Something else I prefer about this figure over the FE is the coloring used on his body. The FE’s colors were made of such dark purples that they almost always looked black to the eye and camera lens. The RiD figure has clear purple and black areas that complement each other nicely and all the figure’s body design to be seen.
Like most of the Prime figures, Vehicon here has some really nice articulation. His head and hips are regular ball joints. His shoulders are a ball joint attached to the torso by a hinge, while his elbows are ball joints attached to his upper arms by hinges too. He has swivel biceps and wrists, while his knees are just normal hinge joints. The best part about all these joints is that none of them are blocked by the figure’s own body.
The figure comes with only one accessory, an almost too large blaster cannon. The gun can fit in either hand or attach to the 5mm ports on his shoulders. This is the one area where the FE figure fares better since his gun is a bit more accurately sized and it can replace his hands and look like it’s firing directly from his arm.
The vehicle forms of both the FE and RiD are even more similar than their robot looks. The FE has a lot more translucent plastic for windshields, which I really like. But I think the RiD is more in scale with the other Prime vehicles. This Vehicon almost makes the FE look too large and strangely cartoony in proportion.
Being the first army builder in the Prime line (unless you really want an army of Bees), the Vehicon is a great figure to fill out your Decepticon ranks. I don’t know how many of you supplement your Prime collection with Takara versions like I do, but you may want to keep an eye on this Vehicon. I’m not sure what the Takara one is going to look like yet, but he’ll definitely be a bit different since they aren’t using as many paint apps as Hasbro. There’s also a Vehicon slated for later which turns into a jet mode instead of car, and there’ll probably be a Takara version of it too. Lastly, Takara’s making a Vehicon Bumblebee which will be painted in black and purple. These figures will be a great way to build an army while keeping them all from looking exactly the same.
-Vault
Great review.
I think the only downside to this toy is how heavily scalped he is as an army builder. You see them sold for $25+ on ebay! Fortunately it seems there’s a case with 2 vehicons to it (only one Bumblebee to a case? MADNESS!) which should help people get more of these guys.
And yes, I prefer this mold to the FE one. My only regret is what you mention about the extra clear windows on the FE mold, but you can’t get everything now, can you?
Great review, as per usual!
Now, let’s see if I can find one of these guys. Considering how long it took the Prime RID Soundwave to get to England, these should start showing up just before Christmas.
Looking at them side by side in person, I like the other one more. His face is cuter. 😛
I like the fact that at first glance, there does seem to be some re-use of parts between FE and RID, but a closer look reveals this is not the case. which may be good if you’re buying every TF out there, but if you pick & choose, like me, you almost feel like you’re missing out on something. Regardless, I still like the RID version.
I usually try and transform these without using the instructions the first time, and the legs were giving me the most trouble, forcing me to look up how they were done. Switching back to vehicle mode was easier after I knew the trick.
I’m probably stating the obvious, but RID Vehicon’s gun does clip onto his forearm and you flip his back into the arm to simulate the hand morphing into weapon thing they do on the show. With the large gun, it doesn’t look a whole lot different than when he’s holding it, but it was a thoughtful inclusion for variety’s sake. I don’t have First Edition, which I imagine pulls it off a bit more convincingly.
Pretty well done and cleverly designed figure at a time when unfortunate budget cutbacks are making some current and upcoming deluxe designs seem rather lImited. Glad to see guys like Vehicon and Ratchet overcome that. Hoping the eventual return of G1 style Generations benefit from the solutions we’re seeing in Prime toys.