This is wave 2 of the Mini-Con Battle Packs that includes on Autobot with a bunch of special armor, and a Decepticon Mini-Con.
Decepticon Hunter Bumblebee vs Major Mayhem:
Bumblebee comes with Major Mayhem. In the show, Major Mayhem is a bunch of characters, so it is a bummer for anyone who wants to army build this guy. You will have to army build with a bunch of Bumblebees too. That could get pretty expensive.
Our fearless leader is in the new Commander-style scale, where he is an in-between size from the Legion and Warrior Classes.
He fits in so well in scale with the Warrior Class figures of the big guys like Grimlock and Optimus.
Bumbleebee comes with 5 pieces of armor and a gun. The first gun we have seen the Robots in Disguise Bee carry so far. The armor is for the shins, shoulders, and head. The gun fits in well with what we have seen in the show.
Major Mayhem is a cyclone style mini-con, or a dude that changes into a ball. His transformation is as simple as it comes. He has a strangely long neck to get his head out to the front of his body.
Bumblebee’s armor can combine with his weapon as the gimmick goes. It becomes a gun.
It is very reminiscent of the gun that was given to the Generations Bumblebee back in 2013.
Decepticon Hunter Grimlock vs Back/Forth:
Grimlock come with 7 plates of armor and no weapon. He comes with Back/Forth who is yet another Cyclone Mini-Con. We have a lot of balls going on in this series. I would have thought we would see a torpedo type in here somewhere.
Grimlocks size is a bit on the small size, but he is a bigger figure, so he is too big for each of the scales. This Commander Class is too big for the Legion Class, and too small for other figures in the Commander Class with him. But he is not a total waste. This is the best example we have of Grimlock so far. He has better transformation than the Legion Class, and he doesn’t have the wobbly elbows that has plagued the Warrior Class Grimlock. The color is good, with more of a green look to him.
When he gets his armor on, it is clear that he IS the weapon. He didn’t have a weapon in his regular form, he shouldn’t need one as a Decepticon Hunter. On his forearms, he has long saws that can be used as a weapon.
When the armor pieces are combined, it creates a dangerous looking T-Rex head that Grimmy can wear on his arm.
Better yet, he can also use it in dino mode, where he gets an extra-big head to attack with.
Overall these are fun figures. The armor works well, and stays in place. The weapons are pretty fun for the most part. I think they did a better job with Bumblebee and Grimlock with the execution of the armor, and combining it into a weapon.
There is one more wave coming out in the future with Strongarm, and it looks like Sideswipe again? It looks like the next wave will feature Autobot Weaponizers versions of Mini-Cons, so we could get an epic Sideswipe and Strongarm with some great weapons capabilities.
The new scale for the Mini-Con Battle Packs is similar to the Commander Class scale we saw in the Transformers: Prime line. This scale is larger, and has better articulation.
Pretty standard for transformation. Optimus becomes the annoying truck that does not have a bend between the cab and the trailer. I wish we were still in the days of Optimus being just a cab. Bludgeon is a “cyclone” mini-con and turns into a ball. He is a pretty spiky ball to be sure.
Dressed in his armor, Optimus looks pretty good. It is a good start to this sub-line. He keeps his articulation, and the parts hold fast. The only trouble I had was the helmet does not want to click into the chest plate to stay attached very well, but it holds in place when over his face.
When all else fails, hit it with a bigger hammer. All of the armor plates combine to form a really big axe, or what looks to me to be more of a hammer. Optimus will really be able to catch some Mini-Cons with this! This also stays together very well when all of the pieces are attached.
Sideswipe is the second character for the first wave of the Mini-Con Battle Packs. He comes with 7 armor plates and a weapon. It looks like some sort of cub. Quite a change from his sword. He comes with Anvil. This is the first appearance of Anvil in the RiD toy line.
Sideswipe, like Optimus is a part of the new scale of what should be called Commander Class figures. He is about half way between the Legion and Warrior Classes. The best part of this new scale, is that he is now in scale with the Warrior Class of the larger characters like Optimus and Grimlock.
The transformation is again straightforward for both Sideswipe and Anvil. Sideswipe is the same sports car we have seen before. His transformation is closer to the Warrior Class than the Legion Class. Anvil, like Bludgeon is a “cyclone”, this becoming a ball.
When Sideswipe dons his armor, it is pretty good. He has claws on his hands. The chest and helmet look really good. On his shins, he has large plates that work well. Then there is the star on his shoulder. What a strange piece to include. If they had two of them to allow for both shoulders, I could see that. But this one shoulder star is a bit weird to me.
When Sideswipe dons his armor, it is pretty good. He has claws on his hands. The chest and helmet look really good. On his shins, he has large plates that work well. Then there is the star on his shoulder. What a strange piece to include. If they had two of them to allow for both shoulders, I could see that. But this one shoulder star is a bit weird to me.
Combine the armor pieces together, and Sideswipe has a claw arm for catching Mini-Cons. You know how yucky Mini-Cons are… The claw actually does not open at all, so the opening is not large enough for holding a Mini-Con.
Together for Wave 1, Optimus and Sideswipe make a good team. Their armor colors are a little too similar for being in the same wave. Up next, we will take a look at Wave 2. I think they got the ball rolling with these two, but the next two figures really are better.
My Life in Scale 