
Transformation into either mode is pretty easy and straight forward. As usual, it gets a little fiddly going into vehicle mode because of how you have to align the thighs and arms so that things will peg together. Technically, there is a bit of parts forming with the cannon.
He's not quite as tall as a Voyager, but is larger than a Deluxe. IT'F Abyss stands a smidge taller, and Planet X Vulcun still manages to tower over him. The transparent red plastic are nice highlights to his line work. The paint application seems to be very clean and well done. His eyes are painted yellow despite the light piping on the back of his head. The scope can peg onto either shoulder . . . back hump. The only detail I don't like are the wheels on his legs, which just seem a bit messy. I wished that they at least all clicked into an aligned position.
His head is on a ball joint. His shoulders are on hinges and swivels, and can also butterfly forward. He swivels at the biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs. His hands are fixed. He has single-jointed elbows and knees. He also has a reverse ab crunch. His hips are on universals. His ankles are on swiveling hinges to allow for tilting and rocking. They are really wonky though. Across six Dinobots, not one has properly designed feet. Asclepius inherits that trait. Using the blue part of his feet as heel spurs actually makes him more prone to falling backward. He's more stable with them folded up against the back of his leg and only using the rotating pieces as support. His shoulder cannon is on a peg so it can swivel. It can also hinge upward just a little.
His accessories include two guns, a sniper rifle, and two cannons. The guns are black plastic with a decent amount of line work. They fit well in his hands. The sniper rifle has some red paint and an extendable barrel. It is nearly 7 inches long; almost as tall as Asclepius himself. It also fits well in his hands. There are also side handles for him to hold with the opposite hand. The pair of guns can combine with the rifle. The cannons are rather large. They have a mix of red and black paint amongst the red and black plastic. The barrels and back ends of the cannons are on sliders. The cannons are gripped from underneath. It's a pity there is no transparent plastic on any of the weapons. All but the sniper rifle has a place in vehicle mode.
Although I don't enjoy the vehicle mode too much, I do love the robot mode, and that's where I keep my figures anyways. My QC issue is somewhat of a downer, but hopefully it's just a bit of bad luck and not a systemic problem. I guess I'll be starting a new shelf for this line and migrating over the Planet X Dinobots, and maybe Bumblebee and Cliffjumper. I am looking forward to replacing the official Fall of Cybertron figures with whatever Planet X has planned.
