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Thursday, July 19, 2012

Arms Micron Breakdown (with friend)

I'll be honest, I didn't like Transformers: Prime when it first came out. It had way too many "movie" elements to it for my liking, especially the mute Bumblebee. But the more I watched the show the more it grew on me. However I still wasn't completely sold until the folks at Botcon 2011 previewed an upcoming episode for us featuring this guy: Breakdown. The episode was appropriately titled 'Operation: Breakdown' and it really fleshed out Breakdown as a character giving him more than just a "Decepticon SMASH" personality. It was after viewing this episode that I was hooked on Prime as well as Breakdown's character. I've always really enjoyed bad guys that aren't evil just for the sake of being evil but actually have histories and motives for what they do. I had been looking forward to seeing Breakdown released domestically ever since then, but apparently it was not meant to be.



Somehow before SDCC started I knew that Breakdown wouldn't be coming to America. I don't know how, maybe it has just been years of dealing with Hasbro's weird decisions but four days before the convention I ordered this guy from a Japanese retailer. And low and behold, Hasbro confirmed at SDCC that they would not be releasing Breakdown stateside. Lucky me I guess. At any rate this is my first Arms Micron figure and I was a little surprised by what I found inside the packaging.



First off I was prepared beforehand by a friend of mine that I would be assembling the Arms Micron that came with the figure. What I was not prepared for were all the stickers! I mean this guy has more stickers than most G1 figures! I guess it has to do with model kits being all the rage over in Japan and TakaraTomy trying to get a piece of that action. So after about an hour of assembling the Micron and tediously applying stickers (not something I miss in my Transformers purchases) he was finally ready to go.

Like Bulkhead he has a solid alt mode.

I was afraid that First Edition Bulkhead might outsize Breakdown by a good amount but since this is the only Voyager-sized Breakdown mold available it's not like there were a lot of choices. Fortunately they pair pretty well together, with Bulkhead only maybe 1/4 inch taller. The other pairing I was worried about was of course Knock Out. Breakdown and Knock Out have always been presented as something as a team in the show so I thought it was important they looked good together. Again it wasn't as bad as I had initially imagined.





The Micron that comes with Breakdown is named Zamu and looks like a one-eyed, one-horned purple-people-eater Rhinoceros and frankly is a little odd. I understand the need to for adding extra playability in the figure by making the weapons transform into smaller partners but it just doesn't feel like a real Micron to me. It feels like a Rhinoceros shoehorned into the shape of a mallet. Hopefully some Third Party will come out with an accessory pack that replaces this guy with a much more appropriate Breakdown weapon.
Zamu?
See also:
'Till All Are Mine's Breakdown & Zamu Review

8 comments:

  1. Since Medic Knock Out arrived earlier this week I figured he needed his co-hort so I plopped down an order after successfully selling my 2 Hercules 'bots.

    After assembling the Micron and applying the stickers do you have a better understanding of why I haven't been in a hurry to open the 6 deluxes I have sitting in front of me?!

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    1. Yes, it seems like more of a chore than anything. Good luck finding 12+ hours to open and complete all those things.

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  2. Its funny, Breakdown was the only PRIME figure I would have wanted to pick up. I really don't like the designs from Prime and I find the creepy "kid/robot" relationships they have in the show hard to take.

    That being said, Breakdown looks amazing! I would expect no less from a Stunticon, even though he's not really a Stunticon anymore. I really like that they've started using stickers again.

    The little Zamu reminds me of Ramhorn. But Ramhorn is awesome. And an Autobot. So...I guess not really at all.

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    1. He's definitely a great figure, unlike a lot of the other Prime toys. But I would say that if you can get your hands on First Edition Prime or Bulkhead they are absolutely worth it.

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  3. This is so weird. I have Zero interest in TF: Prime toys, but I was having a long chat with my toy-shop-owner friend at his shop last night and I kept picking up the Breakdowns he had around the shop and saying "this is a nice toy". Impressive bulking statue and nice colour scheme. Design looks good too. I also love that there are so many stickers, it's one of my favourite G1 things.

    At the end of the night, I was really tempted to buy one, go home and rip it apart. But then, I decided I shall not start on TF: Prime.....

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    1. Understandable, but some of the Prime figures have great engineering and I'm a sucker for a good Transformer. Especially when one mode looks so completely different from the other mode you are kind of boggled as to how he works. Both Breakdown and Bulkhead are like that for me in this line.

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  4. My Breakdown is on pre from TFS. Can't wait to get it! Nice pics here!

    And I was just like you when I first watched TF Prime. The characters looked too movie-ish for me. But the story grew on me. And for the toys, the engineering is just marvelous. I see you also have FE Bulkhead and he's one of the best figs in the line.

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    1. Thanks! Yeah I love FE Bulky, he's definitely my favorite figure in the line so far with Breakdown bringing up a close second.

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