The individual Constructions have some good scenes in Transformers: The Movie (arguing with Soundwave over rule of the Decepticons, flexing their trumpet skills at Starscream's coronation), but when it comes to memorable moments nothing quite compares to them uniting to form Devastator at the Battle of Autobot City. After effectively bringing the city to its knees, it's only the arrival of Optimus Prime and the Dinobots that turns the tide in favour of the Autobots. After carefully analysing the pros and cons of each individual figure, it's now time to bring them all together and see what Studio Series Devastator has to offer. Five releases and around $200 later, does the gestalt live up to expectations?
Individual figure reviews can be found below;
Instructions on how to form Devastator are all printed on one sheet included with the Hook and Long Haul set, all of which using relatively straightforward steps to transform them from vehicle mode to their respective body part. Hook's is probably the most involved, and it's quite fun to effectively split the vehicle across the side so that the two halves meet to form the top of the torso. Long Haul's looks a bit strange on its own, but is interesting in how it makes multiple places so that Hook can peg on top. Bonecrusher and Scavenger are are effectively just pulling forearm stumps out so that the additional hand/arm pieces can peg onto them, while Scrapper and Hook have their front sections fold upwards to form legs. Really the talking point here is the introduction of the additional "trailer" parts included with Hook and Long Haul, which form a really solid abdomen, hip and upper leg area. The various components all clip together securely, but not so tightly that it's difficult to take them apart again. After pegging the forearms into their respective sockets, the only thing left is to attach Devastator's distinct winged breastplate. This pegs into a pair of sockets on Scavenger and Bonecrusher's caterpillar treads to help hold the torso together, but curiously doesn't fit into anywhere in the middle of the torso as well. And from there, it's simply time to "PREPARE FOR EXTERMINATION!" as Devastator is finally formed.
Studio Series Devastator stands at around 12-13" tall, making him the same scale as the recent Generations combiner releases like Menasor and Superion. While smaller than the Titan Class Combiner Wars release (which was more around 18"), this one definitely strives more for that sweet G1 cartoon accuracy. Said accuracy isn't 100% since parts of the Constructicons actually change colour between their individual and combined modes (Bonecrusher's treads being the most glaring example), but the cartoon model is also considerably more simplified. From the front it looks fantastic - there are some rather unsightly gaps where Hook and Long Haul join together, but nearly all of that is covered up by the chest piece. The back however is a different story. Admittedly this isn't usually the part on show so it can get away with being slightly less clean, but that lower backpack is rather noticeable when viewed side-on. Thankfully it doesn't impact balance in any way, it just isn't all that pleasant to look at. What is pleasant to look at however is that gorgeous head sculpt, which captures the look of Devastator perfectly. All of the Constructions have had brilliant head sculpts, but Hasbro definitely saved the best for the combined mode. But as well as just looking great, what really stands out about Devastator is how stable he is. As previously mentioned everything locks together nicely, and it never feels like any piece is about to come off whilst handling him. Significant pieces that is - the crane arm wobbles about and and chest piece will sometimes pop out of place - both of which could have done with slightly better mechanisms to lock them in place. Studio Series Devastator definitely looks the part, and has so much more to offer than just being a hunk of bright green and purple plastic.
There is dedicated storage for all six of the Constructicons' individual weapons, some of which is "new" whilst the rest is recycled from the individual vehicle modes. Bonecrusher and Scavenger's weapons peg into the top of their respective limbs, and Hook's pegs onto the side of his crane arm out of sight. Scrapper and Mixmaster's peg onto the back of Devastator, and then finally Long Haul's peg's onto the front of Mixmaster to form a "toe" section of sorts. Interestingly that last one is slightly cartoon-accurate, as Devastator does have a green block sticking out at the bottom of his foot. It isn't placed in the same place as the cartoon model, but it's the thought that counts. Though it is good that Devastator has places to put all the individual weapons, personally I'm not a fan of it when it's on show like this. I don't mind the ones that peg onto the back as much, but the ones on the arms (and to a lesser extent the foot, even if it is somewhat cartoon-accurate) just look out of place. That said, with all the various other ports there are over Devastator's body there probably are enough places to hide them out of sight - they just may not be the ones Hasbro had in mind.
As we saw with all of the individual Constructions, compromises had to be made with their individual articulation in order to create a stable and poseable combined mode. Now after all this time, we can see if those choices paid off. Altogether Devastator features;
- Head/neck, forearm, wrist, waist and thigh swivels
- Swivel hinge shoulders and hips (the latter of which are also ratchet joints)
- "Double" hinged elbows
- Single hinge fingers (all four fused together), knees and ankle tilts
At long last, a Constructicon with a waist swivel! Though sorely missed on all the individual figures, the additional torso piece here allows Devastator the luxury of a waist unimpeded by vehicle mode parts, as well as wonderfully clicky hip joints. The front hip guards are also hinged so can raise/lower accordingly. While sadly the waist swivel is somewhat restricted by Devastator's large backpack, there's still enough rotation to pull off all the necessary grabbing/punching poses. What really finally clicks into place here though is the engineering on Scrapper and Mixmaster - both providing some fantastic ankle articulation. Scrapper's takes a little more getting used to because it isn't a solid truck cab like Mixmaster. but the stability they provide was well worth the extra cost. If you've never handled a Transformers combiner before then there is a bit of a learning curve simply from it being a big toy made up of numerous parts, but with how well it all holds together Devastator is even more fun than initially expected. That said, not everything is perfect. Despite calling them double hinged the elbows aren't that in the conventional way, instead made up of one that functions like a standard elbow and another that sits above it in the opposite direction - allowing the forearm to swing left and right. While this adds some extra clearance for certain poses, the actual elbow often struggles with a basic 90 degree bend unless the forearm swivels are properly utilised. It's also a little disappointing that the head is just a standard neck swivel, so Devastator is unable to look and up and down without manipulating the way the face folds in for storage (which honestly doesn't look great). It's a minor complaint, but with all the Constructicons having individual ball jointed heads it's a shame the same couldn't be done for the combined mode. I do also worry that the shoulder joints could become looser over time since there's next to no friction holding them in place. Despite these gripes, Devastator poses very well considering it doesn't utilise a frame like the Scramble City combiners.
Devastator's signature rifle is built from the two purple guns included with Scrapper, which peg together to form the full weapon. Rather than be properly gripped by the articulated hands, the gun actually pegs into a hole just behind the fingers to give the illusion of being held. A strange choice given the articulated hands, but to its credit the illusion is pulled off well. Devastator can hold the gun one-handed on either side, or alternatively there is enough articulation in the shoulders to grip it in both (with the non-trigger hand using the articulation rather than the peg). Despite the socket for the rifle being a little loose-fitting (but not so much that it has any risk of falling out, more that it might spin slightly out of position), the gun looks great and with its size definitely "completes" that cartoon Devastator look.
In the end, Studio Series Devastator proves to be a lot like his component parts - flawed, but nevertheless a whole lot of fun. Arguably the sacrifices made to the individual figures were ultimately worth it, as they contribute towards a combined mode that's reassuringly sturdy and surprisingly articulate. Even if parts like the waist and hips are "cheating" via the use of additional parts, the ankle articulation particularly is really good stuff. Flaws like the unwieldy backpack and limited head/elbow articulation are unfortunate, but do little to detract from just how satisfying having them all together is. Some fans might also prefer the larger and "all-in-one" nature of the Combiner Wars release, but more options are never a bad thing. Whichever option you go for (be it official or third party) is going to be an investment, but when it comes to both affordability and being fun/easy to transform and combine - you can't go wrong with the Studio Series.
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