Our friends over at Cosmic Toys approached us a while ago with a view to send me some traded-in items they have had. Asking me to take a quick look at, do some photo’s and write a word or two about them.
You may have already seen some of them, as I had previously categorised them under the “Half-Arsed Review” feature. However I have decided to ditch this in favour of a shortened and more straight to the point commentary, after all, they are items that they do hopefully intend to sell. But don’t worry, the Half-Arsed Review is still a thing but will be moved onto something else.
So first up under this corporate re-branding is New Age H27-W & H28, better known as Octavian or 3rd Party Legends Ultra Magnus.
We all know who Ultra Magnus is, and if you are reading this, I will assume you have a passing knowledge of New Age and what they offer. So I’ll cut to the main points and not waste too much time on exposition. A short read then with some very nice photo’s.
Packaging: This particular box is lovely in its design, a real sense of the old Diaclone aesthetic here. I feel in someway there are some cue’s taken from MMC. Being that it’s Legends scale, the box is small and Octavian is presented in car transporter mode languishing in a plastic clam.
Contents: Not much here in terms of accessories but to be fair, they have stuck to the essentials. X2 pairs of alternative hands, x2 blaster rifles and fold out instruction sheet. These instructions are clear, straightforward and easy to follow. However, if like me, you’ll be heading to YouTube to provide assistance.
Vehicle Mode: It’s a car transporter! Cab with trailer and articulation at the fifth wheel. I don’t have any to hand, but I assume that maybe the other New Age cars such as Jazz et al should fit in and on the trailer.
Transformation: Shifting between car transporter mode, cab robot mode and then combined mode is pretty straightforward. And if I’m honest, I was able to achieve it not once looking at the instruction sheet. Now, if any of you already have New Age David, please note that the cab section transformation is different here with H27-W Conquest.
Octavian: There are two robot modes here, the H27-W Conquest and H28 Octavian, the latter being his combined mode with trailer to produce Ultra Magnus. Like the previous offerings from New Age, there is a lot to like here. Both robot modes are detailed, have good articulation and have a selection of painted areas and highlights. That good articulation is evident in both modes, with the external armour not hindering it in any way. Some dynamic poses are achievable, and with the extra hands, can be more emotive.
Closing Thoughts: I’ll be honest here, I quite like the product output from New Age, and given different circumstances and collecting focus, I’d pretty much be fully on board with them. But alas I’m not, well… David, Heinkel and the inbound Dinobots may have slipped under the radar and found themselves a place on my shelf… moving swiftly on. Octavian is another solid release of a well loved character and does look and feel good in hand. The materials are good (some die-cast is in there I’m sure of it), the paint application is also good for the most part (I’ll get to that) and articulates & poses well. All round, a great little figure to have in your collection.
In Hand: So, now all that part is out the way, what about the actual figure I have here in hand? It is a used toy, don’t forget that. And as such there are signs of minor wear and tear. They are: slight tear on the insert flap on the box, paint scraped off on Octavian's head antenna, with the same paint issue on the chest of Conquest. Do these detract from the figure as a whole? Not really, no. The paint issues are not visible in combined mode and the flap tear, when the box is closed is hardly noticeable. If you choose to display Conquest not combined with his armour, then yes, it is there staring you in the face. But if you are more than competent with a paint brush, this can be easily remedied.
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And that’s about it. The rest you can gather from the photo’s or by contacting Cosmic Toys and discussing it with them. Octavian will be available on the Cosmic Toys website for you to buy… once I’ve returned it to them!
Right, I’m out of here. I’ve been Edd, he’s been Octavian and you’ve been awesome for spending a little time reading my ramblings.
