Just as I start to clear out some toys another arrives. It's a Galaxy Force beast and it combines !
Leo Breaker is a Lion - the toy is known in Japan as Liger Jack and numbered GC-16. Somehow I associate the word Liger with Zoids lions via Shield Liger, Blade Liger, Liger Zero and all it's variants. This is the first time I've seen the word appear on a TF release where up until now we've favoured Leo for our lions - Victory Leo, Leozack, LioConvoy. Character wise Liger Jack is meant to be a rebuild of Jackshot (Overhaul) who is the first of this year's toys to get a new body. In common with most of them he's getting a new toy rather than a repaint.
The lion mode is good - mainly pale brown with black shoulders & claws and white lower limbs. There's articulation at paws, knees and hips on each of the 4 legs...... Are the joints on the front legs knees and hips too ? Dunno. He's got a green Animal Planet chip (Cybertron number VG08) - which operates a key slot in each shoulder which flicks a pale brown claw down over his paw on each foot - very Lio Convoy (see the Legends section bellow). Each claw is separately controlled. Pressing on top of the head makes his mouth open - again very LioConvoy - and causes a roaring sound to go off. Why this wasn't done with a Key Gimmick instead of a button I don't know and the 2 x AAA batteries that power it seem a little excessive when a pair of little watch cells should have been sufficient. His tail is a solid unit, with no flexibility but can be plugged in either way up.
To TF Pull down on the Lion's head and the body separates in 2 linked only by 2 connecting rods. Fold the section above the waist down - it turns into 3 flaps - then fold the lion head back up so the lion head is 90 degrees lower than before - a catch on the lion's underside (the battery hatch) will lock into the waist - this reveals a connector on his back which is of no use at the moment...... Remove tail. Straighten legs and pose feet including heel spurs. Pull arms out to the sides at shoulders and pose. Pull flap at the back of mane up and forward, then pull backwards to reveal robot head. Pose hand, and insert Tail - via peg in the side of the tail and small socket in hand - as a sword.
Final robot is about 20cm high. He's got joints at the Ankles - mainly from TF - knees, ball joints at hips, joints at shoulders, an odd pointy to the side one below the shoulders, elbows, a swivel below the elbows and very posable hands. The sideways joint below the shoulder is one of the oddest I've seen in a few years - it allows the arms to flex up to 90 degrees out to the sides to clear the hips. However it also makes him look a little like the arms are bent in the wrong place ! Something more like what's found on Armada Hoist would be in order I feel. The head also turns but is very limited by the mane up it's sides. The mane panel hanging down behind the head works well as a sort of crest/pony tail. Force Chip claw gimmicks work still - and look good in a Wolverine style way that just didn't work on Jackshot - perhaps a foreshadowing of his 2nd mode ? Hands are great - fingers are moulded together but hinged at the knuckle and he has an opposable thumb ! The socket on his hand is small - so no plugging in of Minicon or Energon weapons - but it is the same size as the one on Convoy's hand so he can hold Prime's gun.
Liger Jack has a third mode however - he serves as a "power up" arm for both Prime and Megatron. Instructions are included for Transforming Prime and Megs to take the arms - Prime's is easiest - fold one of his arms behind his back like it's the front of the truck. Megs is more of a challenge and has some arm origami involved which leaves an orange spike sticking up out his shoulder. So we'll stick to using Prime.
To TF to arm mode start from robot mode. Fold the head down, fold the arms to the sides and straighten and straighten the legs. Unplug the arms just below the shoulders - yes they do unplug though EXTREME FORCE may be necessary. Peg them onto the front of the leg. Remove Prime's backpack, and clip on using the connector on his back. Fiddle the connector about depending on which side you're mounted - it moves slightly to allow the arm to be forward slightly when mounted - and then lock the backpack up.
Arm looks a little odd at first - the organics don't meld with Prime's angular look. But it's a decent enough arm. Claw gimmick still works. He can hold Prime's gun (if he's a right arm) or the tail sword using the peg holes on the robot hands. And on the lion/robot knee joint there's a std size hole, so you can use that to gift him wonders like the Star Sabre or Requiem Blaster. In fact there's a 2nd hole - one for a screw - slightly lower down that fulfils the same purpose :-) He's got an elbow that turns in courtesy of the hip joints. A waist joint on the larger robot would have given him a bicep but that's not a huge loss.
So: Good Lion, Good robot, with a slightly quibble about the shoulders. Odd but passable arm mode with a big tick for having a standard size hole. Yeah I liked this one, but have chilled on it rather over the years.
One of the main problems I have with Cybertron is the wasted replacement arm mode feature on Prime & Megatron - he's the only Cybertron toy that can form an arm. Surely other Voyagers - Mudflap, Quickmix and Cybertron Defence Scattorshot - or even deluxe toys could have made useful limb modes ?
Yes it's an evil black repaint just for Megatron. White becomes a glossy black with the previously black pieces moulded in the same plastic. Claws, the mid section flaps folded in the TF and the tail become grey. Upper rear legs and body becomes a darker grey with the mane picked out in silver and Scourge like metallic cyan highlights are over the toy.
This is one black repaint that doesn't work for me, no idea why. It just doesn't.
Avoid. Pray the version with the new head gets a white and gold repaint !
Like Leo Prime above, we get a new robot head matching the G1 version. Most of the brown becomes yellow, with black shoulders & feet, yellow fold down claws & tail, and red built in claws and lower legs. He gains some BW Predacon symbols and a clear planet key based on the Unicron/Sideways design with a gold circuit pattern on it. As mentioned above this design was inspired by a previous Botcon com`ic. It looks great and is probably the best version of the larger mould available.