Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Superion with a KO Crossfire Upgrade

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
So you don't think I have a killer instinct huh!
Welcome to a review of the Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Superion Autobot set with a Knock-Off (KO) Crossfire Upgrade.

Before the release of the Transformers Combiner Wars Superion, this was pretty much the paragon of Superions, and the one you absolutely had to have in your collection. This was also repackaged in a Transformers Universe box.

We've had him in the Dungeon for quite some time but it was only recently that we came across a cheap KO version of the Fansproject Crossfire upgrade.

No Superion did not make an appearance in the movie, and he does come with those "Powercore" attachments that do absolutely nothing.

The reason for this is because this is  redeco of the Takara Superion Maximus who appeared in the Transformers Energon cartoon. He and his brother, Dauntles Maximus were one of the four combiners chosen to guard the Super Energon at the core of Cybertron.

Prior to the Fansproject upgrade, this was one of the most abhorrent Transformers we've ever seen - we're not even sure why we have two of him. Superion's biggest problem is that someone somewhere thought that it would be a great idea to trade out his forearms in exchange for a pair of Energon cannons. Later, someone thought that they should do the same thing to his feet.

The Fansproject Crossfire upgrade addresses this problem quite beautifully:

Transformers Universe
Transformers Universe Superions
Superion's blister pack reads: "The mighty union of the five Aerialbots, Superion thinks of little else besides destroying any Decepticons he encounters, and protecting any innocent bystanders nearby. The robots that combine to form this powerful warrior are experienced teammates, working in tandem to see that the Autobots emerge victorious from the fire of the ancient war."

It goes on to list his stats as:

  • Strength              10
  • Intelligence           3
  • Speed                  8
  • Endurance          10
  • Rank                    5
  • Courage             10
  • Fireblast               8
  • Skill                     7


We're actually surprised that Superion is... intellectually challenged. We would not have thought that. Perhaps gestalts result in a drop in intellect thanks to the fact that five personalities suddenly have to work as one.

The Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Superion Five include:

A) Silverbolt:


B) Air Raid:



C) Airazor:


D) Fireflight:



E) Skydive:


Transformers Universe
Let me just sit here
WHAT'S TO LIKE ABOUT THE TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN SUPERION WITH A KO CROSSFIRE UPGRADE?

FIRST:  With or without the Crossfire upgrade, when this particular version of Superion was released - both the Universe and Revenge of the Fallen Versions - it was heavily criticized for being quite unwieldy. The limb locks were just not strong enough to keep the limbs in place during play, so most people just kept this as a display only piece.
However if you have the patience and determination to power through the falling joints problem, both the upgraded and regular versions actually come with high-levels of pose-ability::


The ankle rockers of the KO Fansproject Crossfire upgrade, provide Superion with a more stable base for posing:


SECOND:  We love the detailing the cross-fire upgrade gives Superion. We're quite particular about the ankle rockers, new fore-arms (that can open and close) the new rifle (Very G1) and Superion's "shades"


WHAT'S TO LIKE ABOUT THE TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN SUPERION WITH A KO CROSSFIRE UPGRADE?

FIRST:  It was a very tiring shoot thanks to the falling limbs. The difficulty was compounded by falling fore-arms We actually don't know if this is a KO. We're assuming that it is because the forearms are so ill-fitting that they keep popping off. They're supposed to snap on to Air Raid and Airazor in plane mode - and stay on on each leg in robot mode - but they don't. They keep sliding off and when combined, they keep popping open.

The feet are far better in design and we had no problems with them when Superion was formed, however attaching the disc to Fireflight was also a pain as it kept breaking apart.

SECOND: Superion's torso keeps collapsing. Silverbolt forms the torso of Superion, and his nosecone folds down to lock with the lower torso, however, the peg that holds the two parts together is sooo tiny, that it keeps popping out resulting in Superion's chest sagging down.

THIRD:  When combined with the Crossfire upgrade, you'll quickly discover that Superion's forearms were never meant to support the additional weight. So you have to get creative in terms of posing him.

That's about it. Personally though we prefer him - and this look - over the Transformers Combiner Wars Superion.

The Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Superion or  Transformers Universe Superion is available on Amazon for US$ 79.95 plus shipping (Roughly PhP 4,000 plus shipping). A Crossfire upgrade will probably set you back around half of that.
Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Superion

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